How to Find an Inmate in New Jersey
If someone you love was just arrested or sent to prison in New Jersey, the first thing you need is also the hardest to get: a straight answer about where they are. New Jersey does not have one single database that lists everyone in custody. The person you are looking for could be in a county jail, a state prison, a federal facility, or immigration detention, and each of those is searched a different way. This guide walks you through all four, in the order most families need them, and tells you what to do when someone does not show up at all.
One thing is especially worth knowing in New Jersey right now: immigration detention in the state has changed fast. The state passed a law meant to keep private immigration jails out, but a large detention center in Newark reopened in 2025 and is now one of the biggest on the East Coast. If you are looking for someone picked up by immigration agents, the section below on ICE custody is the place to start.
Start here: figure out which system is holding them
Before you search anything, answer one question, because it tells you which tool to use.
How long ago were they taken into custody, and what happened? Someone who was arrested in the last few days is almost always in the county jail for the county where the arrest happened. They stay there through booking, first appearance, and often through their entire case if it is a local charge. People do not go to state prison when they are arrested. They go to state prison only after they have been sentenced and physically transferred into the custody of the New Jersey Department of Corrections, which can take weeks after sentencing while intake processing is completed.
So the rule of thumb is simple. Recently arrested, case still pending, or a short sentence: look in the county jail. Sentenced to state prison time and transferred: look in the New Jersey Department of Corrections. Federal charge: look in the federal system. Immigration hold: look in ICE custody. Most families searching for someone newly arrested waste time on the state prison site when their person is sitting in a county jail across town.
Searching the New Jersey state prison system (NJDOC)
The New Jersey Department of Corrections, or NJDOC, holds everyone serving a state prison sentence. Its public Offender Search lets you look up a person by name or by SBI number, the State Bureau of Identification number that New Jersey assigns, and returns their photo, current facility, custody status, admission date, and county of commitment.
To search, you generally need the person's first and last name, and the SBI number helps narrow it when the name is common. The search lets you filter by extra details such as date of birth, sex, race, and facility, which is useful when a name is shared by several people. Keep in mind that newly admitted people may not show up until intake processing is complete, and someone moved to parole or a community program will show a different status rather than disappearing.
What the results will not tell you is anything about a county case. If your person was arrested last week and has not been sentenced and transferred, they will not be in NJDOC at all. That is normal, not a dead end. It means they are still in the county system.
Searching county jails in New Jersey (recently arrested)
New Jersey has 21 counties, and each one runs its own jail and its own inmate roster, usually through the county sheriff's office. There is no statewide county jail search, so you have to find the roster for the specific county where the arrest happened.
If you know the county, search for that county's jail roster directly, or find the facility on InmateAid and use the search link on its page. The largest county systems, where most arrests happen, are Bergen, Essex (Newark), Middlesex, Hudson (Jersey City), Ocean, and Monmouth. Many post a current booking list that updates through the day, though some lag, and a few smaller counties have closed their jails and send detainees to a neighboring county, so the person may be held one county over from where they were arrested.
To search a county roster you typically need the person's full name. A booking number, if you have it, finds the record immediately. If you are not certain which county made the arrest, the city where it happened tells you: look up which county that city sits in, then search that county's jail.
Federal inmates in New Jersey (BOP)
If the charge was federal, the person is in the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons, not the state, and you search the BOP's own national inmate locator rather than any New Jersey tool. It covers everyone in federal custody from 1982 to the present and searches by name or by federal register number.
New Jersey holds two federal prisons, both for men: FCI Fort Dix, a low-security institution at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in central New Jersey that is one of the largest federal prisons in the country, and FCI Fairton in the south, near Bridgeton, each with an adjacent minimum-security camp. A person arrested on a federal charge may first sit in a county jail under a federal contract before being moved to a federal facility, so if the BOP locator does not show them yet, check the county jail where the arrest happened.
ICE detainees in New Jersey
If the person is being held on an immigration matter, they are in ICE custody, which is a civil detention system separate from criminal jail and prison. ICE detainees are not criminals serving sentences; they are held while their immigration cases are decided. You search for them using the federal ICE Online Detainee Locator, which works by the detainee's A-Number (a nine-digit immigration identification number) or by their full name, country of birth, and date of birth.
New Jersey's immigration detention picture is unusually contested and fast-changing. The two main facilities are Delaney Hall in Newark, a large privately run center that reopened in 2025 and has become one of the biggest immigration detention sites on the East Coast, and the Elizabeth Detention Center. Both are run by private companies under contract with ICE. Detainees are frequently transferred, including out of state to facilities in the South, sometimes within days, so a person may appear at a New Jersey facility one day and be moved soon after. If you have the A-Number, use it, because name searches in the immigration system are far less reliable when names are common or were recorded differently than expected, and because the A-Number is what lets you follow a person if they are transferred. The ICE Newark Field Office can confirm where a detainee is being held.
When you cannot find them anywhere
If you have searched and your person is not turning up, work through these explanations before assuming the worst.
The booking is not complete yet. Newly arrested people can take hours to appear on a roster, and newly sentenced people can sit in a county jail for weeks before showing up in the state system. Try again later. They were released, transferred, or moved between systems. Someone can post bail, get transferred to another county, or be handed from county to federal or immigration custody, and during the handoff they may briefly appear nowhere. Immigration detainees in particular are often transferred out of state quickly. The name does not match the record. People are booked under legal names, middle names, maiden names, or misspellings. Try variations, and search with less information rather than more. They are a minor. Juveniles are not listed in public adult locators at all, regardless of facility.
When the online tools fail, calling works. Call the jail or facility you believe is holding them, give the full name and date of birth, and ask the booking desk or records office to confirm custody status. That is often faster than any website.
Get notified automatically: VINELink
Rather than checking rosters over and over, you can register with VINE, the free victim and family notification service New Jersey participates in. It lets you look up a person's custody status and sign up for automatic alerts about changes such as transfer or release. It is the simplest way to stop refreshing a website every day.
Once you have found them
Finding the person is the first step. Staying connected is the next, and it matters more than most families realize for how someone gets through their time.
The best place to start is mail. Letters and photos reach almost everyone in custody, they are the most reliable form of contact, and a person who hears from home regularly does easier time. Phone calls are the next layer, and New Jersey is a bright spot here. The state set its prison call rate very low, under five cents a minute, among the cheapest in the country. County jails set their own rates separately, and the federal rate caps that took effect in April 2026 hold those down. You can also send money to most facilities so your person can cover phone time, commissary, and basic needs.
To set any of this up for the specific facility holding your loved one, find that facility on InmateAid and follow the instructions on its page, since the rules, the phone carrier, and the mailing address are different at every facility.
[Internal link block to render at foot of article:]
See every prison, jail, and detention center in New Jersey: /prisons/new-jersey
Understand the new 2026 call rates: link to FCC Prison Phone Rate Caps 2026 guide
Search arrest records across New Jersey: Arrest Record Search (honestly labeled affiliate)
Frequently asked questions
How do I find an inmate in New Jersey?
Decide which system holds them first. Recently arrested people are in the county jail where the arrest happened. People serving state prison time are in the New Jersey Department of Corrections. Federal charges mean the Bureau of Prisons, and immigration holds mean ICE. Search the matching system by name.
Is there one website for all New Jersey inmates?
No. New Jersey has no single combined database. County jails, the state prison system, the federal Bureau of Prisons, and ICE each maintain separate searches, and you have to use the one that matches the person's situation.
Where is someone just arrested in New Jersey?
In the county jail for the county where the arrest happened, not in state prison. People only enter the state prison system after sentencing and transfer, which can take weeks.
How do I search the New Jersey DOC?
Use the NJDOC Offender Search with the person's name or SBI number. It returns their photo, current facility, custody status, and admission date. You can filter by date of birth, sex, race, and facility to narrow results.
What is an SBI number?
It is the State Bureau of Identification number New Jersey assigns to a person in the system. Searching by SBI number is the most precise way to find a state inmate.
Why can I not find my inmate in the state system?
The most common reason is that they are not in state prison. They may be in a county jail awaiting trial, in federal or immigration custody, on parole, or already released. Each of those is searched separately. Newly admitted people also may not show up until intake is complete.
How do I find someone in a New Jersey county jail?
Find the roster for the specific county where the arrest happened, since each of the 21 counties runs its own. If you know the city, look up which county it is in, then search that county's jail.
How do I find a federal inmate in New Jersey?
Use the federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator, which is national and searches by name or federal register number. New Jersey's federal prisons are FCI Fort Dix and FCI Fairton.
How do I find someone in ICE custody in New Jersey?
Use the ICE Online Detainee Locator, searching by the detainee's A-Number or by full name, country of birth, and date of birth. New Jersey's main facilities are Delaney Hall in Newark and the Elizabeth Detention Center, but detainees are often transferred out of state.
What are Delaney Hall and the Elizabeth center?
They are New Jersey's two main immigration detention centers, both privately run under contract with ICE. Delaney Hall in Newark reopened in 2025 and is one of the largest on the East Coast.
Can I get alerts when an inmate status changes?
Yes. Register with VINE, the free notification service, to get automatic alerts about transfers and releases instead of checking rosters manually.
What if no search finds the person?
Try again later in case booking or state intake is not complete, try name variations, and remember minors are never listed publicly. If your person was in immigration custody, they may have been transferred out of state, so search the ICE locator by A-Number. If the websites fail, call the facility directly with the full name and date of birth.
Stay Connected with InmateAid
Reach Your Loved One in New Jersey
InmateAid helps families stay in touch. Set up discounted calls, send letters and photos, add money, or send approved magazines - all in one place.