inmate.solutions

A free guide for families

Someone you love was arrested. Here’s how to find them.

When a relative is taken into custody, the hardest part is not knowing where they are. This is a calm, step-by-step guide to finding a person in jail or prison — in all 50 states and DC — using only official government sources.

No account, and nothing to search here. We do not store or look up records. Instead, we point you to the exact official locator to use, and show you how to search it yourself.

First, figure out which system is holding them:

Arrested in the last day or two

Start with the county jail

A recent arrest almost always means the county jail run by the local sheriff — not a state prison. Look for that county’s online jail roster, or search VINELink, the free national custody-status service. If nothing shows yet, call the jail’s booking desk.

Already sentenced to prison

Use the state prison locator

Once a person is sentenced, they move into the state Department of Corrections. Almost every state runs an official inmate locator you can search by name or ID number.

The charge is federal

Search the Federal BOP

A federal charge means federal custody, a separate system from state and county. Search the Federal Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator by name or register number.

Not sure which one? Your state page walks through all three, with the exact locator, VINELink, and county-jail path for that state.

Start with your state

How finding someone works

The person is in one of three places. Match the situation to the right tool.

There is no single nationwide inmate search, and that is the part that trips families up. Custody is split across county jails, state prisons, and the federal system, each with its own official locator. Once you know which one applies, finding your person is usually a name search away.

  • County jail

    Recent arrests live here

    Run by the county sheriff. Check the county’s jail roster or VINELink; call the booking desk if it is too soon to show online.

  • State prison

    Sentenced people move here

    Run by the state Department of Corrections, with an official inmate locator you can search by name or ID.

  • Federal

    Federal charges are separate

    Held in the federal system and found through the Federal Bureau of Prisons locator — not a state or county tool.

One rule that saves families money

Every tool you actually need is free and official. Skip the paid “inmate search” and mugshot sites that rank high in search results — they charge for what the government gives away, and often show stale, incomplete, or expunged records. Every link on this site goes to a government locator, VINELink, or the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

50 states + DC

Start with your state

Each page answers, first, how to find someone in jail or prison there — the state locator, VINELink, and the county-jail path — then what you’ll need and who to call. Michigan and Ohio also offer local bail help.

51 states

Built to be trusted

Official sources, dated, and honest about what it can’t do

Every state page links the official government locators it draws from and shows when it was last checked. It is procedural information only: it never predicts an outcome, never names a lawyer, and never searches or stores a single record itself. Finding your person happens on the official source, not here.

51states & DC covered
47covered by VINELink
0records stored here

How we research this and what we don’t do

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