How to Find Someone in Jail in Los Angeles

By Jane Un, licensed bail agent #1843448. Updated October 29, 2026.

You cannot help someone until you know where they are. In Los Angeles County that can take a few tries, because people can be held at a police station, a Sheriff's facility or a county jail. Here is how to search, what the results mean and what to do when nothing shows up.

What you need before you search

Gather what you can before you start.

• The person's full legal name. Not a nickname.
• Their date of birth.
• The date and place of the arrest, if you know it.
• Any other names they have used.

If you only have a first and last name, try anyway. Try the name with and without a middle name, and try spelling variations. A small typo is the most common reason a search comes up empty.

Search the Sheriff's Inmate Finder

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department runs the county jail system. Its online tool, the Inmate Information Center, is at app5.lasd.org/iic. The Sheriff's custody page also links to an Inmate Finder and a Booking Log on the same site. Search with the full legal name and date of birth.

A record usually shows the booking number, where the person is held, the charge and often the bail amount if one has been set. Take a screenshot or write it all down.

The Sheriff's Department says inmate records are not available for bookings that happened in the last 2 hours. If a search is empty, give it time and try again before you panic.

You can also ask by phone. The inmate information line is (213) 473-6100. Have the full name, date of birth and date of arrest ready.

What the booking number is for

The booking number is the one number that follows the person through the system. You will need it to ask about bail, to deposit money on the person's account, to schedule visits and to ask about property. When we call the jail to post a bond, the booking number is the first thing we use.

Write it down and keep it with the person's full name and the charge. If the number changes because the person is moved or re-booked, write the new one on the same page.

If the person was arrested by a city police department

Many arrests in Los Angeles are made by LAPD or by a city police department in a nearby city. The person may be held in that agency's jail first and may not yet show up in the Sheriff's system.

Call the station that made the arrest and ask for the watch commander or the jail desk. Ask three questions.

1. Is the person in your custody right now?
2. What is the booking number?
3. Will they be released from here, or moved to the county jail?

Police departments do not always give details by phone. If they will not, ask where to send an attorney or a bail agent. An attorney can usually get more detail than a family member.

Where people end up in the county system

Here are the places in the county system that families ask about most, with the facts as the Sheriff's Department lists them.

The Sheriff's Department does not notify families when a person is moved from one facility to another, so check again if a visit, a deposit or a bail posting depends on knowing where they are. Our jails page lists more facilities in Southern California.

For women, see also our guide for pregnant people in jail.

What the status words mean

You may see terms in the record that confuse you.

• Unclassified. The Sheriff's Department says a person listed as unclassified cannot receive phone calls or visits until classification is complete, which can take two weeks to a month.
• Bail amount. The amount, if set, is the amount the person can post to be released. A record with no amount may mean bail has not been set, the person is being held without bail or the charge is one where release happens through another process. Ask.
• No record found. Either they are not in the county system, the name is spelled differently or the booking is too recent.

In Los Angeles County many low level arrests are released before arraignment without any bail. If the record shows the person is gone, they may have been released. Call the release line at the Inmate Reception Center, (213) 893-5347, to ask. Our guide on pre-arraignment release explains who gets released this way.

Visiting, money and medical needs

If the person stays in custody, here is what the Sheriff's Department says about contact.

• General population inmates get at least two 30 minute visits a week, in person or by video. Visits can be delayed by daily operations.
• You can put money on a person's account online through Access Corrections, or by mail with a certified cashier's check or postal money order, up to $200, payable to the person's name and booking number.
• If the person has a medical or mental health condition, call the Medical Command Center at (213) 893-5544 and have the booking number ready.

When the person comes home, they can collect money left on their account. The Sheriff's Department says to bring a valid government photo ID and notes that accounts may be purged about 30 days after release. Property questions go to the Inmate Reception Center property line at (213) 893-5352.

Once you have found the person, what next

With the booking number and the bail amount in hand, you have choices.

• If bail is $0 or the person is eligible for release, ask about timing at the release line.
• If bail is set, you can pay it in cash, or post a bond through a licensed bail agent. Read how bail works and how much bail is for the numbers.
• If you want a lawyer, call one. We do not recommend any one attorney.

Jane Un Bail Bonds can help with a bond at any hour. The premium is 10% of the bail, or 8% when a private attorney is retained or the defendant or cosigner is a veteran. Through Bail Today, Pay Later®, you can start with 1% of the bail down on approved credit, and pay the balance on a monthly plan. You or your loved one needs a job to qualify.

Call (213) 725-2815. A family member, friend or attorney can call on behalf of the person in custody. We are a licensed California bail agent, License #1843448, and not a government agency. See our license page and our Los Angeles bail bonds page.

Be careful about people who contact you first. California bail agents may not solicit business, and a request for bail must come from the arrested person, their lawyer or an adult friend or family member.

A calm routine for the first night

When you are scared, it helps to follow a routine instead of refreshing the page over and over. Try this.

1. Search the Inmate Finder with the full name and date of birth. Write down what you see, even if the result is empty.
2. If it is empty, wait an hour or two and search again. A fresh booking can take time to appear.
3. Call the inmate information line at (213) 473-6100. Ask whether the person is in county custody.
4. Call the police department that made the arrest, if you know it. Ask for the watch commander.
5. Write down every number you get and the time you called. If you later hire a lawyer, they will want to know.
6. Call us at (213) 725-2815 if you want help looking, or if you have found the person and bail is set.

Try to sleep when you can. Booking is slow, and there is often nothing more to learn until morning.

Other counties

This guide is about Los Angeles County. If the arrest happened in Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino or San Diego County, each sheriff runs its own lookup and its own phone line. Search for the sheriff's inmate lookup for that county. Our jails page lists the main facilities. We work with jails and courts across Southern California.