How an Inmate Search Works in Illinois

The Illinois Department of Corrections, IDOC, publishes its population in the Individual in Custody Search, the tool its own visiting instructions send a visitor to first to identify the person and the facility. The search covers people in IDOC custody, in its correctional centers, work camps, adult transition centers and structured impact programs; a person in a county jail is the sheriff's record, found through the Illinois county pages.

The department's site carries more than the search: a wanted fugitives list, a parolee sex registrant search, community notification of early releases, release forms for master file summaries and medical records, and the family pages that set out, rule by rule, how to call, write, pay and visit. The Office of Constituent Services and its Family Liaison are the second line for a family whose concern the facility warden or the parole supervisor has not resolved.

  • Search: the Individual in Custody Search for anyone in IDOC custody, with the facility that every letter, deposit and visit needs.
  • Calls: outgoing only, to people on the individual's approved calling list, through ICSolutions, the department's only phone provider, at 888.506.8407; a family member funds a prepaid account or deposits to the trust account so the person can buy minutes at commissary; accounts with any other company are blocked.
  • Money: JPay or Western Union's Send2Corrections up to $5,000, posted within 24 to 48 business hours, MoneyGram with receiving code 7364 up to $3,000 in 72 to 96 hours, always with the IDOC number and incarcerated last name; money orders up to $999.99 payable to JPay with the lockbox deposit slip to PO Box 260250, Hollywood, FL 33026, never to the facility.
  • Visits: in person after a letter confirms you are on the approved visitation list, scheduled online and with two forms of ID at the door; video visits through ICSolutions, one a day and two a week for the individual, scheduled at least seven days ahead.

Written by SearchSystems.net from Illinois's own systems: the Illinois Department of Corrections Individual in Custody Search, the department's Contact an Individual in Custody page, the department's Deposit Services page, the department's Incoming Mail Policies and Procedures, the department's Visitation Rules and Information, the department's Frequently Asked Questions, the department's Constituent Services and Family Liaison page, the department's Attorney FAQ, each read on October 14, 2026 by the SearchSystems editorial team.

Calls: ICSolutions and the approved list

Individuals in custody cannot receive calls; they call people on their approved calling list, and the way onto it is a letter to the individual asking to be added. The contact page records the department's transition to ICSolutions and gives two ways to pay: a friends and family prepaid account, needed before a cell phone can accept calls and optional on a landline that can take direct billing, or minutes the individual buys at commissary from a funded trust account, with a cost comparison document the department prepared to show the difference.

Three way calls are strictly prohibited and bring discipline, calls arrive from a facility specific caller ID number the page lists for every facility, which spam filters may block, and ICSolutions answers at 888.506.8407 or Customer@icsolutions.com; the department warns that accounts opened with other companies cannot fund calls and will be blocked. Every call is announced and can be accepted or blocked, and a person who wants no mail, calls or messages from anyone in IDOC custody files the Mail Stop and Phone Restriction Request with the Victim Services Unit.

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Money: three services and the Florida lockbox

The deposit page allows money through JPay, Western Union and money order, and no longer through GTL. Electronic funds up to $5,000 go by JPay or by Send2Corrections, Western Union's service, and are expected on the account within 24 to 48 business hours; MoneyGram deposits, on the blue express payment form with receiving code 7364, are capped at $3,000 and take 72 to 96 business hours, and a transfer between facilities can slow any of them.

Every electronic transfer carries the IDOC number and the incarcerated last name. A money order may not exceed $999.99, goes with the lockbox deposit slip from the facility or JPay's site, carries the individual's name and IDOC number and the sender's name and address, is payable to JPay, and is mailed to PO Box 260250, Hollywood, FL 33026, never to the facility.

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Mail: scanned, photocopied and inspected

All incoming and outgoing correspondence, privileged mail included, is opened and inspected for contraband, and under the department's processes for non privileged mail the mailroom either scans the front and back of the envelope and every item in color and uploads it to the individual's electronic device or prints it, or photocopies everything in color and hands over the copies. Publications, photos sent directly by a photo printing company, official documents such as birth certificates and Social Security cards mailed by a government, certain internal departmental correspondence, unauthorized mail and anything larger than 8.5 by 14 inches are not scanned or copied.

The mail page recommends black ink, since light ink and pencil scan poorly, and discourages glue, glitter, paint, crayon, ribbon, cloth and string, which can damage the scanners. Privileged mail, from the department's own leadership and attorneys, the Prisoner Review Board, the Governor, legislators, federal and state law enforcement, the Inspector General, the John Howard Association, registered attorneys, prosecutors, judges and organizations that directly represent individuals, is opened only in the addressee's presence to check for contraband and verify the sender; beginning July 1, 2026 a multi factor authentication system confirms the sender's identity, with attorneys registering for a sender ID and a one time control number for each envelope under the rules in the Attorney FAQ, which also bars faxes and enclosed stamps or envelopes.

Publications come only from a publisher, book club, bookstore, distributor, religious organization, school or government, delivered promptly when free of contraband and within Section 525.220, and unauthorized mail brings a notice to sender and individual with a right of appeal under Section 525.140.

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Visiting in person and by video

The visitation page sets four steps for an in person visit: find the person and facility with the search tool, make sure you are on the approved visitation list by writing to them, since staff cannot verify it by phone, schedule online, where the sign up times out after 30 minutes of inactivity, and arrive at least 10 minutes early. On arrival a visitor calls the facility for guidance, and adults bring two forms of identification, one a state photo ID, plus vehicle information.

Electronic devices, food, drink, smoking materials, currency, packages, purses, bags, books, magazines, sunglasses and personal keys stay out of the visiting room, in the lockers at the visiting center, and no medication enters except prescribed heart medication in its labeled container or an inhaler; clothing must be in good taste and free of security threat group signals or sexual content, and every person, vehicle and item on state property is subject to search.

The chief administrative officer may deny, suspend or restrict visits for security, space, disruptive conduct, abuse of the privilege or a violation of law or rules under the Illinois Administrative Code. Video visits moved from GTL to ICSolutions at every facility but the adult transition centers, as the page updated June 10, 2025 says, with friends and family registering and scheduling on ICSolutions' site or app, never by calling the facility: an individual may receive one video visit a day and two a week, including those in restrictive housing, with no more than three approved visitors per visit for general population or protective custody, visits scheduled at least seven days and up to 30 days ahead, one visit a day per visitor, only scheduled visitors on screen and one at a time, everything monitored live and recorded, and a lockdown cancelling the visit by email.

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Sentence credits and the release date

The department's FAQ explains why a release date moves. Statutory sentence credit sets the share of a determinate sentence a person must serve, 50, 75, 85 or 100 percent by offense, so that a four year burglary sentence means two years inside; program sentence credit gives half a day off for each day of completed education, life skills, behavior modification, drug treatment, reentry planning or Illinois Correctional Industries programming, though those serving 85 or 100 percent cannot earn it; Public Act 101-0440, effective January 1, 2020, extended program credit to crimes before June 19, 1998 and added credit for degrees earned inside; and earned sentence credit of up to 180 days is awarded at the Director's sole discretion to a person who has served more than 60 days and is not excluded by offense.

Each kind can be lost for bad behavior. The FAQ, updated in December 2021, also covers reception and classification, transfers, work release, the Prisoner Review Board, parole conditions and how a victim is notified of a release, transfer, escape, death or court appearance.

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Records, releases and the Family Liaison

A master record file summary is requested on the individual's own form or an attorney's, medical records on the Authorization for Release of Individual in Custody Medical Health Information, which excludes mental health and substance abuse records that take form DOC 0240, and the department warns that recipients outside federal privacy law may redisclose except for genetic and HIV information. The Office of Constituent Services describes itself as a bridge between IDOC and the community, and its Family Liaison serves families and friends as a second line of communication after the warden, or the parole supervisor for someone on community supervision, has been asked first; the office's telephone number changed recently, and the current number is on its page.

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Reading an Illinois result

A result from the Individual in Custody Search places a person in a named IDOC facility, the detail every later step turns on: the facility's caller ID, the lockbox slip, the scanned letter and the visiting schedule. The release date behind it moves with the three kinds of sentence credit, and a person in a county jail, on parole beyond the department's pages, or discharged appears elsewhere.

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Questions about finding an inmate in Illinois

Where do I find someone in an Illinois prison?
In the Department of Corrections' Individual in Custody Search, which its visiting rules name as the first step to identify the person and their facility; county jail inmates are found through the sheriff.
How do calls from an Illinois inmate work?
The individual calls out to people on their approved calling list through ICSolutions, the department's only provider; you join the list by writing to them, and pay through an ICSolutions prepaid account or by funding the trust account so they can buy minutes at commissary.
Where do I mail a money order for an Illinois inmate?
To PO Box 260250, Hollywood, FL 33026, payable to JPay with the lockbox deposit slip, up to $999.99; electronic deposits go through JPay, Send2Corrections or MoneyGram with receiving code 7364, never to the facility.
Will the inmate get my original letter?
No. Non privileged mail is scanned in color to the individual's device or printed, or photocopied in color, and the department recommends black ink without glue, glitter or ribbon; publications, official government documents and photos from a printing service are the exceptions.
How many video visits can an Illinois inmate have?
One a day and two a week, with up to three approved visitors per visit, scheduled through ICSolutions at least seven days and no more than 30 days in advance.
Why does an Illinois release date change?
Because of sentence credits: statutory credit sets whether 50, 75, 85 or 100 percent of the sentence is served, program credit gives half a day per day of completed programming, and the Director may award up to 180 days of earned credit, all of which can be lost for misconduct.

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The search is one of the Illinois records this site covers: the Illinois arrest records guide explains what a booking makes public, the court records guide covers the circuit clerks' case files, the sex offender registry guide covers the Illinois State Police registry, and the Illinois county pages list each sheriff and jail.