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Guides
How custody records work, and what to do once you have found one. 15 guides, written in plain English for people dealing with this for the first time.
How to Find Someone in County JailThe order to search in, what to have ready, and what an empty result actually means.How Bail and Bond Actually WorkWho sets the amount, what the ten percent really means, and when you get money back.How to Send Money to Someone in JailWhat the commissary account is for, what it costs, and how to avoid the usual scams.How to Read a Jail RosterWhat each field means, and why the charges shown are not the final story.The Record Is Wrong or the Person Was ReleasedWhat to do when a roster entry is inaccurate, outdated, or should no longer be public.What Happens in the First 72 Hours After an ArrestBooking, first appearance, charging decisions — the sequence that decides whether someone goes home.How Jail Visitation WorksApproval, scheduling, video visits and the rules that get visits cancelled.How Inmate Phone Calls and Messaging WorkWhy they call you, what it costs, and why nothing said on those lines is private.County Jail vs State Prison: Why the Search Systems Are DifferentWho is held where, why people vanish from rosters, and which system to search next.Holds and Detainers: Why Paying Bond Does Not Always WorkThe most common reason a person stays in custody after the money is paid.How to Find Someone’s Court Date and CaseThe roster shows custody. The court file shows what actually happens next.Public Defender or Private Attorney: How to DecideHow appointment works, what private counsel actually buys, and what to ask before paying.What Actually Happens at ReleaseWhy "released" takes hours, what comes back, and what to arrange in advance.Expungement and Record Sealing: The BasicsWhy an arrest record outlives a dismissed case, and what can be done about it.Why Jail Rosters Are Public, and What That MeansThe legal basis for custody records, the limits on using them, and how this directory works. Where most people start
The first hours are the hardest part, and they are also when the roster is least useful: someone booked within the last few hours may not appear in any online system yet, because the county's own feed has not refreshed. The booking desk is the only real-time source, and its phone number is on every county page here.
After that the questions tend to arrive in the same order — what the charge text actually means, who sets bond and how it gets paid, how to put money on someone's account, when visits are allowed, and where the court case lives. The guides above follow that order rather than an alphabetical one.
What these guides are not
This is general information, not legal advice, and nothing here creates a lawyer-client relationship. Procedure varies by state and often by county: two neighbouring jails can have different bonding hours, different money-transfer vendors and different visitation rules. Where a guide gives a general rule, confirm the local version with the jail or the clerk of court before acting on it.
If a record shown on this site is wrong, that is a separate process and it is always free — see corrections and removal.