Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones each agency reported to the FBI, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026. 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 24, 2026 and October 9, 2026.
Adams County, Iowa, has about 3,600 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Adams County is held at the county jail, run by the Adams County Sheriff's Office, and the jail's record of each person held is a public record. This guide says where to look for someone in custody, what the jail holds and who books people into it.
This guide covers the search, the jail, who books people, state prison and common questions.
Related guides: Adams County public records, Adams County arrest records, Adams County warrants, Adams County criminal records, Adams County court records, Iowa arrest records and Iowa inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Adams County
The county jail, run by the Adams County Sheriff's Office, holds everyone kept in custody after an arrest in Adams County, from every agency.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Adams County Sheriff's Office at adamscountyso.com (page title: Welcome to the Adams County Sheriff's Office), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 9, 2026.
That page is the office's jail information page rather than a roster.
The Adams County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2019 the jail held about 34 people. Its rated capacity in 2019 was 2 beds, and it ran at 1700 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Adams County has about 3,600 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 94 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Adams County Jail
The Adams County Sheriff's Office makes the arrests that end in a booking in Adams County.
The Adams County Sheriff's Office reported 133 arrests to the FBI for 2025. Those kept in custody were booked into the county jail; a person cited and released at the scene was not.
The counts, agency by agency and year by year, are in Adams County arrest records.
From the Jail to State Prison
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison, not the jail; the Iowa Department of Corrections lists its inmates at doc.iowa.gov/inmate-family-services.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Adams County?
Ask the Adams County Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at adamscountyso.com.
How many people are in the Adams County jail?
About 34 on an average day in 2019, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 2 beds.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Adams County go?
To a facility of the Iowa Department of Corrections; its inmate locator is at doc.iowa.gov/inmate-family-services.
Is this the official Adams 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.