California Inmate Search

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation are responsible for keeping up-to-date records of inmates in the California state prisons. The database that the department of corrections supply the public should not be used as official records. It may contain errors in its information and the department of corrections does not imply is correct.  

You can search for an inmate using their CDCR number or their first and last name.  Information on inmates that were recently booked, or transferring state prison, will not be available for a few days.

 If you have any issues with finding an inmate or want to know more on visitation schedules, you can contact the department of corrections Monday through Friday between the hours of 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at 916-445-6713. 

Unlike the department of corrections, city and county jails, keep their own records separate. If you are looking for an inmate in one of those jails, you will need to find the appropriate site for further details. 

When an offender is housed in a state prison, they are the property of the Department of Corrections Division. As stated above every state’s Department of Corrections Division has their own jail roster or database that the general public may use.

The CDCR inmate locator database can be found on the official California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation website.

You can search the database by using the following pieces of information:

• CDCR Number
• First Name
• Last Name
• Middle Name

The CDCR number will take precedence during all searches. The CDCR is a six-digit number. All incoming inmates will be assigned their CDCR by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. This will be the easiest and quickest way to locate an inmate.

If you decide to enter their CDCR number in the field provided, you will NOT need to enter their first and last name. However, the CDCR field will only show results for the EXACT number you have entered, so you will want to double check, if no results pop up.

If you don’t know the inmate’s CDCR number or there is no search results for the AIS number you plugged in, your next thing you can do is search by the inmate’s first and last name.

When you finally get some search results, you will see a list of all inmates that fit the criteria you plugged in.

You will see the following pieces of information:

• Inmate Name
• CDCR Number
• Age
• Admission Date
• Current Location

You can click on the inmate’s name to bring up their own personal file. When you do this, you will see the following information:

• Inmate Name
• CDCR Number
• Age
• Admission Date
• Current Location
• Location Link
• Parole Eligible Date (Month/Year)     
• Parole Eligible Date Information
• Additional Information

As we stated above, the only prisons you will be able to find in the California inmate search are state-operated facilities. All city and county jails are NOT in this database whatsoever. 

In the state of California, there is 97 state prisons. These prisons are available in the above database. All other prisons that are not listed below will NOT come up in the roster. Keep this in mind when searching for an inmate.

Looking for who’s in jail in city and county jails will be more difficult than trying to find out who’s in jail in a state or a federal prison. There is typically not much information on these smaller jails. A lot of city jails do not even supply an inmate database to the general public. However, it is not impossible to locate an inmate in one of those facilities, if you know exactly who to seek out with your questions. 

As far as county jails, majority of county jails will be managed and operated by that county’s Sheriff’s department. They will be the agency, you should reach out to if you believe the person you are looking for is in a county jail. 

As far as city jails, majority of city jails do not have much information about them. They are typically just holding pens for inmates to be transferred out to their “permanent” jail. If you believe the person you are looking for is in a city jail, it is best to contact that cities corrections division. You can typically find all department information on the city’s official website.

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation offender search database is updated regularly. It is typically updated during normal business hours. You will notice that inmate’s information can change quite frequently. Especially, if they have court proceedings and such.

If you have any questions or want to have the updated information, you will be required to contact the facility that the inmate is in. They will have the utmost updated information available on the inmate.

If you believe the information on an inmate is incorrect, you will want to contact the facility in which the inmate is held to dispute the information.

In the jail roster, you will also find the inmate’s mugshot. This mugshot is taken when an inmate is being booked and processed into a state prison. The mugshots typically do not change unless an inmate is getting transferred into another state prison facility.

You can also use the VINELink (VINE) to get notifications on inmate’s moving throughout the system. You will need to select the state of California. You will then want to select that you are searching for an offender or a defendant.

You may notice that there is not a way to search for sex offenders in the California prison inmate lookup. That’s because the sex offender search is in a whole different database. Unlike the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation offender search this database is not available to the general public to use.

If you need to find information on a sex offender, you will need to contact the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation at 916-324-7308.