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.
Defiance County, Ohio, has about 39,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Defiance County is held at the county jail, run by the Defiance 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: Defiance County public records, Defiance County arrest records, Defiance County warrants, Defiance County criminal records, Defiance County court records, Ohio arrest records and Ohio inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Defiance County
The county jail, run by the Defiance County Sheriff's Office, holds everyone kept in custody after an arrest in Defiance County, from every agency.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Defiance County Sheriff's Office at defiance-county.com/dcso (page title: Defiance County Sheriff's Office), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
That page is the office's jail information page rather than a roster.
The Defiance County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2023 the jail held about 140 people, down from about 170 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023 was 182 beds, and it ran at 79 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Defiance County has about 39,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 37 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Defiance County Jail
The Defiance County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Defiance and Hicksville make the arrests that end in a booking in Defiance County.
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Defiance's 668 for 2025, the Defiance County Sheriff's Office's 320 for 2025 and Hicksville's 69 for 2025.
Together, the three agencies in Defiance County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,057 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 Defiance 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 Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction lists its inmates at appgateway.drc.ohio.gov/OffenderSearch.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Defiance County?
Ask the Defiance County Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at defiance-county.com/dcso.
How many people are in the Defiance County jail?
About 140 on an average day in 2023, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 182 beds.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Defiance County go?
To a facility of the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction; its inmate locator is at appgateway.drc.ohio.gov/OffenderSearch.
Is this the official Defiance 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.