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 23, 2026 and September 30, 2026.
Hillsdale County, Michigan, has about 46,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Hillsdale County is held at the county jail, run by the Hillsdale 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: Hillsdale County public records, Hillsdale County arrest records, Hillsdale County warrants, Hillsdale County criminal records, Hillsdale County court records, Michigan arrest records and Michigan inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Hillsdale County
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Hillsdale County is held at the county jail, run by the Hillsdale County Sheriff's Office, whichever agency made the arrest.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Hillsdale County Sheriff's Office at hillsdalecounty.gov/index.php/m-hcso-jail/m-jail-services (page title: HCSO Jail Services), phone 517-437-7317, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 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 517-437-7317.
The Hillsdale County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2023 the jail held about 68 people, up from about 68 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023 was 67 beds, and it ran at 101 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Hillsdale County has about 46,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 15 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Hillsdale County Jail
The Hillsdale County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Hillsdale, Jonesville, Litchfield and Reading make the arrests that end in a booking in Hillsdale County.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Hillsdale County: the Hillsdale County State Police (state police).
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were the Hillsdale County Sheriff's Office's 257 for 2025, Hillsdale's 257 for 2025 and Jonesville's 23 for 2025.
Together, the six agencies in Hillsdale County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 562 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 Hillsdale 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 Hillsdale County serves the sentence in a facility of the Michigan Department of Corrections, whose inmate locator is at mdocweb.state.mi.us/otis2.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Hillsdale County?
Ask the Hillsdale County Sheriff's Office at 517-437-7317; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at hillsdalecounty.gov.
How many people are in the Hillsdale County jail?
About 68 on an average day in 2023, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 67 beds.
What is the phone number for the Hillsdale County jail?
517-437-7317, the number on the page of the Hillsdale County Sheriff's Office SearchSystems verified.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Hillsdale County go?
To a facility of the Michigan Department of Corrections; its inmate locator is at mdocweb.state.mi.us/otis2.
Is this the official Hillsdale 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.