We have nearly 20,000 prisons, local police, city, county and state jails as well as federal penitentiaries across the United States including Hawaii.

How to use our site

Please click on the state where your inmate is incarcerated, even if it's run by a federal agency. Or use the search function at the top of this page.

Struggling to find your inmate

Sometimes we don't have all the details. In this case, it's better to contact the jail directly. To do this, you must know as much about them as possible. Here is a list of things you should keep written down:

Your inmate's full name, including all middle names
Their date of birth
Their inmate number
Which type of prison they are kept in

You might not know their inmate number and that's ok.

Help! I don't know what type of prison my inmate is in?!

Okay! Let's see what we can do.

If they were arrested by the police in your area then they are probably being held in a police jail or county jal
If they didn't get bail but they were also NOT charged, then they will be in a county jail or city jail, while the police investigate
If they have been charged and denied bail, then they will be in a city jail, county jail or larger jail while they wait for their court date or trial
If they were arrested by the FBI and are being held, then the FBI may be holding them and you should contact the FBI
If they were convicted in federal court then they will be held anywhere in the United States in a prison run by the Federal Bureau of Prisons

Can you help me?

We can't, sorry. We are short-staffed and there are tens of thousands of jails. If you're having difficulty finding your inmate, usually a charity can help you.