How to find someone in an Orange County jail
The Sheriff’s Department’s Inmate Information System is the official way to look someone up. Here is how it works, and what to do if you can’t use it.
The short answer
Use the Orange County Sheriff’s Department’s online Inmate Information System. The official Inmate Information System asks you to create an account with an email address and password the first time. Inmate Records’ phone number is (714) 647-4666.
Search the official inmate system
The Sheriff’s Department’s online Inmate Information System requires you to sign in. The official Inmate Information System asks you to create an account with an email address and password the first time. It does not show charges.
Open the Inmate Information System
Inmate Records’ phone number is (714) 647-4666.
Official: Inmate Information System; Inmate Records - location (OC Sheriff’s Department), checked
What the official system tells you
It does not show charges. The system’s page, which we checked on October 26, 2026, doesn’t say what a search result contains, so we don’t describe the results here: check them on the official system itself.
Note the person’s booking number from the official system: Have the person’s booking number ready when you call to book. Every letter needs the person’s name and booking number, and your name and return address.
Official: Inmate Information System; IRC - Visiting Hours & Information; Inmate Mail (OC Sheriff’s Department), checked
Soon after an arrest
- Bail information is usually available two to three hours after booking.
- To find out when someone goes to court, the Sheriff’s Department says to call the court. Our court guide lists each court’s number.
- Some bail must be paid in cash or check only: check the amount and accepted methods with Inmate Records before you pay.
Official: Custody FAQs; Cashier & Bail Information (OC Sheriff’s Department), checked
Privacy
This site doesn’t run searches of its own, and it doesn’t publish anyone’s booking details or screenshots of the official system. Search results belong on the official system.
Where to go next
- Visiting someone in custody Once you know where they are.
- Putting money on their account Where to pay and what is accepted.
- Bail and bonds Paying bail or posting a bond.
Sources
Orange County Sheriff’s Department
Every fact above links to the official page it comes from, with the date we checked it. We quote official wording only where the exact words matter. See how we check facts.