Find Dallas County Inmates

How to Use the Dallas County Jail Roster

The Sheriff's Office runs the jail lookup. It lets you search for a person in custody by prisoner information, by book-in number, or by case number. The tool is free and needs no account. A name search works for most people, but a book-in or case number returns a faster, cleaner match.

The information page explains bond, mail, and visitation alongside the search. Start there to get your bearings, then run the search itself.

The Dallas County Jail Lookup information page covers the bond desk, mail address, and visitation rules. Use these steps to run the search:

1. Open the jail lookup search form.
2. To search by name, enter last name, first name, race, and sex; a date of birth is optional.
3. To search another way, enter a book-in number or a case number.
4. Choose the matching search button: Prisoner Info, Bookin Number, or Case Number.
5. Open the result to see the inmate's location and booking detail.

If a search comes back empty, the person may have bonded out or transferred. Call jail information at (214) 761-9025 to confirm.

Dallas County Jail Lookup Search Fields

The search form exposes a clear set of fields. Some are required for a name search, while a book-in or case number search uses just one box. The table below lists the fields and rules, including the form's own spelling of "Bookin Number."

The jail lookup search form shows the fields below.

The three buttons are Search By Prisoner Info, Search By Bookin Number, and Search By Case Number.

What a Dallas County Inmate Record Shows

A jail record is built from booking data. The official fields are limited and factual, and the county does not publish more than the search tools expose. The list below maps the fields you work with when you look up or mail an inmate.

You need the inmate name, book-in number, and location to mail a letter or set up money and visits. For warrants tied to a person, see the Dallas County warrant records page.

The roster is a custody snapshot, not a full case history. It tells you that a person is in jail and where, but it does not show the plea, the disposition, or the sentence. Those live in the court file. So treat the jail lookup as the first step, then follow the case number into the courts portal for the rest of the story.

Dallas County Jail Facilities

The jail complex sits near downtown along Riverfront Boulevard and Commerce Street. The North Tower is the maximum-security building, while the South and West Towers and the Kays facility round out the complex. The Lew Sterrett Justice Center holds the bond desk. The contact cards below cover the main public-facing offices.

The North Tower is the largest building in the complex. Its facility page lists the capacity and medical space below.

The North Tower was built in 1993, holds 3,292 maximum-security inmates, has 188 single cells, and includes three floors of medical space. The South and West Towers complete the complex.

The South Tower and West Tower page covers the rest of the jail complex and its essential services.

Booking and Bond at the Dallas County Jail

When the Sheriff books a person, the system records the name, charges, and a book-in number, then assigns a location. From there, release can come through bond, case disposition, court order, sentence completion, or transfer.

Bond can be posted in person at the Lew Sterrett bond desk 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including holidays. The county's jail page noted that Western Union was unavailable when inspected, so plan to use the bond desk directly. After bond posts, a person may be released, though processing takes time and the roster can lag behind the actual release.

Release timing is not only about bond. The county's criminal justice team tracks many holds that can keep a person in custody, such as immigration holds, parole holds, out-of-county and out-of-state holds, and bench warrants. Competency cases and waits for a state hospital bed also slow release. So a person can clear one case yet stay in jail on another matter.

How Large Is the Dallas County Jail

The Dallas County jail is one of the biggest in the nation. The Sheriff reports an average population over 6,000 and more than 2,000 employees, which ranks it as the seventh-largest jail system in the United States. A 2024 snapshot listed 6,721 people in custody on a single day, and the Sheriff's annual report counted 50,117 people released from the jail in 2024.

Those numbers shift daily with arrests, bonds, court settings, and transfers to state prison. For capacity figures, daily averages, and demographic context, see the Dallas County jail population page. A person who is sentenced to state prison leaves county custody and moves to the Texas prison system, so a later search may turn up empty even though the case is not over. To track someone after release or transfer, the released inmates page lists the state and federal locators.

Dallas County Jail Visitation Schedule

Inmates are allowed two visits per calendar week. A visitor must be on the inmate's visitor card, and the inmate may change that card once every 90 days at the start of the month. The schedule runs by last name, with weekends open to everyone. The table below shows the pattern.

Children under 17 cannot visit Monday through Friday. On weekends, children may visit, limited to two children per adult. Visitors are not processed during the last 30 minutes, so arrive early. Plan the visit around the inmate's last name, since the weekday schedule is split between A-L and M-Z and there is no visitation at all on Wednesday.

Video Visitation and the SmartInmate System

The jail uses SmartInmate by Smart Communications for phone, tablet, and video service. Video visitation is a privilege, not a right, and the county may deny, cancel, or restrict it for misconduct. All video visits are recorded and electronically monitored.

The Sheriff phone, tablet, and mail system page is the current source for SmartInmate rules. On-site video hours run Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., and weekends 8:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., with no Wednesday visitation and no children under 17 during the week.

Sending Mail to a Dallas County Inmate

Mail rules changed with the new system, so use the current address. The Sheriff's mail page says to address mail to the inmate's name and book-in number, plus the inmate's location, in care of the Mail Processing Center, P.O. Box 9226, Seminole, FL 33775-9226.

An older jail page listed a Dallas P.O. Box, which is why you should confirm the current address before mailing. Authorized correspondence includes letters, cards, and soft-back books from publishers. Always include the book-in number, because mail without it can be delayed or returned.

Mail is processed off site before it reaches the inmate, which adds time. Do not send cash, photos with restricted content, or any item the rules bar. When in doubt, send a plain letter with the full name, book-in number, and location on the envelope, and check the Sheriff page for the current list of allowed items.

Money, Commissary, and Phone Accounts

You can put money on an inmate account several ways, but not by mail. The county lists telephone deposits at 1-866-345-1884, internet deposits through accesscorrections.com, and kiosks at the jails. Cash, money orders, and checks are not accepted through the mail, with limited government-check exceptions.

The newer rules tightened what the jail will take. Effective in early 2022, the jail does not accept any of the following at the facility:

• Personal or payroll checks.
• Money orders.
• Tax refund or stimulus checks.
• Insurance or child support checks.
• Social Security checks.

Because the list changes, use the official deposit channels and confirm before you send funds.

The Sheriff how-do-I FAQ covers visitor cards, phone accounts, and fees. For commissary, the jail advertises the SecurePak program at 1-800-546-6283 and dallascountypackages.com. Phone accounts can be set up by calling 1-866-699-9974.

Related Dallas County Searches

You may also need released inmates tools, jail population data, warrant records, or arrest records.