IL · Find someone in custody

How do I find someone in jail or prison in Illinois?

Take a breath. You can find where your person is being held in Illinois using official sources — here is exactly where to look and what to have ready.

State locator: Illinois DOC 'Individual in Custody Search'
VINELink: Covers Illinois
Last verified: 2026-07-23
Jurisdiction: Illinois

Which system is holding them in Illinois?

There is no single search that covers everyone. Match the situation to the right official locator — most families start with the first one.

If the arrest was recent

Start with the county jail

Someone who was just arrested in Illinois is almost always in a COUNTY JAIL run by the county sheriff (or a city police lockup), not in a state prison, so the IDOC locator will not show them.

Illinois has 102 counties, each sheriff running its own jail with no single statewide jail roster.

Larger jurisdictions such as Cook County (Chicago) publish their own online inmate locator, but smaller counties may have nothing online.

The reliable paths for a recent arrest are the arresting county sheriff's jail roster, VINELink, or calling the jail's booking desk.

Illinois has 102 counties, each sheriff running its own jail; large counties like Cook (Chicago) post an online inmate locator while smaller ones may not, and there is no unified statewide county-jail search, so use VINELink or the arresting county sheriff.

Search VINELink (choose Illinois)

If they were sentenced to prison

Use the state prison locator

It covers only people sentenced to and held by the state prison system; it does NOT include people in county or city jails, people just arrested, or juveniles.

For records questions, contact IDOC or the specific facility.

Open the Illinois inmate locator

If the charge is federal

Search the Federal Bureau of Prisons

A federal charge means the person is in the federal system, not a Illinois state or county facility. Search the Federal Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator by name or register number — it is separate from every state and county tool.

Search the Federal BOP locator

Finding your person in Illinois, step by step

Work through these in order. Each step points to an official source — you do the searching there, on the government site.

Step 1

Figure out which system is likely holding them

A person arrested in the last hours or days is almost always in the county jail or city police lockup where the arrest happened. A person already sentenced and transferred is in a state prison (IDOC). A person facing federal charges is in federal custody. Match the situation to the right official locator below.
Official source
Step 2

For a recent arrest, check the arresting county jail roster or search VINELink

Look up the sheriff's office for the county where the arrest happened and check its online jail/inmate roster if it has one (for example, Cook County for Chicago-area arrests). Or use VINELink, the national custody-status system, which pulls near-real-time booking information from participating Illinois jails and prisons and lets you register free for alerts when custody status changes.
Official source
Step 3

For a sentenced person, search the Illinois DOC 'Individual in Custody Search'

Use the IDOC 'Individual in Custody Search' and enter the full name or IDOC number. It covers only people in Illinois state prison custody, not county jails or brand-new arrests.
Official source
Step 4

If the charge is federal, use the Federal Bureau of Prisons locator

The federal BOP inmate locator at bop.gov covers people held in federal custody and is separate from state and county systems.
Official source
Step 5

If no online roster shows them, call the facility's booking or records line

Smaller Illinois jails may not post inmates online, and someone booked in the last few hours may not appear yet. Call the arresting county sheriff's booking or records desk and ask whether the person was booked, their booking number, any bond amount, and the next court date.

What you’ll need to search

You can start with just a name, but these make a match faster and surer.

The person's full legal name, plus any middle name, maiden name, alias, or spelling variations (common names return many results).
Their date of birth, which official locators use to tell apart people with similar names.
If you have it, the assigned booking number (county jail) or IDOC number (state prison), which returns the most exact match, though a name search is enough to start.

Use official, free sources — and a few things to watch for

Use only official government sources: the IDOC 'Individual in Custody Search', the arresting county sheriff's jail roster, VINELink, or the Federal Bureau of Prisons. All are free.
Be wary of paid 'inmate search' and mugshot websites that rank high in search results. They often charge fees for information the official sites provide free and may show stale, incomplete, or already-expunged records.
Custody information changes constantly. A person booked in the last few hours may not appear online yet; if you cannot find them, call the facility's booking or records line directly.
This tool only links to official sources. It does not store, search, or republish any inmate records itself.

How release works in Illinois

Finding the person comes first. Once you know where they are, this is how getting them out works in Illinois.

No commercial bail

In Illinois, there is no commercial bail-bond industry — there is no bondsman to hire and no premium to pay. A judge decides whether the person is released, often on their own recognizance or on set conditions, and any money bail the court orders is paid directly to the court.

Illinois has no commercial bail-bond industry and, since September 18, 2023, no cash or money bail at all.

Under the Pretrial Fairness Act (part of the SAFE-T Act), Illinois became the first state to eliminate money bail: a person taken into custody is now released on their own recognizance with the least restrictive conditions the court finds necessary, unless the prosecutor files a petition and, after a detention hearing, a judge orders pretrial detention or specific conditions.

There is no bail amount to post and no private bondsman to hire.

Illinois had already abolished commercial (for-profit) bail bonding decades earlier, in 1963, when it replaced surety bondsmen with a system of depositing 10 percent of bail directly with the court; the 2023 law then removed monetary bail entirely.

Release in Illinois is decided by a judge at a first appearance or detention hearing, not by paying money.

The person’s rights. The person in custody has the right to talk to a lawyer about their case, and if they cannot afford one, the court can appoint a public defender.

Other official Illinois contacts

County jails are run by the sheriff where the arrest happened — call that jail’s booking or records line for a very recent booking or the bail amount. These statewide sources can also help.

If there is also a warrant to deal with

Two companion guides pick up where this one leaves off — checking for a warrant, and resolving it on your own terms.

Check for a warrant in Illinois Worried the person has an open warrant too? Check first, state by state. Resolve a warrant in Illinois If they need to resolve a warrant, this walks through turning yourself in calmly.

Common questions about finding someone in Illinois

How do I find someone who was just arrested in Illinois?

Someone who was just arrested in Illinois is almost always in a COUNTY JAIL run by the county sheriff (or a city police lockup), not in a state prison, so the IDOC locator will not show them. Illinois has 102 counties, each sheriff running its own jail with no single statewide jail roster. Larger jurisdictions such as Cook County (Chicago) publish their own online inmate locator, but smaller counties may have nothing online. The reliable paths for a recent arrest are the arresting county sheriff's jail roster, VINELink, or calling the jail's booking desk.

How do I find someone in state prison in Illinois?

The Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) 'Individual in Custody Search' lets anyone look up a person currently in Illinois state prison custody by last and first name or by IDOC number, which returns the most exact match. It covers only people sentenced to and held by the state prison system; it does NOT include people in county or city jails, people just arrested, or juveniles. For records questions, contact IDOC or the specific facility.

Is there a free way to check if someone is in custody in Illinois?

Yes. VINELink (the free national custody service) covers Illinois. Search by name for custody status and register for free alerts. County jail rosters and the state locator are also free and official.

What do I need to look someone up in Illinois?

The person's full legal name, plus any middle name, maiden name, alias, or spelling variations (common names return many results). Their date of birth, which official locators use to tell apart people with similar names. If you have it, the assigned booking number (county jail) or IDOC number (state prison), which returns the most exact match, though a name search is enough to start.

Does Illinois have commercial bail bondsmen?

No. Illinois has no commercial bail-bond industry, so there is no bondsman to hire and no premium to pay. A judge decides release, commonly on recognizance or on conditions, and any money bail is paid directly to the court.

Sources & last verified

Everything here links out to official government or public-safety sources. We don’t store, search, or republish records.

Last verified 2026-07-23 · 9 sources