How to Find Out if a Friend Is Incarcerated and Where They Are

If you believe a friend may be incarcerated but are not certain, several free resources can help you find out quickly.

Start with the Bureau of Prisons inmate locator at bop.gov/inmateloc if you think they may be in the federal system. Search by first and last name. If they are in federal custody their location and basic information will appear in the results.

For state incarceration, each state Department of Corrections maintains its own public inmate search. If you know which state they were last living in start there. InmateAid's facility directory links to all 50 state DOC search tools so you can find the right one without searching around.

For county jail incarceration most counties maintain online inmate rosters updated daily. If you know which county they were in search that county's roster or call the jail directly.

If you are not sure which system to check InmateAid's free inmate search covers facilities nationwide and is a good starting point when you do not know where to begin.

An arrest record search can also help determine whether someone has been recently arrested and which facility they were transferred to following booking.

If none of these resources return results it is possible your friend is not currently incarcerated or may be held under a name variation you are not aware of. Try searching with alternate spellings of their name or their middle name if you know it.