Carry out a Free Iowa Inmate Search (Resource)

Run a free Iowa inmate search using the streamlined guidance outlined in this resource.

Inmates – whether housed in jail or prison – can be identified and located through online databases of bookings and hold locations in many counties across the state. Even when online databases aren’t available for certain counties, contacting the correct agency can often still yield valuable results.

This resource seeks to ethically empower Iowa citizens with the knowledge and tools necessary to locate inmates across the state.

The Difference Between Being Incarcerated in Jail vs. Prison

Regardless of whether inmates are in jail or prison, they’re considered incarcerated. In many states, jails can operate on either the city or county level. Jails in Iowa operate specifically on a county level, overseen by individual county sheriff’s offices.

Police departments bring the individuals they arrest to these locations, where they’re held until court or until the end of their sentence.

Prisons operate on either the state or federal level. State prisons hold individuals convicted of crimes who have longer sentences or require higher levels of security. They’re regulated by the Iowa Department of Corrections (DOC).¹

The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) operates several federal prison facilities across the nation.^{2, 3} These hold individuals who committed federal crimes for the duration of their sentence.

Typically, most of the residents found via an inmate search will be in jails, while state prisoners will make up the second highest number. Federal prisoners are the least common.

How To Track Down Individuals Held in Iowa Jails

While some states have both city and county jails, operated by the municipal police and county sheriff’s departments, Iowa operates them on the county level. This means that to locate inmates at the city level, searchers should default to the local county jail.

People arrested in Polk County, the largest county in the state, go to the Polk County Jail operated by the local sheriff’s office.^{4, 5} The jail offers extensive public record search tools online, including:

• Current inmate listing⁶
• Bookings from the previous 24 hours
• Bookings on the prior date
• Releases from the previous 24 hours
• Releases from the prior date
• Released inmate search

The current inmate listing tool is the most relevant when performing an inmate search. It lists individuals based on booking date, with the most recent at the top of the list. Enter a name into the search field at the top of the page to narrow down results.

Only the name, age and booking date will show on the main search page, but clicking on “view” on the left-hand side reveals more information about the inmate, including:

• Full Name
• Inmate Number
• Physical Profile (including hair color, eye color, race, sex, height and weight)
• Current Holding Location
• City
• Booking Number
• Charges (including booking date, case number, case date, arresting agency, charge count, bail amount, bail type and charge details)

The other tools work similarly, producing records for inmates meeting the search criteria. The released inmate search, however, requires entering an exact first and last name or an exact inmate number to pull up information.

Getting information about Iowa crimes and inmates in counties without online lookups requires contacting the sheriff’s office or arresting agency directly. To inquire about inmates at the Polk County Jail, researchers would contact the county’s Sheriff Department at:

Polk County Sheriff
5995 NE 14th Street
Des Moines, IA 50313

Phone: 515-286-3814
Fax: 515-323-5473

How To Perform an Iowa Inmate Search & Verify If Someone Is Being Held in a State Prison

Because offender and criminal records are deemed public information in Iowa, the Department of Corrections (DOC) provides an offender search tool, which can be used to identify those in custody.⁷ It’s updated weekly, so information may not be completely up to date, but it still provides valuable information.

The search form has several fields to help locate individuals, but none of them are required. Submitting the search without any data results in a list of offenders in alphabetical order by last name.

To narrow down the search, fill in as much information as possible. Available fields include:

• Name (first, middle and last)
• Birth Date (enter a range if unsure of the exact date)
• Offender Number
• Sex
• Location (select from a dropdown menu)
• Offense
• County of Commitment (select from a dropdown menu)

A list of inmates will populate, providing a name, offender number, birth date and sex. Clicking on a name brings users to a more detailed page, which will provide the same data as the list mentioned above plus additional information, including:

• Offense
• Tentative Discharge Date or Supervision Discharge Date
• Commitment Date
• Recall Date (if applicable)
• Most Recent Parole Board Decision (if applicable)
• Mandatory Minimum (if applicable)
• Charges
• Current Supervision Status (this may show incarceration or supervision and an end date)

For inquiries or more information, contact the Iowa DOC directly at 515-725-5701 or visit in person at:

Iowa Department of Corrections Central Office
510 East 12th Street
Des Moines, IA 50319

The search tool also recommends victims of the offenders register for notifications of changes in custody status with VINELink. Because the state database is only updated weekly, VINELink is the quickest way to discover if an inmate has been released.

Other tools may provide further information or guidance during an inmate search, including:

• Iowa DOC Victim Services
• Iowa DOC Friends & Family Resources
• Iowa DOC Visitor Application Information
• Iowa Prisons & Community Based Corrections District list
• Iowa Board of Parole Hearings & Interviews
• Iowa Board of Parole General Frequently Asked Questions

How To Get Information on Someone in Federal Prison

Inmates in the Bureau of Prisons’ (BOP) custody and housed in federal prisons appear on a federal inmate search.^{9, 10} This tool also identifies those who’ve ever been in federal custody since 1982, though records from before this time must be sourced elsewhere.

This tool requires specificity to work properly; users must submit complete data for either an identifying number (which may be a BOP register number, District of Columbia Department of Corrections (DCDC) number, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) number or Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) number) or a first initial and last name.

Note: Inserting partial last names or numbers won’t work because the database only provides exact matches.

Using the find-by-name option requires full last names spelled correctly, though other data can help filter results for inmates with particularly common names.

Fields for middle names, race, sex and age can all assist with narrowing down results, though they aren’t strictly required.

The database provides brief results for any prospective matches. These include:

• Register Number
• Age
• Race
• Sex
• Release Date (either a date that has passed or an estimated future release date)
• Current Location (if currently in BOP custody)

Individuals who never served a federal incarceration sentence may populate here under certain circumstances, as the database has information about anyone who’s been in BOP custody. This may include those detained for pre-trial proceedings who had their charges dismissed, those held as material witnesses or those held in civil contempt.

Inmates released prior to 1982 won’t appear on this list, as records before then are archived by the National Archives Records Administration (NARA). The public can request copies of federal criminal court records, which may include a disposition and detail the sentencing of individuals before 1982. Complete a request for records online or submit a request via mail or fax to a Federal Records Center.^{11, 12}

Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) is another option to access federal records from before 1982.¹³ Users can request court records either by specific court if they know where the case was tried or use the national index for a set fee.

Using the correct tools and knowing which agencies to contact helps simplify the Iowa inmate search process.