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 October 2, 2026.
Sanilac County, Michigan, has about 40,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Sanilac County is held at the county jail, run by the Sanilac 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: Sanilac County public records, Sanilac County arrest records, Sanilac County warrants, Sanilac County criminal records, Sanilac County court records, Michigan arrest records and Michigan inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Sanilac County
The county jail, run by the Sanilac County Sheriff's Office, holds everyone kept in custody after an arrest in Sanilac County, from every agency.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Sanilac County Sheriff's Office at sanilaccounty.gov/public_safety/sanilac_county_sheriffs_office/inde... (page title: Sanilac County, MI), phone (810) 648-2000, 65 N. Elk Street Sandusky, MI 48471, Mon 8 am to 4 pm, 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 (810) 648-2000.
The Sanilac County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2020 the jail held about 110 people, down from about 120 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 117 beds, and it ran at 98 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Sanilac County has about 40,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 26 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Sanilac County Jail
The Sanilac County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Sandusky, Croswell, Marlette, Brown City, Lexington, Deckerville and one more cities make the arrests that end in a booking in Sanilac County.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Sanilac County: the Sanilac County State Police (state police).
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were the Sanilac County Sheriff's Office's 120 for 2025, Brown City's 20 for 2023 and Marlette's 12 for 2025.
Together, the six agencies in Sanilac County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 137 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 Sanilac 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 Michigan Department of Corrections lists its inmates at mdocweb.state.mi.us/otis2.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Sanilac County?
Ask the Sanilac County Sheriff's Office at (810) 648-2000; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at sanilaccounty.gov.
How many people are in the Sanilac County jail?
About 110 on an average day in 2020, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 117 beds.
What is the phone number for the Sanilac County jail?
(810) 648-2000, the number on the page of the Sanilac County Sheriff's Office SearchSystems verified.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Sanilac 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 Sanilac 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.