Search Arrest, Mugshot & Inmate Records by Name
Search by name and state for arrest, booking, mugshot, inmate, jail roster, prison, criminal and court-record search categories.
Independent records-search resource. This website is not a government agency, police department, sheriff's office, jail, prison or courthouse. Search coverage varies by source and jurisdiction. Some links may lead to third-party services, and compensation may be received when a partner service is used.
Find a Minnesota Jail Inmate Without Searching the Wrong System
If you searched for a Minnesota jail inmate search, the fastest route depends on where the person is being held. Someone arrested recently is usually searched through the county sheriff or county jail roster. Someone transferred into Minnesota state correctional custody is searched through the Minnesota Department of Corrections (DOC).
Minnesota does not use one county-jail roster that replaces every local sheriff search. Each county can publish its own inmate locator, booking list, dashboard or PDF roster. The useful approach is to identify the arrest county first, search that county’s official system, and move to DOC, court or federal records only when the county search does not fit the person’s custody status.
How to Search for a Minnesota Jail Inmate for Free
- Identify the likely county.
Start with the city or location where the arrest occurred. A county jail search is usually the right first step for a recent arrest. - Open that county’s official jail roster.
Look for labels such as Inmate Search, Jail Roster, In Custody, Current Inmates, Booking Reports or Detainee List. - Search the legal name.
Start with the last name and first name. Avoid a nickname when the legal booking name is known. - Open the likely match and verify it.
Compare age or date of birth when shown, booking number, booking date, arresting agency, charges and facility. Do not identify a person from the name alone. - Save the booking information.
Write down the booking or inmate number, current facility and any court file number. These identifiers make later searches much easier. - Use a different official system only if needed.
If the person is no longer in county custody, check Minnesota DOC, MCRO, VINE or the federal locator depending on the situation.
You do not need to pay a commercial people-search website simply to start a Minnesota inmate lookup. The county and state resources below provide the primary public-search routes.
Which Minnesota Inmate Search Should You Use?
| You need to find | Best starting point | What it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Person recently arrested | County sheriff / jail roster | Current county custody, booking details and locally published jail information. |
| Person in a Minnesota state prison | Minnesota DOC search | People within the Minnesota corrections system; search by name or MNDOC Offender ID. |
| Custody or release notification | VINE for participating local custody; Minnesota Haven for DOC custody | Custody-status information and notifications where the service applies. |
| Criminal court case or hearing | Minnesota Court Records Online (MCRO) | Public court cases and case information subject to Minnesota’s online-access rules. |
| Minnesota public conviction history | BCA Public Criminal History | Public Minnesota criminal-history information; this is not a live county-jail roster. |
| Federal prisoner | Federal BOP Inmate Locator | People who have entered Federal Bureau of Prisons custody. |
Official Minnesota County Jail Roster Links
Minnesota county systems do not all look the same. Some have searchable databases, some use open-data dashboards, and some publish daily or frequently refreshed reports. These official resources cover several of the state’s most frequently searched areas.
| County / area | Official inmate-search route | Useful detail |
|---|---|---|
| Hennepin County Minneapolis, Bloomington area | Hennepin County Jail Roster | The Sheriff publishes searchable booking/custody records. The jail information page says the roster is updated hourly. |
| Ramsey County Saint Paul area | Ramsey County ADC Roster | The official dashboard can be filtered by first name, last name, age or booking number and states that data updates every 30 minutes. |
| Dakota County Hastings, Eagan, Burnsville, Apple Valley | Dakota County Jail Inmate Search | Use the county’s jail inmate-search page for current local custody information. |
| Anoka County Anoka, Blaine, Coon Rapids area | Anoka County Inmate Locator | The county states that the locator includes people currently in custody and people released from the jail or workhouse during the previous 30 days. |
| Washington County Stillwater, Woodbury area | Washington County Law Enforcement Public Data | The Sheriff publishes a Daily Jail Booking Report and an Inmate Roster Report as public reports. |
| St. Louis County Duluth area | St. Louis County Jail / Inmate Locator | The county states that its online jail roster is updated hourly. |
| Olmsted County Rochester area | Olmsted County Who Is in Custody? | Use the Adult Detention Center custody list or call the ADC at 507-328-6790 when live confirmation is needed. |
| Stearns County St. Cloud area | Current Stearns County Inmates Past Inmate Search | Stearns separates current inmates from past inmate records, which can help when a person has already been released. |
| Scott County Shakopee area | Scott County Jail Roster | Use the Sheriff’s roster for local jail custody and booking information. |
County roster coverage, retention periods and update schedules differ. Always read the notice displayed on the specific county’s live search before treating an old booking or release field as current.
If You Know the Minnesota City but Not the County
A city name often tells you which county roster to start with, but do not assume every arrest is booked in the same place. Arresting agencies can transfer people, and some Minnesota communities cross county lines.
| Arrest area | County to check first | Search tip |
|---|---|---|
| Minneapolis / Bloomington | Hennepin County | Start with the Hennepin Sheriff jail roster. |
| Saint Paul | Ramsey County | Start with the Ramsey Adult Detention Center roster. |
| Rochester | Olmsted County | Use the Adult Detention Center custody list. |
| Duluth | St. Louis County | Use the St. Louis County jail roster. |
| Eagan / Burnsville / Apple Valley / Hastings | Dakota County | Start with Dakota County Jail Inmate Search. |
| Stillwater / Woodbury | Washington County | Check the county’s inmate roster and daily booking report. |
| Shakopee | Scott County | Use the Scott County Jail Roster. |
| St. Cloud | Check the exact arrest location | St. Cloud spans Stearns, Benton and Sherburne counties, so Stearns should not automatically be assumed for every arrest. |
Minnesota DOC Inmate Lookup for State-Prison Custody
The Minnesota Department of Corrections Search for Individuals and Fugitives is the correct route when the person is in Minnesota state corrections rather than a local county jail.
- Open the Minnesota DOC search page.
Select the incarcerated-individual locator provided by DOC. - Search by name or MNDOC Offender ID.
An offender ID is the most precise option when you already have it. - Compare identifying information.
Make sure the record belongs to the person you are looking for before relying on facility or release information. - Note the current correctional location and status.
Use those details before arranging mail, visits, communication or other services.
How to Check Charges, Court Dates and Criminal Records
A jail roster answers a custody question. It is not the same as the court file or a statewide criminal-history search.
- Find the inmate in the county roster first.
- Write down the person’s full booking name and any court file or case number shown.
- Open Minnesota Court Records Online (MCRO).
- Search the case using the strongest identifier available.
- Confirm the county and defendant before relying on the case details.
MCRO has online-access restrictions. The Minnesota Judicial Branch specifically cautions that name searches can match the wrong person. It also states that some pending criminal, traffic and petty-misdemeanor cases without a conviction are not returned through defendant-name searches. When you already know a case number, use the case identifier rather than assuming a failed name search means no case exists.
For a Minnesota public criminal-history search, use the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Public Criminal History system. That service is different from a jail roster: it is intended for qualifying public criminal-history information, not a live list of people currently detained in county jails.
What to Do if the Minnesota Inmate Search Shows No Result
- Check the legal spelling. Try the surname alone, remove a middle name, and check hyphenated names or suffixes.
- Allow for booking processing. A recently arrested person may not appear until intake and a booking number are completed.
- Confirm the correct county. The arrest location, arresting police agency and booking county are not always obvious from the city name.
- Check recent-release coverage. Some county systems retain released people for days or weeks; others focus mainly on current custody.
- Look for a transfer. After sentencing, a person may move from a county jail to Minnesota DOC custody.
- Check another custody system. Federal prisoners require the BOP locator, and a person arrested on a federal matter may not appear in Minnesota DOC.
- Search the court record. A filed court case may remain visible after the person leaves the jail.
- Call the jail when custody is time-sensitive. Use the telephone number published on the county’s official jail or sheriff page.
If you need a broader explanation of how county systems differ, see our county jail inmate search and roster lookup guide. If federal custody is possible, use our Federal Jail Inmate Search guide.
After You Find the Inmate: Save These Details First
Before opening a visitation, commissary, phone or bond website, save the information that connects the service to the correct person.
| Information to save | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Full booking name | Helps match jail, court and service-provider records. |
| Booking / inmate number | Often required for deposits, mail, phone services and jail questions. |
| Current facility | Rules and vendors vary by county and facility. |
| Booking date | Helps separate multiple arrests or people with similar names. |
| Listed charges | Useful for locating the correct court case; charges are allegations, not convictions. |
| Bond / bail information | Must be rechecked before payment because court action can change it. |
| Court file number | Best identifier for following the case through MCRO when available. |
Do not assume that Hennepin, Ramsey, Dakota, Anoka or another Minnesota county uses the same visitation company, mail address, telephone provider or deposit service. Once you identify the facility, follow that jail’s current official instructions.
Related Inmate Search Guides
Minnesota Jail Inmate Search FAQs
1. Is the Minnesota jail inmate search free?
Yes. Minnesota county sheriffs and state agencies provide public custody-search resources that can be opened without buying a commercial people-search report. Start with the official county jail roster for a recent arrest or Minnesota DOC for state-prison custody.
2. Is there one statewide Minnesota county jail roster?
No single Minnesota county-jail roster replaces every local jail search. County jails maintain separate systems, so the most reliable method is to identify the arrest county and use that sheriff or county government’s inmate-search page. VINE can supplement custody searches for participating facilities.
3. How do I find someone who was arrested today in Minnesota?
Identify the county where the person was arrested and search that county’s official jail roster first. If the arrest was very recent and no result appears, the person may still be in transport, intake or booking. Recheck the live roster and call the jail if immediate confirmation is necessary.
4. How do I search for a Hennepin County inmate?
Use the official Hennepin County Sheriff’s Jail Roster at jailroster.hennepin.us. Search the person’s name, review the matching booking, and confirm identifying information before relying on charges, custody or release details.
5. Where do I search for a person arrested in Saint Paul?
Start with the Ramsey County Adult Detention Center roster. Its official open-data dashboard can be filtered by first name, last name, age or booking number and states that roster information is updated every 30 minutes.
6. When should I use the Minnesota DOC inmate search?
Use Minnesota DOC when the person is in the state corrections system rather than a county jail. The DOC locator supports searches using a person’s name or MNDOC Offender ID and is the better route after a transfer from local jail custody to state correctional custody.
7. How do I find a Minnesota inmate’s charges or court date?
Start with the jail roster for booking information, then use Minnesota Court Records Online for the court case. If the jail record provides a court file number, use that identifier because name-only court searches have limitations and can match multiple people.
8. Why is a recently arrested person not showing in the jail roster?
The person may still be going through booking, may have been released, may be held in another county, may be listed under a different legal-name format, or may have moved into state or federal custody. Check these possibilities before concluding that no custody record exists.
9. Do Minnesota jail rosters show mugshots, bond and release dates?
It depends on the county and the individual record. Minnesota jail systems publish different fields. A roster may show booking information, charges, bond, court data, release information, arresting agency or a booking photo, but you should not expect every county to publish every field.
10. How can I receive Minnesota inmate release notifications?
For participating county and local custody systems, VINE can provide custody information and notification options. For a person in a Minnesota Department of Corrections facility, Minnesota’s official materials direct users to Minnesota Haven and DOC victim-services resources for qualifying custody-status notifications.
Use the Live Official Record for the Final Status
The quickest Minnesota inmate-search workflow is simple: county jail first for a recent arrest, Minnesota DOC for state correctional custody, MCRO for the court case, and BOP for federal incarceration. Once you find the correct person, save the booking or offender number and current facility before arranging bail, visitation, deposits, mail or other services.
Information reviewed October 2026. Jail custody, roster coverage, charges, court schedules, bond conditions and facility procedures can change. CountyJailInmateSearch.org is an independent informational resource and is not a Minnesota sheriff’s office, jail, court or corrections agency.