Every California county jail in one place. Select your county and go directly to their inmate search system - or call us free and we'll search for you.
Each of California's 58 counties operates its own jail system with its own inmate search process. Some counties provide a real-time online roster. Others publish a PDF report updated every few hours. Many rural counties have no public online system at all - for those, calling the jail directly or using our free live search service is the only option.
Select any county below to go directly to that county's inmate lookup page, where you'll find the official search link, facility addresses, phone numbers, and instructions. If the official system is down or you need faster help, call our free 24/7 line and a live agent will search on your behalf.
Each of California's 58 counties operates a separate inmate search system managed by that county's sheriff. There is no single statewide county jail database. Here is what to know before you start searching.
Booking takes 2 to 6 hours. Most county systems update every 2 to 8 hours. A person arrested in the morning may not appear in the online system until afternoon or evening. If someone was just arrested and does not appear, wait up to 8 hours before calling the jail directly.
Most systems require only a first and last name. Adding a date of birth significantly narrows results. A booking number gives the most precise results. You do not need to know which specific jail building they are in, as county searches cover all facilities in that county.
Results typically include: full legal name, booking date, charges filed, bail amount, facility or housing unit, and projected release date for sentenced inmates. Some counties also show court date, arresting agency, and mugshot photo.
Some smaller counties have no online system. Others are down for maintenance. If online search is unavailable, call the county sheriff's booking division directly. Each county page on this site lists the booking phone number. Our free line can also check for you.
These practical tips help you find an inmate even when the basic name search returns no results or too many results.
If a search for a common name like "Jose Garcia" returns dozens of results, add the date of birth to narrow them. Most California county jail search systems allow filtering by DOB in addition to name. If the system does not support DOB filtering, look for the booking date, recently arrested individuals will have a booking date from the past 24 to 72 hours.
If you know someone was arrested but they do not appear in the online roster, they may still be in booking. California jail booking typically takes 2 to 8 hours. The person will appear in the online California inmate lookup system once booking is complete and data is synced, most systems update every 2 to 8 hours. Allow up to 12 hours before concluding they are not in that system.
Names are entered into jail systems exactly as they appear on the ID presented at booking. Try alternate spellings, hyphenated vs unhyphenated surnames, middle names used as first names, and legal name vs commonly used name. Accented characters (é, ñ, ü) are often entered without accents in booking systems. If unsure, search by partial last name and browse the results.
County jail inmate search systems experience occasional downtime for maintenance, system updates, or technical issues. If a county system returns an error, try again in 1 to 2 hours or call the county jail's booking line directly. Each county page on this site lists the direct booking phone number. Our free line can also check with the jail on your behalf.
If someone disappears from a county roster they previously appeared in, they may have been transferred. Common transfer destinations: CDCR state prison (sentenced to over one year), a neighboring county under a contract arrangement, a federal or ICE facility, or a medical facility. Check the county page for transfer contact information, or call our free line.
Some smaller California counties, including Trinity, Colusa, Glenn, and a few others, have no public online inmate search system. For these counties, the only options are calling the sheriff's booking line directly or using our free phone service, which can contact the sheriff on your behalf and relay booking information to you.
If you cannot find someone in a county jail search, they may be held in a different system. Here is how to determine which one to check.
If the person was sentenced to more than one year, they may have been transferred from county jail to a CDCR state prison. Search the CDCR Inmate Locator at cdcr.ca.gov/ciris. See our CDCR guide for details.
Federal crimes (drug trafficking, bank robbery, immigration offenses, federal weapons charges) result in federal custody. Search the Bureau of Prisons at bop.gov/inmateloc. See our federal inmate search guide.
Immigration arrests by ICE result in detention at ICE-operated or contract facilities, separate from county jails. Search the ICE Online Detainee Locator at locator.ice.gov. See our ICE detention guide.
Arrests sometimes happen near county borders, and the arresting agency may book into a neighboring county. If you know where the arrest occurred but cannot find the person, also check adjacent counties using this directory.
There is no single government database covering all 58 California counties. Each county runs a separate system. This directory links to every county's official search portal in one place. Our free phone line can also search across all 58 counties simultaneously, which is often the fastest option when you are not sure which county to check.
If you know the city where the arrest occurred, look up which California county that city is in and search that county. If you do not know where the arrest occurred, call our free line and an agent will check multiple counties simultaneously. Alternatively, start with the county where the person lives or was last known to be, then check neighboring counties.
No. All official California county sheriff inmate search systems are free to use. This directory is also free. You never need to pay to search for a currently incarcerated person in a California county jail. Be cautious of third-party websites that charge fees for inmate searches, as they are accessing the same free public records you can search directly through the links on this page.
"No Bail Set" typically means one of three things: (1) The booking process is not yet complete and bail has not been assigned yet. (2) The judge ordered the person held without bail, most often for serious felony charges or when a flight risk determination was made. (3) The person is being held on a parole or probation violation hold, which is handled differently from new criminal charges. Call the jail's booking line for the specific reason.
Common reasons a person is no longer visible in an inmate search: they were released (on bail, OR release, or sentence completion), they were transferred to another facility or county, they were transferred to CDCR state prison custody, or the system had a technical update that temporarily removed the record. Call the jail's booking line if someone has unexpectedly disappeared from the system.