Searching takes about a minute. Follow these steps:

1. Open IVSS-Counties on a phone or computer.
2. Choose Rains from the county menu, if the screen offers one.
3. Enter the last name. Spelling counts, so try a shorter piece of the name if nothing comes up.
4. Add a first name to narrow a common last name.
5. Open the matching record and note the custody status and any booking details shown.

Can't get the site to load, or the name doesn't match? Call the jail on North Street at 903-473-3181. Spell out the legal name for the jailer, and share a birthday when you have it.

Blank results usually trace back to a few causes. Jail paperwork lags, so an arrest from this morning might not show until later. Or the person already bonded out, got released by a magistrate, or was shipped elsewhere. Nicknames, hyphens and typos hide matches too.

Arrests by state troopers, deputies and town officers in this county all end at North Street, since no city lockup was found here. An arrest past the county line points to a neighbor's jail, listed next. Still stuck? The jailer on duty at 903-473-3181 can check the booking log for you.

North Street is the only lockup the county runs. But Emory sits close to four other counties, and an arrest a few miles away may land someone in a neighbor's jail. Each of these runs its own:

• Hopkins County (Sulphur Springs): Hopkins County Jail, 298 Rosemont, Sulphur Springs, TX 75482, 903-438-4040.
• Hunt County (Greenville): Hunt County Detention Center, 2801 Stuart St., Greenville, TX 75401, jail information 903-453-6849.
• Van Zandt County (Canton): Van Zandt County Jail, 1220 West Dallas Street, Canton, TX 75103, 903-567-4133.
• Wood County (Quitman): the Wood County jail, 402 S. Stephens St., Quitman, TX 75783, 903-763-2201.

IVSS-Counties covers these jails too, so one search can sweep the whole area. Someone charged with a federal or immigration matter may be held wherever the agency arranges, which is covered further down.

Plenty of people search for mugshots before anything else. IVSS-Counties, though, exists to report custody and send notices, so don't expect a booking photo there.

Want the picture? A Public Information Act request, put on paper, can go by hand or by mail to North Street: Sheriff's Office, 313 E. North Street, Emory, TX 75440, 903-473-3181. The county posts an open records request form, and paper copies wait at the dispatch window. Basic facts about an arrest have to be released under Government Code 552.108(c). Whether a photo comes with them may depend on the case, so ask.

Private mugshot websites copy booking photos too. Lawmakers in Austin limited what those sites may do, through the state's business code, chapter 109. Where such a site charges for removals, correcting a wrong or partial record must cost the person nothing. They also may not post anything wiped out by an expunction order, or hidden by a nondisclosure order.

Immigration pictures are requested via ICE's FOIA records portal. As for federal arrests, booking pictures are normally withheld; the U.S. Marshals release an occasional one during a manhunt.

Register with IVSS-Counties online at its website, or dial 866-268-8959. It costs nothing, comes in Spanish or English, and keeps your name from the inmate. Expect a call, text or email the moment the person leaves, moves, or lands back in jail.

An alert is a backup, not a promise. If a release date matters for safety, stay in touch with the jail and, for victims, with the prosecutor's victim coordinator.

Every person booked sees a magistrate within 48 hours. That official sets the bond and may attach rules like no contact with a victim. From there, a family can usually choose one of three roads: pay the full amount in cash, hire a licensed bail bond agent who charges a fee, or ask for a personal bond, which needs no cash up front. Personal bonds are barred on some charges. Since 2025, certain violent charges can also bring a hearing on denying bail outright.

On family violence charges, release waits four more hours after the bond goes in. Each step, cost and refund for this jail gets its own section on our bail page, while the Texas bail laws page gathers rules for the whole state, and is worth a skim.

Begin with the jail itself. Staff at 903-473-3181 can usually read off the booking charge and tell you its level.

Once papers are filed, court records tell more. Both county clerks link the same online record search, which you can try by full name. The District Clerk keeps felony files. Misdemeanor files (Class A and B) go to the County Clerk. Both offices share the Courthouse Annex at 220 W. Quitman Street, Emory, TX 75440, reachable through the main county number.

Charges may change after arrest. Grand jurors sometimes indict on another offense, and prosecutors can add or drop counts. Check again before each hearing.

No public defender office serves this county. A list of private lawyers rotates instead. At magistration, the person should say they can't afford a lawyer and fill out the Affidavit of Indigence. The magistrate helps with it.

Already released? The form is available at Suite B of the Courthouse Annex, 220 W. Quitman Street, Emory, TX 75440, 903-473-5000. Completed forms go to the County Clerk's Office. Rains's plan gives the court until its third working day with that paper in hand to name counsel. Questions about how the rotation works go to the 8th District Court's coordinator through the same county line.

The Sheriff's website doesn't list visiting days, so call 903-473-3181 before driving over. Ask about the schedule, how to get on a visitor list, the ID you'll need and any video option.

State jail standards set a floor that every Texas county jail must meet:

• a minimum of two noncontact, in-person sessions per week, each one 20 minutes long at the least
• after-work or Saturday and Sunday time for one session, at minimum
• a written way for an inmate's children to visit, usually with a parent or guardian along
• free sessions for veterans with a county veterans officer or peer helper, which don't use up regular visits

Video visits and general visiting rules have more space on our jail visitation page.

Deposits buy commissary snacks, soap, shampoo and calling time. The county's website doesn't say how deposits are taken here, so ask the jail at 903-473-3181 which methods work: a lobby kiosk, a phone line, an app, or a mailed money order.

Double-check the spelling of the name, and a booking number if the jail assigns one, before paying. Usual methods and fees are explained on our inmate deposits page, and the commissary page covers what that money can buy.

Leftover funds are normally returned when the person leaves. Ask how that refund is paid.

State design rules require a working phone in each Texas jail's booking area. That's how many families get the first call. After that, calls usually run through a paid account with a jail phone company.

The county's website names no phone, tablet or messaging vendor for this jail. Ask the jail staff at 903-473-3181 which company handles calls and whether messages or video calls are offered. You can't call into the jail and reach someone directly.

Our inmate phone calls page walks through setting up an account, and the inmate messaging page covers email and texts where jails allow them.

Call the jail first at 903-473-3181 and ask for the correct mailing address and any rules on postcards, photos or books. The county hasn't put mail rules online, and the street address on North Street isn't confirmed as the mailing address.

Texas jail standards protect some basics:

• People inside may write as many letters, of any length, to anyone they choose.
• Incoming mail has no limit on number or pages.
• Lawyer letters are opened with the inmate watching, and the only search is for contraband.
• Broke inmates are still handed paper and stamps, enough for three or more letters weekly.

Write the full legal name on every envelope. For common reasons letters bounce back, see our jail mail page, which also covers packages.

Clothes, a wallet, phone and keys are taken at booking, listed, and stored until release. Usually the person collects them when they walk out.

To have a relative fetch a phone or car key early, the person usually has to approve it. Call the Sheriff's Office at 903-473-3181 and ask about a signed release, pickup hours, and the ID to bring to 313 E. North Street, Emory, TX 75440. Evidence is kept with the case file. Crime victims have a right to get their own property back from evidence promptly, so ask the prosecutor's office.

Keeping inmates safe and healthy is the Sheriff's job. Call 903-473-3181 right away, explain the problem, and name any medicines, doses and the person's doctor. Mention any mental health risk plainly. In an emergency outside the jail, dial 911.

Inmates must be shown how to complain, in the handbook and on housing-area walls.

When a health worry goes ignored, take it to Austin. State jail inspectors (the Commission on Jail Standards) pick up at 512-463-5505 and take mail at Austin, TX 78711-2985 (P.O. Box 12985). Its complaint form online asks for details about the inmate and about you.

Sheriff's deputies, 313 E. North Street, Emory, TX 75440, carry out warrants here; ask about a name at 903-473-3181. The county's Constable page covers the other office that serves court papers. Statewide, DPS posts photos of its top ten fugitives. Locally, the County Clerk handles misdemeanor warrants and the District Clerk handles felony files; both work at the Courthouse Annex, 220 W. Quitman Street, Emory, TX 75440, 903-473-5000. Clerks there can check by name in person or by phone. With a lawyer's help, someone with a warrant can surrender where it was signed, or request a fresh date from that bench.

Type the name into the county's online record search. For felonies, the District Clerk also posts a monthly criminal docket as a PDF on the District Clerk's page.

Clerks pick up at 903-473-5000. Ask the District Clerk for felony settings, the County Clerk for misdemeanor dates, and the justice court about tickets. The person's lawyer also gets every setting. How each court works, from first hearing to trial, is laid out on our court page for the county.

A U.S. charge brought from these parts is heard in Tyler, at the federal courthouse at 211 West Ferguson Street, Room 106, Tyler, TX 75702, 903-590-1000. A magistrate judge there rules at the first appearance on holding the person or letting them go home under conditions.

Until a sentence is served in a federal prison, the U.S. Marshals keep custody and choose the bed. Often that's a county jail with a federal contract. Their Tyler office, 4th Floor, 211 West Ferguson Street, Tyler, TX 75702, can confirm the location; the main clerk's line above can also connect you.

After a federal judge imposes prison time, try the BOP inmate locator. Enter a register number or a name. It updates as people move.

Immigration holds tend to follow this order:

1. The booking jail gets ICE's detainer paperwork, a Form I-247A.
2. When the local case would end the custody, the jail may keep the person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Agents then pick the person up for an immigration detention center.
4. Search the ICE Online Detainee Locator by A-number; lacking it, enter a first and last name with the birth nation.
5. North Texas cases are handled by the Dallas Field Office, 8101 N. Stemmons Freeway, Dallas, TX 75247, 972-367-2200.

State law bars Texas jails from ignoring a detainer, unless lawful status is proven. Separately, by December 1, 2026, any county that operates a jail has to have requested a 287(g) agreement. For progress on that locally, ask the Sheriff's Office.

Sentenced felons stay on North Street until a TDCJ bus comes. They start at an intake unit for testing, sorting and classification. A longer-term unit matched to the sentence and needs comes after. The whole move often stretches over weeks.

On the TDCJ online inmate search, plug in a surname. A TDCJ number or SID works too. Anyone paroled or released drops out of the results. Our Texas state prison pages explain each unit. If you were harmed by the person, phone TDCJ's victim services office toll-free at 800-848-4284.

Juvenile court in Texas takes cases from age 10 through 16, and those children stay out of the adult jail on North Street. Seventeen-year-olds count as adults.

Rains shares juvenile probation with Delta, Franklin and Hopkins counties. That department is at 228 Hinnant, Sulphur Springs, TX 75482, 903-885-8041. Ask them which facility has the child, and when that first detention hearing happens. State law puts a two-working-day limit on that hearing, and the child gets a court-appointed attorney first.

Most arrests here are made by the Sheriff's Office, whose deputies patrol every corner of the county, towns included. Reach it at 313 E. North Street, Emory, TX 75440, 903-473-3181.

• Emory, East Tawakoni and Point. Where a town arrest is involved, ask the Sheriff's Office whether a town officer or a deputy made it and which court got the paperwork.
• Constables. The county's Constable page lists that office. Ask for it on the county line at the Courthouse Annex, 220 W. Quitman Street, Emory, TX 75440, 903-473-5000.
• Texas DPS troopers. State troopers patrol the highways here. The county keeps a DPS State Troopers page with their local details.

No matter who made the arrest, people taken into custody in this county are jailed on North Street.