Santa Barbara County Main Jail

County Jail

Last Updated: April 08, 2024
Address
4436 Calle Real, Santa Barbara, CA 93110
Beds
640
County
Santa Barbara
Phone
805-681-4260
Fax
805-681-4216
Email
jail@sbsheriff.org

Santa Barbara Co Jail is for County Jail offenders sentenced up to twenty four months.

All prisons and jails have Security or Custody levels depending on the inmate’s classification, sentence, and criminal history. Please review the rules and regulations for County - medium facility.

If you are unsure of your inmate's location, you can search and locate your inmate by typing in their last name, first name or first initial, and/or the offender ID number to get their accurate information immediately Registered Offenders

Satellite View of Santa Barbara County Main Jail

You can support your loved ones at Santa Barbara Co Jail on InmateAid, if you have any immediate questions contact the facility directly at 805-681-4260.

When someone you care about gets arrested, it can be overwhelming. This webpage aims to ease your concerns by providing information about Santa Barbara County Main Jail. From visitation guidelines to contacting jail staff, we're here to support you as you navigate this challenging time. Take a look around and let us help you understand how to best support your family member or friend in custody.

The Santa Barbara Co Jail, located at 4436 Calle Real in Santa Barbara, CA, is a secure detention center operated by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office. This facility primarily houses individuals awaiting trial or sentencing, typically for less than two years. It accepts inmates from various jurisdictions, including surrounding towns, municipalities, the US Marshal's Service, and the Santa Barbara Police Department.

New detainees are regularly admitted to the jail, with some being released on bail or placed under pretrial services caseloads. Others await their court appearances at the facility, receiving necessary accommodations such as bedding and meals. View all arrest records here.

Inmates serving as trustees within the jail undertake various tasks, including cooking, laundry, and commissary management, often receiving minimal compensation or sentence reduction for their services.

The jail offers a phone program for outbound calls only, with inmates unable to receive incoming calls. Accepting collect calls can be expensive, sometimes exceeding $10 per call. Alternatively, setting up an account through a third-party phone company may entail high fees per minute of usage. Click here for discounts on inmate calls, especially if the communication with your inmate is frequent. It's important to remember that all phone calls are recorded, and discussing sensitive legal matters over these lines is discouraged.

Inmate Locator

To utilize the Inmate Search page on InmateAid, begin by selecting the relevant prison facility in California. This allows you to view the current list of inmates housed at Santa Barbara County Main Jail.

The second section features the InmateAid Inmate Search tool, providing a user-generated database of inmates. You can access this resource to utilize any of InmateAid's services. If you require assistance in creating an inmate profile to maintain communication, please contact us at aid@inmateaid.com, and we'll gladly help you locate your loved one.

As a last resort, you might have to pay for that information if we do not have it. The Arrest Record Search will cost you a small amount, but their data is the freshest available and for that reason, they charge to access it.

Visitation Information

Santa Barbara County Main Jail - Visitation

Visiting Hours - Saturday & Sunday

  • Registration - 12:00 pm - 12:30 pm
  • Visitation​ - 1:00 pm - 1:45 pm
    • ​Cells - MBD-1, MBD-2, MBD-3, E-23, E-24, El-11 thru El-22, Sl-13 thru Sl-17
  • Registration - 1:00 pm - 1:30 pm
  • Visitation​ - 2:00 pm - 2:45 pm
    • W-06, W-08, BC-01, BC-04, S-Tank, S-Dorm, WI-18 thru WI-29, SI-20 & SI-21
  • Registration - 2:00 pm - 2:30 pm
  • Visitation​ - 3:00 pm - 3:45 pm
    • E-01, E-04, E-06, E-08, W-13, W-16, BC-17, EI-25 thru EI-38, SI-01 thru SI-12

Cells

  • MSF
    • Registration - 7:00 am - 7:30 am
    • Visitation​ - 8:00 am - 8:45 am
  • West 1,4,10
    • Registration - 7:00 am - 7:30 am
    • Visitation​ - 8:00 am - 8:45 am
  • C-07, C-08
    • Registration - 3:45 pm - 4:00 pm
    • Visitation​ - 4:00 pm - 4:45 pm

Required Identification - Only those visitors with the following types of valid photo identification shall be allowed to visit inmates in the custody of the Sheriff:

  • Driver’s license
  • DMV Identification Card
  • Federal, state, local government identification card (any state)
  • Military or U.S. Government identification card
  • Valid Passport
  • U.S. Immigration identification (including visas)
  • Border crossing card issued by the United States Department of Justice
  • Current high school identification for children who do not possess a current California driver’s license or California I.D. card
  • Matricula Consular ID card issued after April 22, 2002 by the Consul General of Mexico

A maximum of 2 visitors (including children) may visit an inmate at any one time. Minors must be accompanied by their parent or legal guardian. When preparing to schedule a visit, please have the following information ready for all visitors.

  • Full name
  • Identification number
  • Current home address

While we attempt to honor all visit reservations, visits may be changed or cancelled without notice. Also, changes in the inmate’s housing assignments may automatically cancel a scheduled visit.

General Rules for Visiting Inmates

  1. All visitors must check-in together one hour before the scheduled visit and are required to present valid photo identification. If a visitor is late, the visit may be cancelled.
  2. Walk-in visitors, that are on the inmates' pre-assigned visitation list, will be accepted on a space-available basis as long as the visitor's check-in one hour before the visit time.
  3. Visitors must be placed on a visitation list which the inmate provides. 4 visitors can be on the list. the list can be updated the last 3 days of the month and the first 3 days the inmate is in custody.
  4. Inmates have the right to refuse visits at any time.
  5. There is no expectation of privacy in a jail facility. Social visits may be monitored or recorded.
  6. Visitors who have been incarcerated within the last 12 month or on felony probation will not be permitted to visit.
  7. If you have previously been convicted of a felony and served time in state prison, you may not enter the grounds of a county jail without the permission of the Facility Commander. That permission should be obtained in writing before attempting to schedule a visit. Entry to the facility grounds without such permission is a felony (California Penal Code §4571).
  8. Visitors may be subject to a search of their person and belongings by deputies and are subject to warrant checks and arrest.
  9. Visitors must be 18 years or older to visit. Anyone under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. Children may not be left unattended, in parked vehicles or on the facility premises, at any time.
  10. No smoking or vaping is allowed in any part of the jail including the lobby.
  11. All visitors must dress in appropriate attire. Visitors who fail to comply with the dress code will be denied their visit. Please see below more information about the Visitor’s Apparel.
  12. Visitors are only allowed to visit with the inmate they signed up to visit. You may not change or trade inmates with another visitor. Once a visitor departs the visitation area, the visit with the inmate is terminated.
  13. Covertly communicating with an inmate by using notes, letters, hand gestures associated with gang affiliation, etc. is strictly prohibited.
  14. Any visitor committing a criminal act anywhere on jail property is subject to arrest.
  15. Any visitor bringing illegal contraband into the visiting area is subject to arrest.
  16. Violation of any of the rules by a visitor may subject him/her to loss of visiting privileges.

The following items are not permitted in the visiting area:

  • Purses / bags / backpacks
  • Firearms, knives or other weapons
  • Alcohol / Drugs
  • Cigarettes / E-cigarette or Vaping device
  • Pets
  • Food / Drinks
  • Cameras / Photography
  • Cell phones / Computers / Laptops or Electronic devices capable of recording
  • A citation will be issued for cell phones and the offender will be rejected from visitation for one year.

Visitor’s Apparel - Visitors are expected to dress to meet the constraints of the institutional setting. Attire should be conservative and not revealing. Lobby staff has final determination of acceptable clothing

  • Visitors shall be fully clothed
  • Visitors shall wear shoes or sandals
  • Visitors will not be permitted to remove clothing items such as sweaters, jackets, etc. Which would violate the dress code standards.
  • Visitors’ clothing must not refer to gang affiliation, display sexual or lewd comments or pictures, or have the potential for being offensive to others.
  • Visitors must not display articles of clothing that could deemed “gang” colors, such as hats, belts, bandanas, shoes, sportswear, etc.
  • Visitors must not display tattoos or other body art that is gang or hate related.
  • Clothing must cover the upper torso and lower/midbody parts.
  • Shorts or skirts must be at least to mid-thigh length.
  • Undergarments must not be visible.
  • Visitors must not wear sleeveless, strapless, halter, spaghetti straps, swimsuits, or bare midriff clothing.
  • No sheer or “see-through” clothing.
  • No pajamas (top and/or bottom)
  • No cigarette packs, loose cigarettes, cigarette lighter or cigars

Ask The Inmate

Ask a former inmate questions at no charge. The inmate answering has spent considerable time in the federal prison system, state and county jails, and in a prison that was run by the private prison entity CCA. Ask your question or browse previous questions in response to comments or further questions of members of the InmateAid community.