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 September 30, 2026.
Nicholas County, Kentucky, has about 7,800 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Nicholas County is held at the county jail, run by the Nicholas 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: Nicholas County public records, Nicholas County arrest records, Nicholas County warrants, Nicholas County criminal records, Nicholas County court records, Kentucky arrest records and Kentucky inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Nicholas County
The county jail, run by the Nicholas County Sheriff's Office, holds everyone kept in custody after an arrest in Nicholas County, from every agency.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Nicholas County Sheriff's Office at nicholascounty.ky.gov/elected/sheriff/Pages/default.aspx (page title: Nicholas County), phone (859) 289-3740, 125 East Main Street Carlisle, KY 40311, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 30, 2026.
That page is the office's jail information page rather than a roster, so a search for a particular person goes through the office at (859) 289-3740.
The Nicholas County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2024 the jail held about 39 people, down from about 42 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2024 was 31 beds, and it ran at 124 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Nicholas County has about 7,800 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 50 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Nicholas County Jail
The Nicholas County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Carlisle make the arrests that end in a booking in Nicholas County.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Nicholas County: Nicholas County Schools (other agency).
The Millersburg Police Department is listed by the FBI across two counties including Nicholas County, so its arrests are not broken out for Nicholas County here.
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Carlisle's 86 for 2025 and the Nicholas County Sheriff's Office's 68 for 2025.
Together, the two agencies in Nicholas County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 154 arrests to the FBI that year. 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 Nicholas County arrest records.
From the Jail to State Prison
The jail holds people awaiting trial and people serving short sentences. A person sentenced to prison in Nicholas County serves the sentence in a facility of the Kentucky Department of Corrections, whose inmate locator is at kool.corrections.ky.gov/.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Nicholas County?
Ask the Nicholas County Sheriff's Office at (859) 289-3740; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at nicholascounty.ky.gov.
How many people are in the Nicholas County jail?
About 39 on an average day in 2024, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 31 beds.
What is the phone number for the Nicholas County jail?
(859) 289-3740, the number on the page of the Nicholas County Sheriff's Office SearchSystems verified.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Nicholas County go?
To a facility of the Kentucky Department of Corrections; its inmate locator is at kool.corrections.ky.gov/.
Is this the official Nicholas 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.