Montana inmate search

Someone who's been arrested stays in a county jail until their court appearance. Both county sheriffs and county detention staff serve on the Montana Judicial Branch Pretrial Program advisory council and its working committee. This program was mandated by the 2017 Legislature to help courts review people being held locally.

Staff in 5 pilot counties use a Public Safety Assessment on arrested people held in jail. Judges get help setting release conditions from this validated risk tool. Among the pilot counties are Butte-Silver Bow, Lake, Lewis and Clark, and Missoula. Local staff hold people after an arrest, so the county jail is your first stop.

After an arrest, you can look for someone on the county's own roster, or phone the jail directly. People who've been arrested remain in local county jails as courts review their custody status. Detention staff record the arrest and finish court intake steps during the booking process. Pilot counties such as Missoula and Lake include the court risk assessment at intake.

New bookings take a while to appear, so call the jail instead when the arrest was only a few hours ago. You can also check custody status through the free automated Montana VINE system. It gives updates online or through its support line at 1-866-891-4724.

Known as DOC, the Montana Department of Corrections operates the offender database for the state. Basic criminal records can be looked up through the online Montana Department of Corrections offender search. The internet database covers adult felony offenders under DOC supervision.

County jail lookups differ greatly from a state search. Just after an arrest, people are held in county jails in places such as Lewis and Clark County or Butte-Silver Bow. Someone appears in the state database only after a felony conviction places them under DOC supervision. Your family member won't show up in the DOC system yet if they were arrested last night.

VINE is the short name for Montana VINELink, the state network for Victim Information and Notification Every Day. This free, confidential, automated service lets you look up someone's custody status. Automated alerts can also be set up by email, text message, or phone. You don't have to register.

For help by phone, call the Montana VINE support line at 1-866-891-4724. The state corrections department also runs a free automated VINE system for adult felony offenders under DOC supervision. Visit the Montana Department of Corrections victim notification page or call 800-456-3076 to register.

Courts set release conditions under state laws MCA 3-1-708 plus MCA 46-9-109 with subsection 3. Under those laws, courts in pilot counties may also use the risk assessment tool. Release options from the court include:

• A presumptive release
• Passive supervision with pretrial monitoring level 1
• Active supervision with pretrial monitoring level 2
• Stricter active supervision with pretrial monitoring level 3

Once a judge has set bail, you can bring in a bondsman, who then posts the commercial surety bail bond. As a financial guarantee, a bail bond lets someone who was arrested leave jail before their court date. The fee you pay the bondsman to write the bond is called a premium. The Montana Commissioner of Insurance issues the surety insurance producer licenses that bondsmen must hold. Among the bail bond bills from the 2025 Montana Legislature, House Bill 729 sought a 10% minimum premium; a veto killed it, so it isn't law. House Bill 396 and House Bill 415 became effective 10/1/2025, while Senate Bill 197, which would have repealed bond licenses, was tabled.