New Hampshire inmate search

In New Hampshire, counties operate the local jails. Every county runs its own detention facility for people just arrested or awaiting court dates. The Hillsborough County Department of Corrections, for instance, is a county department with its own county website.

With counties running these jails separately, you won't find one county jail office in the state capital that tracks every arrest. The county where police made the arrest is the one you'll deal with directly. If you know the town where the arrest happened, you can reach the right county jail quickly.

After a local arrest, confirm custody through the county roster or by contacting that jail. Counties run their own corrections departments, like the Hillsborough County Department of Corrections, so each county keeps its own custody records.

You can also check custody across the state through VINE or by calling 1-800-542-9904. That toll-free support line is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year to help callers locate an offender.

When an arrest is only a few hours old, phone the jail instead, since the booking process takes time to appear online.

State prisons are run by the New Hampshire Department of Corrections, or NHDOC. To find people in state custody, use the NHDOC Inmate Locator.

Searching state prisonses and county jail rosters cover different facilities. People stay in county jails right after an arrest and before trial. Only a court conviction followed by a state prison sentence puts someone in the NHDOC locator.

A family member arrested last night won't appear in the NHDOC tool. Use the state locator only for people serving a state sentence.

With New Hampshire VINE, you can look up an offender in custody and sign up for free status alerts. After signing up, you'll be notified if the person is transferred or released.

If you prefer talking to a person, the free VINE helpline is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year at 1-800-542-9904. Callers can get help finding an offender, arranging notifications, or reaching local victim services from staff on that line. The New Hampshire VINE English page also works on any phone or computer.

Bail commissioners, along with judges, set the terms for release once an arrest happens. The New Hampshire Law Library bail guides mention options such as:

• Personal recognizance: you promise to come back to court, with no cash paid first.
• Cash bail: paying the full bail amount.
• Court rules apply while you're out of custody under conditional release.
• Preventive detention: a person stays in jail until the trial begins.

Bail agents and bail bondsmen also work in the state. What a bail agent charges is the premium; the bond itself guarantees appearance in court. Bail recovery agents are registered by the Secretary of State. Under House Bill 260, the bail agent receives a premium, and 4 bail agents were registered in 2008.

Bail rules come from Article 33 in Part 1 of the NH Constitution, alongside RSA 597, RSA 106-F, RSA 598-A, RSA 416, and RSA 597:7-b. Since the 2020 Bail Commissioner Handbook, reform has stayed active and the statutes have changed.