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 4, 2026.
Humboldt County, Iowa, has about 9,600 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office and one city agency. 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 County Attorney files charges, a case in the Iowa District Court for Humboldt County. This guide says who keeps each one, what it costs and who may see it, with the arrest counts each agency reported.
This guide covers who makes arrests, how many arrests, booking and the jail, finding an arrest, copies, cities and common questions.
Related guides: Humboldt County public records, Iowa arrest records, Iowa inmate search and Iowa criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Humboldt County
The Humboldt County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Humboldt County. It reported 39 arrests for 2025.
The FBI lists one city in Humboldt County with a reporting agency of its own:
- Humboldt, 4,774 residents: 59 arrests reported for 2020.
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.
How Many Arrests The Humboldt County Sheriff's Office Reports
Each agency reports its arrests to the FBI by month, and the FBI publishes them on the Crime Data Explorer. These are the full-year totals, all offenses, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026; a year with months missing or not reported is left out.
- Humboldt County Sheriff's Office: 39 for 2025, 49 for 2024, 43 for 2023, 58 for 2022, 133 for 2020 and 144 for 2019; 2021 is missing months.
- Humboldt: 59 for 2020 and 68 for 2019.
The Humboldt County Sheriff's Office's 39 arrests in 2025 were down 20 percent from 49 in 2024.
Through August 2026, Humboldt County Sheriff's Office reported 28 arrests, against 29 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Humboldt County Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Humboldt County and kept in custody ends up, whichever agency made the arrest, though a city department may hold someone in its own cells first and a person cited and released at the scene is never booked. The jail's record of each person held, with the charges, is a public record of the arrest, and once the person is released or sentenced the record continues in the court file.
On an average day in 2019 the jail held about 4 people. Its rated capacity in 2019 was 14 beds, and it ran at 29 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
SearchSystems opened and checked the custody page of the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office at humboldtcounty.iowa.gov/sheriff/jail-roster (page title: Humboldt County, IA), phone 515-332-2471, 430 Sumner Avenue Humboldt, IA 50548, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 4, 2026.
That page is the place to look for someone who was booked recently; a person cited and released at the scene, or held only a few hours by a city department, will not be on it.
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison; the Iowa Department of Corrections lists its inmates at doc.iowa.gov/inmate-family-services.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Humboldt County
An arrest in Humboldt County can be traced in three places, depending on where the case stands: the custody page of the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office described above, for anyone booked into the county jail; the case index of the Iowa District Court for Humboldt County, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at iowacourts.gov/iowa-courts/district-court/judicial-district-2/distr..., phone 515-332-1806); the County Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at humboldtcounty.iowa.gov/offices/administrative/attorney/index.php, phone 515 332-7139).
Statewide, Iowa Courts Online is the Iowa Judicial Branch's free statewide case search.
Iowa is one of the states that lets anyone look up another person's statewide criminal history: anyone can request a name-based criminal history check online, through the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation. 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 Humboldt 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 Iowa Open Records Law (Chapter 22) the agency must answer without delay; the law sets no fixed number of days, and a delay past 20 days must be justified, and it may charge the actual cost of copying and retrieval.
- An arrest by the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 515-332-2471.
- An arrest in Humboldt: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the County Attorney, 515 332-7139, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Iowa District Court for Humboldt County, through the court records page at iowacourts.gov, phone 515-332-1806.
- Any county record that is not posted: the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at humboldtgov.nextrequest.com/requests/new (page title: NextRequest | Modern FOIA & Public Records Request Software).
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
Cities in Humboldt County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for one of the 11 cities in Humboldt County: Humboldt. Dakota City, Gilmore City, Livermore, Bode, Renwick, Thor, Rutland, Bradgate, Hardy and Ottosen 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 Iowa District Court for Humboldt County.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Humboldt County each year?
The Humboldt County Sheriff's Office reported 39 arrests to the FBI for 2025, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Humboldt County?
Look on the custody page of the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office at humboldtcounty.iowa.gov/sheriff/jail-roster, or call 515-332-2471. It covers people booked into the county jail.
Where are people arrested in Humboldt County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Humboldt County?
The court files of criminal cases are public, and so is the statewide criminal history kept by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation: anyone can request a name-based criminal history check online. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Iowa Open Records Law (Chapter 22).
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in Humboldt County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office for its own arrests, or the agency that reports for the city where it happened. Under the Iowa Open Records Law (Chapter 22) the answer is due without delay; the law sets no fixed number of days, and a delay past 20 days must be justified; the county records request page SearchSystems verified is at humboldtgov.nextrequest.com/requests/new.
Is this the official Humboldt 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.