Inmate profiles on InmateAid come from two sources working together.
The first is users themselves. When someone signs up to send letters, photos, or use any of InmateAid's services, they create a profile for their inmate as part of the setup process. That user-generated information is the foundation of many profiles in the system.
The second is a data service that InmateAid uses to pull daily updates on inmate designations from correctional systems across the country. That data covers current facility assignments, inmate identification numbers, and other publicly available information that keeps profiles current as people move through the system.
The two sources get combined, which is why the same person might have multiple profiles reflecting different facilities at different points in their incarceration. Here is a real example of how that looks in practice. One person might show up first at a county jail, then at a private facility like a CoreCivic institution, then at a federal transfer center, and finally at their permanent federal facility. Each stop generates its own profile entry, and once someone is released all of those profiles update to show how many days they have been out.
If you are looking for someone who does not appear in the system, that does not mean InmateAid cannot help. Email the team with whatever details you have about the person and their facility and they will do their best to locate the profile or help you create one manually. The manual profile option works just as reliably as any other profile for sending mail and using services.