Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The jail figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site between September 23, 2026 and October 1, 2026.
Holmes County, Florida, has about 20,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Holmes County Sheriff's Office, one city agency and six campus, state or other agencies. An arrest leaves the same records whoever makes it: the arresting agency's report, the record of anyone held at the county jail, and, if the State Attorney files charges, a case in the Holmes County Circuit Court. This guide says who keeps each one, what it costs and who may see it.
This guide covers who makes arrests, arrest counts, booking and the jail, finding an arrest, copies, cities and common questions.
Related guides: Holmes County public records, Florida arrest records, Florida inmate search and Florida criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Holmes County
The Holmes County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Holmes County.
The FBI lists one city in Holmes County with a reporting agency of its own:
- Bonifay, 2,838 residents.
A city on that list is reported separately whether the officers are the city's own or the sheriff's under contract; the FBI's list does not say which.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Holmes County: the Department of Environmental Protection, Law Enforcement in Holmes County, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Office of Agricultural Law Enforcement at Holmes, the Holmes County Florida Game Commission, the Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco in Holmes County and one more (state agency); the Highway Patrol in Holmes County (state police).
Arrest Counts on File for Holmes County
The FBI publishes monthly arrest counts on the Crime Data Explorer. For Holmes County the counts on file are partial: Bonifay and Holmes County Sheriff's Office have sent some months but no full year since 2019, so no annual total is given here.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Holmes County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Holmes County is held at the county jail, whichever agency made the arrest, apart from the short stay some city departments' own holding cells allow; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked at all. The jail's record of each person held, with the charges, is a public record of the arrest, and the court file takes over from there.
So far in 2026 the jail has held about 160 people on an average day, up from about 160 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 118 beds, and it ran at 132 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Holmes County Sheriff's Office at holmescosheriff.org/index.html (page title: HOLMES COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE | Holmes County Sheriff's Office), phone 850-547-3681, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 1, 2026.
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison; the Florida Department of Corrections lists its inmates at fdc.myflorida.com.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Holmes County
Whether someone was arrested in Holmes County, and what came of it, shows up in two places: the case index of the Holmes County Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at flcourts.gov/Florida-Courts/Court-Locations/First-District/Holmes); the State Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at jud14.flcourts.org/state-attorney).
Florida is one of the states that lets anyone look up another person's statewide criminal history: anyone can run a name-based criminal history search online for $24, for $24 a search, through the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. That record shows what agencies reported to the state, which is wider than one county's court index but can lag it.
Getting a Copy of an Arrest Record in Holmes County
The report of an arrest is released by the agency that made it; the jail and the court hold their own records of the same event, but not the report. Under the Florida Public Records Act (Chapter 119) the agency must answer promptly and in good faith; the statute sets no number of days, and it may charge the copy fees set by statute, plus a special service charge for large requests.
- An arrest by the Holmes County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 850-547-3681.
- An arrest in Bonifay: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- An arrest by the Department of Environmental Protection, Law Enforcement in Holmes County, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Office of Agricultural Law Enforcement at Holmes or the Highway Patrol in Holmes County: the records office of the agency involved.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the State Attorney handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Holmes County Circuit Court, through the court records page at flcourts.gov.
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
Cities in Holmes County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for one of the five cities in Holmes County: Bonifay. Ponce de Leon, Esto, Westville and Noma have no separate reporting agency in the FBI's list.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the Holmes County Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Holmes County?
Ask the Holmes County Sheriff's Office at 850-547-3681; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at holmescosheriff.org/index.html.
Where are people arrested in Holmes County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Holmes County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Holmes County?
The court files of criminal cases are public, and so is the statewide criminal history kept by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement: anyone can run a name-based criminal history search online for $24, for $24. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Florida Public Records Act (Chapter 119).
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in Holmes County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Holmes County Sheriff's Office for its own arrests, or the agency that reports for the city where it happened. Under the Florida Public Records Act (Chapter 119) the answer is due promptly and in good faith; the statute sets no number of days.
Is this the official Holmes County website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.