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 27, 2026.
Lincoln County, North Carolina, has about 98,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Lincoln County is held at the county jail, run by the Lincoln 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: Lincoln County public records, Lincoln County arrest records, Lincoln County warrants, Lincoln County criminal records, Lincoln County court records, North Carolina arrest records and North Carolina inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Lincoln County
The county jail, run by the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office, holds everyone kept in custody after an arrest in Lincoln County, from every agency.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office at p2c.lincolnsheriff.org/jailinmates.aspx (page title: Lincoln County Sheriffs Office P2C), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 27, 2026.
That page is the office's jail information page rather than a roster.
The Lincoln County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2024 the jail held about 150 people, down from about 160 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 159 beds, and it ran at 102 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Lincoln County has about 98,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 15 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Lincoln County Jail
The Lincoln County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Lincolnton make the arrests that end in a booking in Lincoln County.
The Maiden Police Department is listed by the FBI across two counties including Lincoln County, so its arrests are not broken out for Lincoln County here.
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office's 1,188 for 2024 and Lincolnton's 592 for 2025.
Together, the two agencies in Lincoln County with all twelve months of 2024 on file reported 2,001 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 Lincoln 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 North Carolina Department of Adult Correction lists its inmates at dac.nc.gov/dac-services/criminal-offender-searches.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Lincoln County?
Ask the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at p2c.lincolnsheriff.org/jailinmates.aspx.
How many people are in the Lincoln County jail?
About 150 on an average day in 2024, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 159 beds.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Lincoln County go?
To a facility of the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction; its inmate locator is at dac.nc.gov.
Is this the official Lincoln 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.