WY · Find someone in custody

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

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

State locator: Wyoming Offender Locator
VINELink: Covers Wyoming
Last verified: 2026-07-23
Jurisdiction: Wyoming

Which system is holding them in Wyoming?

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

County jail rosters are fragmented: a few Wyoming sheriffs post an online jail roster or booking list, but many do not.

The statewide online path that reaches county-jail custody is Wyoming's VINE system (search at vinelink.com, choose Wyoming), which covers custody status across state prisons AND county jails and lets you register for free phone, email, or TTY alerts when status changes; Wyoming victim services/VINE is administered through the state (Wyoming Board of Parole victim services and WDOC victim services).

For a very recent booking or the bond amount, call the county sheriff's detention center directly.

County jails are run by the 23 county sheriffs; only some publish an online jail roster. Use Wyoming VINE (vinelink.com, select Wyoming) for county-jail custody status - Wyoming VINE covers both state prisons and county jails - or the county sheriff's roster where one exists, and call the county detention center for very recent bookings and bond amounts.

Search VINELink (choose Wyoming)

If they were sentenced to prison

Use the state prison locator

The Wyoming Department of Corrections (WDOC) publishes the 'Wyoming Offender Locator' (linked from corrections.wyo.gov; the tool itself lives at wdoc-loc.wyo.gov, page title 'Index').

It is a public search for people in WDOC state-prison custody, searchable by WDOC inmate number or by name (the minimum is a WDOC number or the first letters of the last name), returning current facility, projected discharge date, and parole eligibility.

It covers people sentenced to state prison, not someone just arrested and held pretrial in a county jail.

Open the Wyoming 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 Wyoming 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 Wyoming, 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 in the COUNTY JAIL / detention center of the county where the arrest happened (run by the county Sheriff). If they were already sentenced to state prison, they are in WYOMING DOC custody. 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, use Wyoming VINE or the county sheriff's detention center

Search Wyoming VINE at vinelink.com (choose Wyoming) by name to check county-jail custody status and register for free alerts; Wyoming VINE covers county jails as well as state prisons. If the county sheriff publishes an online jail roster, that is another official source. If nothing shows online yet, call the county sheriff's detention center to confirm custody and the bond amount.
Official source
Step 3

For a sentenced state-prison inmate, use the Wyoming Offender Locator

Search the Wyoming Offender Locator (wdoc-loc.wyo.gov, linked from corrections.wyo.gov) by WDOC number or name to confirm the state facility and status.
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.
If you have one, a WDOC inmate number (for the state Offender Locator) or a booking/jail number (for a county jail or VINE) - helpful but usually not required to search by name.

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

Use only official sources: the Wyoming Offender Locator (wdoc-loc.wyo.gov) for state prison, Wyoming VINE (vinelink.com) or the county sheriff's jail roster for a just-arrested person, and a call to the county detention center for very recent bookings. Confirm a match by full name and date of birth, since name-only matches are common.
The Wyoming Offender Locator covers WDOC state-prison custody, not county-jail pretrial detainees; a just-arrested person will usually not appear there.
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 sheriff's detention center booking or records line.
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.
This tool only links to official sources. It does not store, search, or republish any inmate records itself.

If you need to bail them out in Wyoming

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

Commercial bail available

In Wyoming, commercial bail exists. If a judge sets money bail, it can be posted in cash directly with the court or through a licensed bail bond agent for a fee. A judge may also release the person on their own recognizance or on set conditions, so ask the court or the jail what applies before paying anyone.

Wyoming has a commercial bail-bond industry; private bail bond agents legally post surety bonds for a fee.

Wyoming is not among the four states (Illinois, Kentucky, Oregon, and Wisconsin) that prohibit for-profit bail bonding.

After arrest, a judge sets bail and conditions of release under the Wyoming Rules of Criminal Procedure.

Common forms of release include a personal recognizance bond or an unsecured appearance bond (a written promise to appear, with no money up front), a cash bond posted directly with the court, a property bond, or a surety bond posted through a commercial bail bond agent.

With a surety bond, the person or a family member pays a bail bond agent a non-refundable fee (premium) and the agent posts the full bond amount with the court.

Many misdemeanor and traffic matters have a preset bond schedule so a person can post bond without waiting for a hearing.

Where a surety bond is used, a commercial bail bond agent typically charges a premium of about 10 percent of the total bail amount for a state charge. This premium is the agent's fee and is generally non-refundable, even if the case is later dismissed. As an alternative, a cash bond posted directly with the court is refundable at the end of the case if all conditions and appearances are met. Confirm the exact fee and the available options with the individual bondsman and with the court.

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

Common questions about finding someone in Wyoming

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

Someone just arrested in Wyoming and not released is held in a COUNTY JAIL / detention center run by that county's Sheriff, not in a WDOC state prison - so the Wyoming Offender Locator will not show them. County jail rosters are fragmented: a few Wyoming sheriffs post an online jail roster or booking list, but many do not. The statewide online path that reaches county-jail custody is Wyoming's VINE system (search at vinelink.com, choose Wyoming), which covers custody status across state prisons AND county jails and lets you register for free phone, email, or TTY alerts when status changes; Wyoming victim services/VINE is administered through the state (Wyoming Board of Parole victim services and WDOC victim services). For a very recent booking or the bond amount, call the county sheriff's detention center directly.

How do I find someone in state prison in Wyoming?

The Wyoming Department of Corrections (WDOC) publishes the 'Wyoming Offender Locator' (linked from corrections.wyo.gov; the tool itself lives at wdoc-loc.wyo.gov, page title 'Index'). It is a public search for people in WDOC state-prison custody, searchable by WDOC inmate number or by name (the minimum is a WDOC number or the first letters of the last name), returning current facility, projected discharge date, and parole eligibility. It covers people sentenced to state prison, not someone just arrested and held pretrial in a county jail.

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

Yes. VINELink (the free national custody service) covers Wyoming. 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 Wyoming?

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. If you have one, a WDOC inmate number (for the state Offender Locator) or a booking/jail number (for a county jail or VINE) - helpful but usually not required to search by name.

Does Wyoming have commercial bail bondsmen?

Yes. Commercial bail exists in Wyoming: if a judge sets money bail, it can be posted in cash with the court or through a licensed bail bond agent for a fee, and a judge may also grant own-recognizance or conditional release.

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 · 12 sources