Confirm where an inmate is housed using the official locator for the agency that holds them. Federal inmates appear in the Federal Bureau of Prisons locator regardless of which BOP facility they are in. State inmates appear in their state DOC's offender search. County inmates appear on the booking sheriff's daily roster — and disappear from it once they are transferred to state or federal custody.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons publishes the canonical federal inmate locator at bop.gov/inmateloc. Search by 8-digit register number for an exact match, or by name plus race and age range. Results show the assigned facility, age, projected release date, and BOP register number. The locator covers everyone in BOP custody from 1982 forward, including those temporarily housed in private contract facilities and Residential Reentry Centers.
Every state DOC publishes its own offender search. Use it to confirm housing, see projected release date, and view the conviction county. Most state searches accept partial-name matches and let you filter by sex and age. A few states (notably Vermont and Massachusetts) provide more limited public-facing search and require contacting the central inmate records office for confirmation.
County jail rosters are operated by the sheriff and refresh in near real-time. The roster typically shows everyone booked in the last 24 hours, everyone currently in custody, and (in some counties) people held on detainer for ICE or U.S. Marshals. Inmates often vanish from the roster within minutes of release or transfer; if your loved one was on the roster yesterday and is not today, call the jail before assuming the worst — they may have been moved to a state facility or sent to court.
CoreCivic and the GEO Group operate dozens of private prisons under contract with the BOP, ICE, U.S. Marshals, and state DOCs. Inmates housed in private contract facilities still appear in the contracting agency's locator — search the BOP, the state DOC, or the ICE Online Detainee Locator System depending on who has primary custody.
Recently arrested people may not appear in any state or federal locator for 24 to 72 hours. They will appear on the booking sheriff's roster almost immediately. After conviction and transfer, they will appear in the receiving DOC or BOP locator within a few days. If a person you expected to find never appears, call the jurisdiction's records office directly — they can confirm by date of birth and case number.