Virginia Beach, VA Jail Inmate Search & Booking Lookup

Find a Virginia Beach Inmate and Verify the Current Booking

For a current Virginia Beach jail inmate search, start with the Virginia Beach Sheriff’s Office inmate lookup. The local jail is the Virginia Beach Correctional Center (VBCC), operated by the Virginia Beach Sheriff’s Office. The official lookup is the most useful first stop for confirming current custody, charges, available bonding information, a booking/OMS number and a mugshot when displayed.

Virginia Beach, Virginia · Information reviewed October 2026

How to Search the Official Virginia Beach Jail Roster

The Sheriff’s Office describes its inmate lookup as the public search for current Virginia Beach Correctional Center inmates. Use it before paying for a bond, sending money, mailing anything or scheduling services because the booking number shown by VBSO is also used as the inmate’s OMS identifier for several jail services.

1. Open the official VBSO Inmate Lookup.
2. Start with the person’s legal first and last name. Check spelling, hyphens, suffixes and middle-name variations if the first search fails.
3. If the system offers an identifier search and you already know the inmate’s booking or OMS number, use the number exactly as issued.
4. Open the matching inmate record and compare identifying details before assuming it is the correct person.
5. Record the Booking/OMS number. You may need it for mail, canteen deposits and other inmate services.
6. Check charges and bonding information, then use the appropriate Virginia court system if you also need a hearing date or case status.

Official source: Virginia Beach Sheriff’s Office.

What the Virginia Beach Booking Lookup Can Tell You

VBSO specifically states that its current inmate lookup provides charges, bonding information and mugshots for current VBCC inmates. The booking number is especially useful because VBSO also identifies it as the OMS number used for inmate-account and mail purposes.

Do not treat a jail roster as a criminal-history report. An arrest or charge does not establish guilt. Charges can be reduced, amended, dismissed or resolved differently in court.

What to Do If You Cannot Find the Inmate

Virginia Beach Jail vs. Virginia State Prison

This distinction solves many failed searches. VBCC is a local city jail. VBSO says it houses people awaiting trial, people serving local sentences and people awaiting transfer to the Virginia Department of Corrections.

The VADOC locator is separate from the local jail roster and is updated on its own schedule. If someone disappears from the Virginia Beach jail lookup after sentencing, a transfer is one of the possibilities worth checking.

Bond, Bail and Release Information

The current VBSO inmate record can show bonding information, but the legal decision is made by the magistrate or court. The current VBCC inmate rulebook explains that an arrested person is taken before a magistrate who determines whether bond will be allowed and, when applicable, the type and amount.

Possible outcomes include:

• Personal recognizance: release may be authorized on the person’s promise to appear.
• Cash bond: the required amount is posted according to the magistrate or court order.
• Property bond: property may be used when legally approved and all requirements are met.
• Surety / professional bondsman: an eligible person may use a licensed bonding agent.
• No bond initially: the person remains in custody and appears before a judge. A later bond reconsideration may be requested.

Before giving money to anyone claiming to arrange a release, verify the inmate and current bond directly through official channels. The City of Virginia Beach has also warned about callers pretending to be court, police or Sheriff’s Office personnel and demanding money to avoid arrest.

Check the official Virginia Beach Magistrate Office information.

Virginia Beach Jail Visitation and Phone Calls

On-site visitation

Friends and family do not have face-to-face contact visits at VBCC. On-site public visitation is conducted using video terminals in the visitation room.

• Regular inmates: one 25-minute visit per week.
• Trusty and Workforce inmates: two visits per week; the current VBSO visitation system lists 55-minute visits for these classifications.
• Schedule at least 24 hours in advance.
• Appointments may be made up to seven days ahead.
• Up to three visitors may use one terminal, including children.
• Visitors under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian with valid identification.
• Arrive about 15 minutes before the scheduled appointment.
• Visitors are subject to search and dress-code requirements.

Remote video and communication rates

VBSO’s current Active Alerts page lists these rates as effective June 5, 2026:

• Phone calls: $0.10 per minute
• Video visits: $0.19 per minute
• Tablet content: $0.07 per minute
• Messaging: $0.50 per message

VBSO also states that the inmate telephone system generally operates from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., subject to housing status, disciplinary restrictions and facility lockdowns. Each inmate receives one free five-minute call per month under the policy effective June 1, 2025.

Check current VBSO communication alerts and rates.

How to Send Money to a Virginia Beach Inmate

First locate the inmate and copy the Booking/OMS number. VBSO provides several methods for funding an inmate’s canteen account.

VBSO also operates CareMart for approved food, clothing and care-package purchases. For Canteen or CareMart delivery issues, VBSO lists (757) 385-4691.

Read the current VBSO Inmate Canteen Fund instructions.

How to Send Mail: Important 2026 Changes

Virginia Beach changed personal inmate mail procedures in July 2026. Personal mail from family and friends is now processed for electronic delivery to the inmate’s tablet.

Personal letters, photographs and drawings

For the personal-mail system, VBSO instructs senders to include:

• the complete facility name;
• the inmate’s full name and OMS number;
• the sender’s full name and physical mailing address; and
• only permitted personal correspondence such as letters, photographs or drawings.

VBSO also announced that books, magazines and periodicals mailed directly to inmates are no longer accepted under its August 2026 policy. Because these rules changed recently, check the official mail page immediately before sending anything.

Check current Virginia Beach inmate mail rules.

Property Pickup and Emergency Messages

The current VBCC inmate rulebook says an inmate who wants another person to pick up property must submit a property-release form and identify the individual items to be released. The form is valid for 30 days. Clothing and medication are not released through this process.

The property window is located near the Magistrate’s Office. VBSO says only limited incoming property is accepted, including court clothing for a jury trial, eyeglasses and valid photo identification, subject to current rules.

For a verified emergency message involving an inmate, VBSO states that the Watch Commander or chaplain may handle qualifying emergency requests. The Watch Commander’s office number is (757) 385-4915.

Open the current VBSO Inmate Rulebook PDF.

How to Check the Virginia Beach Criminal Court Case

The jail roster answers the custody question. The court system is better for case numbers, hearings, charges filed in court and later case activity.

General District Court

Virginia Beach General District Court handles misdemeanors and conducts preliminary hearings in felony cases. The Virginia court system allows searches using a defendant’s name, case number or hearing date.

1. Open the General District Court Online Case Information System.
2. Select Virginia Beach as the court.
3. Choose a name, case-number or hearing-date search.
4. Enter the defendant’s information carefully.
5. Open the matching case to review the available court details.

Circuit Court

Felony cases that proceed beyond the district-court stage may be handled in Virginia Beach Circuit Court. The Circuit Court Criminal Division lists (757) 385-4187 for criminal matters.

Virginia Beach Circuit Court information.

Older Inmate Records and Public-Records Requests

If you are researching an older incarceration rather than current custody, the live jail search may not answer the question. VBSO confirms that it holds records concerning inmates housed in the Virginia Beach Correctional Center and provides a Virginia Freedom of Information Act request process for qualifying public records.

The Sheriff’s Office directs record requests through the City of Virginia Beach FOIA Request Center and also publishes the following VBSO contact for questions concerning records:

VBSO notes that it does not provide criminal background checks. An inmate record, court record and statewide criminal-history check are different products.

Read the official VBSO FOIA and records-request instructions.

Useful Internal Guides

Virginia Beach Jail Inmate Search FAQs

Use the Official Record for the Final Live Status

The most efficient order is simple: search VBSO first, save the Booking/OMS number, check bond or custody details, then use the Virginia court system only when you need the court case. If the person has moved into state custody, switch to VADOC. This avoids outdated third-party listings and keeps each next step tied to the agency that actually controls the information.

Independent information notice: CountyJailInmateSearch.org is not the Virginia Beach Sheriff’s Office, Virginia Beach Correctional Center or a government agency. Jail status, bond, visitation schedules, communication prices and mail procedures can change. Official agency systems control current information.

Official Sources

• Virginia Beach Sheriff’s Office
• About Virginia Beach Correctional Center
• VBSO Calls & Visits
• VBSO Inmate Canteen Fund
• VBSO Inmate Mail
• VBSO Active Alerts & Information
• VBSO Inmate Rulebook
• Virginia Beach General District Court
• Virginia Beach Circuit Court
• Virginia Department of Corrections