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Family Guides

Jail411 family guides for finding someone in custody, visiting, calling, mail, books, money, and bail. Confirm the facility and the custody system before you travel or pay.

All states and facilities Facility information, not live custody records.

Practical help for families and friends

Find the person, then call, visit, write, send books, or add money without guessing which system or provider applies.

Choose a guide Find the facility first

The facility’s instructions come first. Providers, addresses, approval rules, and identification requirements differ by location.

Start with the task

What are you trying to do?

If you need to find them first

Official searches Jail411 can open today

County jail bookings are on the sheriff’s roster for that county — search the directory for the county. These are the statewide and federal locators we have verified.

  1. 01
    Federal Bureau of Prisons

    Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator · Search ↗

  2. 02
    ICE detention

    ICE Online Detainee Locator System · Search ↗

  3. 03
    California

    CIRIS — California Incarcerated Records and Information Search · Search ↗

  4. 04
    Florida

    Florida DC offender search · Search ↗

  5. 05
    Georgia

    Georgia DC find an offender · Search ↗

  6. 06
    Louisiana

    Louisiana DPSC inmate locator (VINELink) · Search ↗

  7. 07
    Missouri

    Missouri DOC offender web search · Search ↗

  8. 08
    New York

    NY DOCCS incarcerated lookup · Search ↗

  9. 09
    Ohio

    Ohio DRC offender search · Search ↗

  10. 10
    Texas

    TDCJ inmate search · Search ↗

The guide directory

Start with what you need to do next.

Each guide tells you what to confirm with the facility before you travel, pay, order, or mail anything.

Find someone

Search the list that actually holds them

Last night’s arrest is almost always a county jail roster (the sheriff). A state DOC locator will not show that booking. Federal criminal custody is BOP. Immigration detention is ICE. Empty results usually mean the wrong list.

Have this ready
  • Legal name and date of birth
  • Arresting county or sentencing court
  • A-number if ICE
Open the find-someone guide
Phone calls

They call out. You do not dial the bunk.

In most jails and prisons the incarcerated person places the call. Do not fund an account from a search ad. Open the facility’s official phone page first. Common vendors (not proof they serve this jail): Securus, ViaPath/ConnectNetwork, ICSolutions, NCIC, HomeWAV, CIDNET. Money on your phone number is not the same as money on their PIN.

Have this ready
  • Exact facility
  • Booking or DOC number
  • The phone that will receive the call
Open the phone guide
Visiting

Get on the list before you drive

Most facilities require an application and an approved visitor list. Bring the ID they name. Days, times, dress code, and video vs in-person are set by that facility, not by the county next door. A transfer wipes the old schedule.

Have this ready
  • Approved-visitor status
  • Current facility (not last week’s)
  • Accepted ID
Open the visiting guide
Letters and mail

Use the mail address, not the street door

Address the envelope with the person’s full legal name and ID number. Many jails use a PO Box or a scanning vendor — not the jail’s street address. Photos, books, and greeting cards have their own rules. A rejected letter is not returned as a normal bounce.

Have this ready
  • Full legal name
  • Booking or ID number
  • The facility’s published mailing address
Open the mail guide
Books

Only the sellers that facility allows

Many prisons accept new paperback books only from named sellers (often Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or a prison-approved vendor). Used copies, hardcover, and “from home” packages get rejected. Confirm the current list on that facility’s page.

Have this ready
  • Approved seller for that facility
  • Allowed format
  • The person’s ID on the packing slip
Open the book guide
Money and commissary

Pay the account the jail named, with the right ID

Commissary, phone, and trust-fund can be three different accounts. Use the vendor on the facility or sheriff page. Match the booking/DOC number exactly. Keep the receipt. A second deposit into the wrong product does not move the first one.

Have this ready
  • Official vendor for that facility
  • Correct ID number
  • Which account you are funding
Open the money guide
California CDCR

State prison visiting, mail, money, and phones

CDCR adult institutions use Form 106 visitor approval, a live visiting-status board, approved package vendors, free outbound audio calls since 2023, and CDCR-named deposit methods. Start on the California directory, then use CDCR for forms and payments.

Have this ready
  • Exact CDCR institution
  • CDCR number when you have it
  • Government ID for visiting
Open the CDCR operations guide
Bail

Get the amount from the jail or the court

Jail411 does not post bond and does not list bondsmen. Confirm the booking number, charge, and exact amount with the jail or court. Commercial bail is not used in Illinois, Kentucky, Oregon, Wisconsin, Maine, Massachusetts, or Nebraska.

Have this ready
  • Booking number
  • Exact bond amount from the jail or court
  • Whether commercial bail is legal in that state
Open the bail guide

Before any guide

Find the facility before you spend a dollar.

A county jail, state prison, federal prison, and ICE detention center can use different systems. The facility record tells you which agency to confirm with.

Search the facility directory
  1. 01
    Confirm where they are

    A transfer can change every address, provider, and visiting rule.

  2. 02
    Open the official instructions

    Use the operating agency’s current page or call the facility directly.

  3. 03
    Match the person’s ID

    Use the booking, register, or inmate number required for that system.

Need a different starting point?

Use the system that actually holds the record.

Jail411 does not hold live custody records. A county jail, state prison, federal prison, ICE detention center, and youth facility are different operators. Start with the system, then the facility page, then the official action.

Clear information.
Clear boundaries.

Jail411 is an independent information resource for families and friends. We are not a government agency, jail operator, law firm or live custody-records service.

Can Jail411 tell me if someone is in custody right now?

No. Jail411 does not hold live custody records. Use the official locator for the county, state, federal or ICE system that has the person; start here if you do not know which.

Does posting bond mean the person comes home?

Not always. A probation or parole hold, another county's warrant or an immigration detainer can keep someone in custody after bond is posted. Ask the jail what holds are on the booking before you pay.

What should I confirm before visiting?

The person's current facility, the visiting schedule, approval requirements, accepted identification and arrival instructions. Check the facility page and its official sources before you travel.

What if I find something that needs correcting?

Send us the page and the detail that needs attention. Include the official source when you have one. Do not send private booking documents or other sensitive personal information.

YOUR FAMILY REFERENCE

Keep the details together.

Save the booking number, addresses and next steps in your family organizer.

Open family organizer
Jail411 source information preserved on 2026-09-25.Official sources appear alongside the relevant information.