ME · Find someone in custody

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

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

State locator: Maine DOC Adult Resident / Adult Community Corrections Client Search
VINELink: Not in Maine
Last verified: 2026-07-23
Jurisdiction: Maine

Which system is holding them in Maine?

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

Maine historically did NOT participate in the national VINE custody system; a limited pilot began in 2025 in only a few counties and a regional jail, so VINE is not yet a reliable statewide tool here.

The dependable path is to contact the county jail directly: many sheriff's offices post an online jail roster, and booking/records staff can confirm whether someone is in custody, the booking date, and the bail amount.

Maine county jail rosters are fragmented and run separately by each county sheriff. Check the sheriff's website for the county where the arrest happened for an online roster, or call the jail's booking/records line. VINE coverage in Maine is only a recent, limited pilot, so do not rely on it statewide.

Maine is not covered by VINELink — use the arresting county sheriff’s jail roster or call the jail’s booking or records line.

If they were sentenced to prison

Use the state prison locator

The Maine Department of Corrections runs a free public search (page title 'Adult Resident/Adult Community Corrections Client Search'), available 24/7.

It covers adults committed to Maine DOC custody — people in the state prisons (Maine State Prison in Warren, Maine Correctional Center in Windham, Mountain View Correctional Facility in Charleston, Bolduc Correctional Facility, and the Women's Reentry Center) and DOC-committed residents boarded elsewhere (county jails, other states, federal facilities) — plus adults on DOC community supervision (probation/parole).

Search by name or MDOC number.

IMPORTANT: someone just ARRESTED and held pretrial in a county jail is usually not a DOC 'resident' yet, so a recent arrest is found through the county jail (below), not this DOC search.

Open the Maine 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 Maine 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 Maine, 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 where the person is likely held

If they were arrested recently and not released, they are almost certainly in the COUNTY JAIL run by the sheriff where the arrest happened. If they were already sentenced, they are in the Maine DOC system. If the charge is federal, they are in federal custody (use the Federal Bureau of Prisons locator).
Official source
Step 2

For a recent arrest, contact the county jail directly

Call the sheriff's jail in the county where the arrest happened, or check that sheriff's online jail roster if one is posted. Ask whether the person is in custody, the booking date, and the bail amount. Have the full legal name and date of birth ready. Maine has no single statewide jail roster, so you go county by county.
Official source
Step 3

If the person has been committed to state custody, search the Maine DOC locator

Use the Maine DOC Adult Resident / Adult Community Corrections Client Search and enter the name or MDOC number. This covers people committed to Maine DOC (state prison or DOC supervision), not brand-new county pretrial arrests.
Official source
Step 4

For a federal arrest, use the Federal Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator

If the charge is federal, search the BOP inmate locator by name or register number instead of the state or county tools.
Official source

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 aliases, nickname, or maiden name.
Date of birth, which helps confirm the right person when names match.
An MDOC number or booking number if you already have one (helpful but not required to search).

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

Use only official sources: the Maine DOC search, the county sheriff's jail roster or booking line, or VINELink where it is available. Confirm a match by full name and date of birth, since name-only matches are common.
Be wary of paid data-broker 'inmate search' and mugshot sites. They are not official, often charge fees, and may show stale, incomplete, or expunged records.
Custody data can lag. Someone booked within the last few hours may not appear online yet; if an official source shows nothing, call the county jail's booking or records line.
This tool only links to official sources. It does not store, search, or republish any inmate records itself.

How release works in Maine

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

No commercial bail

In Maine, 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.

Maine does not have a commercial bail-bond industry, and surety bail bonds are not used in the state.

After an arrest, bail is set by a judge or by a bail commissioner — a court-appointed official, not a private business — under Maine's Bail Code (15 M.R.S. ch. 105-A).

Release commonly takes the form of release on personal recognizance (a written promise to appear), an unsecured appearance bond (a promise to pay a set amount only if you fail to appear, with no money up front), or cash/secured bail posted directly with the court or the county jail.

The defendant's own property, or a third party such as a family member, may serve as a surety, but there are no licensed commercial bail-bond agents posting bonds for a fee.

A bail commissioner who sets bail after court hours charges a fixed statutory fee for that service.

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

Common questions about finding someone in Maine

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

In Maine, someone who was just arrested and not released is held in the COUNTY JAIL run by the county sheriff (for example, the Cumberland County Jail in Portland is the state's largest), not in a state prison, so the DOC search will not show a brand-new pretrial arrest. Maine historically did NOT participate in the national VINE custody system; a limited pilot began in 2025 in only a few counties and a regional jail, so VINE is not yet a reliable statewide tool here. The dependable path is to contact the county jail directly: many sheriff's offices post an online jail roster, and booking/records staff can confirm whether someone is in custody, the booking date, and the bail amount.

How do I find someone in state prison in Maine?

The Maine Department of Corrections runs a free public search (page title 'Adult Resident/Adult Community Corrections Client Search'), available 24/7. It covers adults committed to Maine DOC custody — people in the state prisons (Maine State Prison in Warren, Maine Correctional Center in Windham, Mountain View Correctional Facility in Charleston, Bolduc Correctional Facility, and the Women's Reentry Center) and DOC-committed residents boarded elsewhere (county jails, other states, federal facilities) — plus adults on DOC community supervision (probation/parole). Search by name or MDOC number. IMPORTANT: someone just ARRESTED and held pretrial in a county jail is usually not a DOC 'resident' yet, so a recent arrest is found through the county jail (below), not this DOC search.

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

Maine is not in VINELink, but the official options are still free: the arresting county sheriff’s jail roster, a call to the jail, and the state inmate locator. Avoid paid inmate-search and mugshot sites.

What do I need to look someone up in Maine?

The person's full legal name, plus any aliases, nickname, or maiden name. Date of birth, which helps confirm the right person when names match. An MDOC number or booking number if you already have one (helpful but not required to search).

Does Maine have commercial bail bondsmen?

No. Maine 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 · 8 sources