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 on September 23, 2026.
Pender County, North Carolina, has about 70,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Pender County is held at the county jail, run by the Pender 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: Pender County public records, Pender County arrest records, Pender County warrants, Pender County criminal records, Pender County court records, North Carolina arrest records and North Carolina inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Pender County
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Pender County is held at the county jail, run by the Pender County Sheriff's Office, whichever agency made the arrest.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Pender County Sheriff's Office at pendersheriff.com/319/Jail-Division (page title: Jail Division | Pender County, NC), phone 910-259-1353, 104 N Walker Street Burgaw, NC 28425, 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 910-259-1353.
The Pender County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2024 the jail held about 62 people, up from about 49 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 92 beds, and it ran at 59 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Pender County has about 70,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 9 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Pender County Jail
The Pender County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Surf City, Burgaw and Topsail Beach make the arrests that end in a booking in Pender County.
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Topsail Beach's 1,153 for 2025, the Pender County Sheriff's Office's 284 for 2025 and Surf City's 158 for 2025.
Together, the four agencies in Pender County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,740 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 Pender 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 Pender County?
Ask the Pender County Sheriff's Office at 910-259-1353; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at pendersheriff.com/319/Jail-Division.
How many people are in the Pender County jail?
About 62 on an average day in 2024, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 92 beds.
What is the phone number for the Pender County jail?
910-259-1353, the number on the page of the Pender County Sheriff's Office SearchSystems verified.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Pender 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 Pender 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.