How an Inmate Search Works in California

California keeps two kinds of custody and two kinds of search. The state prisons belong to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, CDCR, whose California Incarcerated Records and Information Search, CIRIS, returns the name, CDCR number, age, current location, commitment counties, admission date, and Board of Parole Hearings dates and outcomes for incarcerated persons currently in CDCR custody, as the state's service listing describes it. The county jails belong to the 58 sheriffs, each with its own inmate lookup.

CIRIS opens with a disclaimer that must be accepted: the tool is an informational service and not an official record, it may contain errors or omissions, some incarcerated persons are not included, and mistaken identification may occur when relying only on a name, age, CDCR number, admission date or location. Conviction information comes from the court, and anyone unable to locate a person contacts the CDCR Identification Unit at (916) 445-6713, Monday through Friday except holidays, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Pacific.

  • State prison: CIRIS, for people currently in CDCR custody, with the CDCR number that every later step, from money to visits, requires; the facility locator gives the institution's address and page.
  • County jail: the sheriff's lookup for the county of arrest, such as San Diego's Who's In Jail, Solano's VINE search or Orange County's Inmate Information System, each on the county's own site and listed on the California county pages.
  • Money: by electronic transfer through GTL/ConnectNetwork, JPay or Access Corrections for a fee, by money order or check to the JPay lock box in Los Angeles at no fee, or by check to the institution payable to CDCR with a 30 day hold; half of a deposit goes to any restitution the person owes, plus a 10 percent fee.
  • Visits: four steps on the visitation page, get approved, check the institution's visiting status, schedule through the Visitation Scheduling Application, prepare; questions to the institution's visiting sergeant or lieutenant on the Get Help page.

Written by SearchSystems.net from California's own systems: the CDCR California Incarcerated Records and Information Search (CIRIS), the State of California service listing for CIRIS, the CDCR Sending Money page, the CDCR Visitation Information page, the CDCR Facility Locator, the CDCR Sending Money or Packages page, the San Diego County Sheriff's VINE page, the Solano County Sheriff's Victim Info (VINE) page, the Orange County Sheriff's Inmate Information System page, each read on October 14, 2026 by the SearchSystems editorial team.

CIRIS: what a state prison result holds

A CIRIS result carries the fields the state lists for the service: the person's name, CDCR number, age, current location, the counties that committed them, the admission date, and the dates and outcomes of Board of Parole Hearings, and it exists only for people currently in CDCR custody, so a person paroled or discharged drops out of it. The disclaimer the searcher accepts says the department makes no representation that the information is complete, timely or accurate, that information about some incarcerated persons is not included, that misuse of the information can bring criminal prosecution or civil liability, and that disputes are governed by California law and filed in Sacramento County.

The search is not a conviction record: for conviction information the department points to the court or jurisdiction, and the California court records guide explains those files. The Identification Unit at (916) 445-6713 helps anyone who cannot find a person.

Back to the topics

The county jails and their lookups

Someone just arrested, held before trial, or serving a county sentence is in a sheriff's jail, not in CIRIS. Each county runs its own search, and the counties read show how they differ. The San Diego County Sheriff's Who's In Jail site lists its inmates and links each inmate's page to VINE registration, with a toll free line at (877) 411-5588, so that a registered email or phone number is notified when the inmate is released, is pending release on a scheduled date, or is transferred to another county or to state prison; the service came to the county partly through a California State Sheriffs' Association grant.

The Solano County Sheriff describes VINE as a free, anonymous telephone service for offenders in the Solano County jails, reached at 1-877-331-8463 or on VINELink by choosing California, then CA_MULTICO, then County and Solano County, with a last name, a first name or initial and optionally a date of birth or age range, and registration by phone number and PIN. The Orange County Sheriff's Inmate Information System now requires an account with an email address and password on the county's Public Services Portal and does not show inmate charges, which bail bond personnel obtain by their existing method.

Every other sheriff's lookup is reached from that county's page on this site, and the California arrest records page explains what a booking makes public.

Back to the topics

Where the institutions are

The facility locator lists 31 adult institutions by name and abbreviation, from Avenal State Prison, the California Correctional Institution, the California Health Care Facility in Stockton, the Institutions for Men and for Women, the Men's Colony, the Medical Facility and the Rehabilitation Center, through the state prisons at Corcoran, Los Angeles County, Sacramento and Solano, Calipatria, Centinela, the Central California Women's Facility, the Correctional Training Facility, Folsom, High Desert, Ironwood, Kern Valley, Mule Creek, North Kern, Pelican Bay, Pleasant Valley, R.J.

Donovan, Salinas Valley, the San Quentin Rehabilitation Center, the Sierra Conservation Center, the Substance Abuse Treatment Facility at Corcoran, Valley State Prison and Wasco State Prison, plus the conservation fire camps from Acton to Washington Ridge, including the Malibu and Puerta La Cruz camps for women, the parole units and offices, the community correctional facilities and the Ventura Training Center, each with an interactive map.

The department's home page adds population reports, the Board of Parole Hearings, a public records portal and a questions and concerns office.

Back to the topics

Sending money: three routes and the restitution deduction

The Sending Money page starts with the CDCR number from CIRIS and the location from the facility locator, then gives three ways. An electronic funds transfer through GTL/ConnectNetwork, JPay or Access Corrections is a paid service that posts to the trust account within one to three days and may be used only for the trust account or restitution. The lock box takes a money order, personal check or cashier's check at no fee, payable to JPay with the Money Order Deposit Form coupon giving the sender's name and address, mailed to JPay, 2202 South Figueroa St, Box #3001, Los Angeles, CA 90007, with no letters enclosed, personal checks held 10 business days, a maximum of $999.99 per coupon and no JPay account needed; it accepts incarcerated person funds only.

A check or money order mailed to the institution, payable to CDCR with the person's name and CDCR number and the sender's name and address, costs nothing and is held 30 days. Money sent for a person's own use is subject to restitution and administrative charges: since January 1, 2007, when the person owes a court ordered restitution fine, the department deducts 50 percent or the balance owing, whichever is less, from wages and trust deposits whatever their source, plus an administrative fee of 10 percent of the deduction, a maximum of 55 percent, with the money going to the Crime Victims' Restitution Fund under CCR section 3097; the Victim Compensation Board answers at 800-777-9229.

Money for family visiting goes only after instructions from the institution's Family Visiting Office and never by electronic transfer, and money for temporary community leave follows the counselor's instructions.

Back to the topics

Packages from approved vendors

Quarterly packages come only through private vendors the department has approved, under contracts dating from 2003, and the packages page says the approval covers minimum security requirements and general business intent, that purchases are at the buyer's sole risk, and that the department does not mediate disputes under Department Operations Manual section 54030.9.1(a)(7). Funds sent to a person remain subject to restitution, but a family that buys a package directly from a vendor is not affected by it.

The rules on funds enclosed in correspondence, adopted January 1, 2017, the inmate property article of the operations manual and the religious personal property matrix are linked from the same page.

Back to the topics

Visiting

The department's visitation page lays out four steps: get approved, check the institution's visiting status, schedule the visit, and prepare to visit. In person visits at institutions are scheduled by logging on to the Visitation Scheduling Application, VSA, whose user instructions are published on the page, and the department calls visiting an important way to maintain family and community ties while putting the health and safety of those who live and work in its facilities first.

The Get Help page carries the frequently asked questions and the visiting sergeant and lieutenant phone numbers for each institution, and the family and friends section covers contacting an incarcerated person, tablets and telephones, packages and money.

Back to the topics

Reading a California result

A CIRIS hit places a person in CDCR custody with a number, a prison and the parole hearing history, under a disclaimer that it is not an official record and that a name alone can misidentify; no hit means the person is not a state prisoner today, which leaves the county jail lookups and VINE. The CDCR number unlocks money, packages and visits, and the restitution rule means that more than half of a deposit can go to a victim fund before the person sees it.

Back to the topics

Questions about finding an inmate in California

Can anyone search California state prison inmates?
Yes. CIRIS is open to the public after its disclaimer is accepted, returning name, CDCR number, age, current location, commitment counties, admission date and parole hearing dates for people currently in CDCR custody.
Does CIRIS show county jail inmates?
No. County jail inmates are found through the sheriff of that county, such as San Diego's Who's In Jail or the Solano County VINE search; the sheriffs are listed on the California county pages.
Is a CIRIS result an official record?
No. The department says the tool is informational only, may contain errors or omissions, leaves some people out, and that mistaken identification can occur from a name or number alone; conviction information comes from the court.
How do I send money to a California inmate without a fee?
By money order, personal check or cashier's check payable to JPay with the deposit coupon to the lock box at 2202 South Figueroa St, Box #3001, Los Angeles, CA 90007, or by check payable to CDCR mailed to the institution with a 30 day hold.
How much of a deposit goes to restitution?
When the person owes a court ordered restitution fine, 50 percent of each deposit or the balance owing, whichever is less, plus a 10 percent administrative fee on the deduction, up to 55 percent in all, under CCR section 3097.
How do I schedule a prison visit in California?
Get approved first, check the institution's visiting status, then schedule through the Visitation Scheduling Application; the visiting sergeant or lieutenant numbers are on the department's Get Help page.

Back to the topics

CIRIS is one of the California records this site covers: the California arrest records page explains what a booking makes public, the court records guide covers the superior courts' case files, the sex offender registry guide covers the Megan's Law site, and the California county pages list each sheriff and jail.