Perform a Free Texas Inmate Search (Prisons & Jails)

Run a free Texas inmate search to reveal details on offenders throughout the state.

Online tools that uncover facts and provide relevant information about anyone currently detained in the state – including details about their crimes, sentence, and expected release date – are available to anyone.

Inmates have been arrested for a crime they allegedly committed, and information about them is public record. These documents can be held at local, state, or federal facilities, and looking at such records can make people feel informed and safe.

The state of Texas allows citizens to access information about any inmate within its borders, and this resource will ensure that searchers interested in offenders can do so conveniently and readily.

Jail Inmates vs Prison Inmates

Jails and prisons aren’t the same, and it’s important to understand the differences when looking for someone who may have been arrested.

City and county jails are normally managed by local law enforcement agencies, such as sheriff’s offices and police departments. They more commonly hold prisoners who’ve been arrested in a recent incident – for example, those who didn’t get out on bail and are waiting for their trial. Those detention centers also often keep individuals serving short sentences or waiting to be transferred to state facilities.

State prisons usually are responsible for holding convicted criminals. Those people serve longer sentences until they’re eligible to be released on probation or parole or until their sentence is completed.

In some cases, offenders may be at federal facilities. That happens when they’ve committed a federal offense. This resource will help anyone seeking relevant information at all of those kinds of facilities in Texas.

How To View Information on Someone Held in a Jail (Texas Inmate Search)

Contacting the local law enforcement agencies is often the first step in running an inmate search in Texas jails. Those agencies are responsible for arresting people when an incident calls for it, as well as executing warrants issued by the courts.

The Harris County Sheriff’s Office, for example, has the Jail Information System, which helps concerned citizens look up names of individuals they believe may have been recently arrested.

Users can search this tool by name (last name only is accepted and will yield results), and it’ll show results with details about the reason for arrest, next court date, and release date when that’s the case. The Jail Information system will also show bond information when this option is available for that particular offender.

If the searcher needs to contact someone who’s been arrested or the sheriff’s office about an offender, this is how they can do so:²

Harris County Sheriff’s Office
1200 Baker St
Houston, TX 77002

Phone: 713.755.5300
Email: sheriffgonzales@sheriff.hctx.net

Likewise, the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office makes an Online Jail Search available to anyone interested in uncovering information about individuals currently held at their facility. This tool requires the user to input the inmate’s last name and at least their first initial (last names only won’t lead to any results). It also requires race and gender – those aren’t optional fields.

Results will include details about the crimes committed by the offender, details about their court dates and proceedings and a mugshot, when available. There’s some information that citizens should have if contacting the detention facility is necessary.

The main jail in Dallas County is adjacent to the Frank Crowley Courts Building and is known as the Lew Sterrett Justice Center. It comprises three different facilities: the North Tower Detention Facility, the West Tower Detention Facility, and the Suzanne Lee Kays Detention Facility. Those three facilities are run separately but share the same address:

Lew Sterrett Justice Center
111 West Commerce St
Dallas, TX 75202

Phone: 214.653.2902

Looking for inmates in each county or city can be tedious, especially when it’s unknown at which facility the individual is. This resource can help interested people navigate those difficulties with ease and find detailed information about arrests and inmates in Texas.

How To Access Details of Any State Prisoner in Texas

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice is the agency responsible for sharing information about the inmates currently held at state facilities. Whenever a Texas inmate lookup is needed, they offer an Inmate Search, which allows concerned citizens to uncover details about any offender serving time in the state.

Users must have the inmate’s last name and, at a minimum, their first name initials to be able to search. Only last names won’t yield results. To narrow the search, users can also add gender and race.

The results will initially show the name, age, race, gender, and inmate identification number. If the searcher clicks on the name of the inmate they wish to know more about, more details will appear: the crimes they committed, the sentence received, expected release date (including parole eligibility), etc.

The State of Texas won’t show information about past inmates whose sentences have already been completed. Therefore, if the searcher believes that someone may have a criminal history and their name won’t pop up on the Inmate Search, it may be necessary to run a background check on them.

The results will show the facility where the offender is being held. The Department of Justice provides a map of all correctional facilities in Texas to help the public find and connect with an inmate when desired.⁵ There’s also a directory that contains detailed information about how to contact each of the facilities.⁶

Also, citizens can contact the Texas Department of Criminal Justice using one of the following addresses and phone numbers:⁷

Texas Department of Criminal Justice – Austin Office
209 West 14th Street
Austin, TX 78701

Phone: 512.463.9988

Texas Department of Criminal Justice – Huntsville Office
861-B I-45 N
Huntsville, TX 77320

Phone: 936.295.6371

It’s always important to remember that victims are entitled to services and support to make their journey to recovery a little smoother. For example, victims don’t need to be searching for information like any regular citizen would: they’re entitled to be informed about their perpetrator’s whereabouts and status.

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice offers tools and information to victims, and whoever sees themselves in this situation should never hesitate to contact them.⁸

Likewise, the family (and sometimes friends) of incarcerated individuals have the right to contact them and visit with them. Usually, it’s not required that visitors apply or go through a wait time for approval before being able to see their inmate.

The Department of Criminal Justice provides a few guidelines to help family and friends visit an inmate:⁹

• Visitors can use the Inmate Information Search to confirm the facility they should go to (how to use this system was described in detail above in this article).
• Visitors should call and confirm that the visitation hours haven’t changed or canceled; this is a list of all contact numbers for correctional facilities in the state.
• Visitors must dress accordingly, have a valid ID, and not bring in money (except for coins under $25).
• Special visits or visits that may require special accommodations must be arranged ahead of time.

For more instructions or information, they have a Frequently Asked Questions page available to anyone looking to connect with a Texas inmate.¹⁰

When an inmate isn’t found at the local county facilities or the state prisons, it may be a good idea to search for them at the federal level.

How To Check Details of Individuals in Federal Prison

If the statewide inmate search doesn’t lead to results, it’s important to consider that the inmate being searched for could be in a federal prison. It’s certainly a less common alternative, however, a possible one — criminals who committed federal offenses will be incarcerated at federal facilities.

To search for those individuals, citizens can utilize the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Inmate Locator.¹¹ This is a free tool that will show relevant information about prisoners currently serving sentences at federal prisons. The BOP Inmate Search allows for searches to be performed by name (first and last) and will provide information about the inmate’s crimes, where they’re serving their sentences, and more.

Unfortunately, the BOP Inmate Search data is limited to prisoners released after 1982.¹² Therefore, older inmates may not be found in it. If information about offenders released before that date is needed, it should be searched with the National Archives, which is the official repository of those records.¹³

The Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) system is also available to interested people who wish to know more about individuals incarcerated at the federal level. PACER allows citizens to perform searches by name, but it isn’t free. They charge a fee per page when someone uses it to retrieve information.¹⁴

Being able to access information makes people feel safer and informed. Anyone should feel free to seek out public records when they feel affected by it. Citizens can confidently search and find facts about offenders through a free Texas inmate search, using that information responsibly and respectfully to protect their families.