North Dakota inmate search

In North Dakota, a local arrest leads to a police department holding facility, a county jail, or a county-named correctional facility. A facility keeps people arrested within its area as they wait for court or for release.

Setting facility rules and publishing inspection reports on these lockups falls to the North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, namely its Correctional Facility Standards and Inspections division.

Since no single statewide county jail database exists, first figure out the county or city where the arrest occurred. To confirm custody, reach out to that local jail or to the state corrections department directly.

No single online roster in North Dakota covers every county jail, county-named facility, and police holding facility. To find out whether someone is in custody, look at the county's own roster or get in touch with the jail itself.

If someone was arrested recently, you have 4 options:

• Get in touch directly with the county jail or with the police holding facility.
• You can search ND SAVIN, a free program that tracks custody through VINE.
• Call the toll-free notification line at 1-866-631-8463.
• Get in touch with the state corrections agency directly.

You can prepare by reading about the jail search process. When the booking took place within the last few hours, phone the jail instead, since new arrests need time to appear online.

The North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, called the DOCR, operates the state prison system. To find people held in state custody, use the online DOCR Resident Lookup.

Only people currently held in a state correctional facility appear in that search. Anyone already released, or still sitting in a local jail, won't show up.

Searching state prisons is different from checking a county jail roster. People are held in local jails following an arrest, while people serving state sentences are held by the DOCR. Reaching out to the local jail or the DOCR directly is another option.

Through North Dakota VINELink, you can check on someone's custody status and sign up to get alerts. This free service comes from the state through the Statewide Automated Victim Information and Notification program, known as ND SAVIN. The service works through VINE, the Victim Information and Notification Every Day network.

When you've found someone in custody, free automated alerts are available by phone, text, or email if you sign up.

To check by phone, call the toll-free line at 1-866-631-8463 and press 1-1-0 for a live operator. More details are on the North Dakota Attorney General Victim Notifications page.

North Dakota Rule of Criminal Procedure 46 lets a magistrate order release in 4 ways:

• A personal recognizance release, meaning a written promise to come back to court with no money paid upfront.
• Money is owed only if the person misses court under an unsecured appearance bond.
• An appearance bond where you deposit up to 10% of the full bond amount.
• A deposit in cash, or a bail bond backed by sufficient solvent sureties.

A bail bond agent posts this financial guarantee, which is called a bail bond. Commercial bail is legal here. The North Dakota Insurance Department licenses agents, and insurers appoint them by power of attorney.

The premium is the fee a bail agent charges. An agent may not charge a premium, commission, or fee higher than 20% of the bail, or $150 if that is more, under North Dakota Century Code Chapter 26.1-26.6, Chapter 26.1-26, Section 26.1-26-33, and Administrative Code Section 45-02-02. Mileage reimbursement can be added on top.