Fresno County jail inmate search

The Fresno County Sheriff's Office operates the Inmate Info Center Search Page online. To search, you must give a last name and a first name, or provide a booking number.

Each record shows the charges, bail amount, booking number, housing location, and projected release date if known. A JID, the jail's own identification number for that person, also appears on each profile. Names don't show up until pre-booking finishes, which can take up to 4 hours.

Before anyone arrives at the jail, the arresting officers finish the pre-booking steps. The Booking and Classification page says this early step can take up to 4 hours.

Call (559) 600-8600 to check on a recent arrest, and read about the jail booking process while waiting.

Custody questions are answered by staff on two main lines. Each number is listed by purpose on the Incarcerated Person Search page and the General Information page:

• Inmate information: (559) 600-8600
• Alternate inmate information and Jail Information Office: (559) 475-9491
• Jail Watch Commander: (559) 600-8440
• TouchPay phone deposits: (866) 232-1899
• VINE service: (877) 411-5588

TouchPay and VINE are only for deposits or automated custody alerts, so don't use them for general jail questions.

Fresno has three separate jail buildings for people in custody. Look at the roster on the Incarcerated Person Search page first, so you head to the right street address:

• Main Jail: 1225 M Street, Fresno, CA 93721
• North Annex Jail: 1265 M Street, Fresno, CA 93721
• West Annex Jail: 2208 Merced Street, Fresno, CA 93721

Visiting hours change from building to building, so confirm where the person is housed before you go.

All three county jail buildings are run by the Fresno County Sheriff's Office, which also keeps the public custody records. The sheriff's Incarcerated Person Search page gives you direct access to the lookup tool and jail contact numbers.

To visit someone in custody, you don't have to make an appointment. Before you go, use the sheriff's Visiting page to check hours for the person's building.

• All walk-in visits are first come, first served.
• Visits last 30 minutes each.
• Visits allow up to 2 visitors at a time, and a minor family member may be 1 of them.
• The Main, North Annex, and West Annex jails keep different hours.

Every letter needs the person's name and a booking number or JID on it. As the General Information page instructs, write Fresno County Jail 1900 on the envelope and mail it to PO Box 96777, Las Vegas, NV 89193.

Add funds only through TouchPay with facility number 293721 and the booking number. The Money Accounts page takes cash, Visa, or MasterCard at lobby kiosks, online at touchpaydirect.com, or at 1-866-232-1899.

Money in the account buys items at the commissary, the jail's store. There's a $175 weekly cap on food, toiletries, writing materials, and postage.

Each person receives 3 free calls during booking, to a relative, a bail agent, or an attorney. GTL, also called ViaPath, then handles outgoing calls through a prepaid account or as collect calls.

Set up an account on the Incarcerated Person Telephones page at web.connectnetwork.com or 1-800-483-8314.

Names, mugshot photos, and arrest records never appear on County Jail Lookup. To see what the county publishes, open the Inmate Info Center Search Page from the sheriff.

A roster profile shows the booking number, JID, charges, where the person is housed, bail amount, and an expected release date if known.

Someone can leave custody with a bail bond, a financial guarantee, if they promise to appear in court. Bail gets set at booking, and most people qualify, per the Booking and Classification page.

In the holding cells, phones are available, plus a posted list of bail agents, for arranging bail with an agent, friends, or family. Compare surety bonds and court release options by reading about bail bonds.

The written order to appear in court rather than remain in custody is called a citation release. The Booking and Classification page says citation release can be an option shortly after booking for some people.

Intoxicated people are held up to 6 hours or longer. Call (559) 600-8600 for release questions.