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.
Hamilton County, Tennessee, has about 386,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Hamilton County is held at the county jail, run by the Hamilton 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: Hamilton County public records, Hamilton County arrest records, Hamilton County warrants, Hamilton County criminal records, Hamilton County court records, Tennessee arrest records and Tennessee inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Hamilton County
The county jail, run by the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office, holds everyone kept in custody after an arrest in Hamilton County, from every agency.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office at hcsheriff.gov/Corrections/Inmates-app (page title: Hamilton County Sheriff's Office Website), phone 423-209-7000, 600 Market St Chattanooga, TN 37402, 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 423-209-7000.
The Hamilton County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2023 the jail held about 540 people, down from about 2,470 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023 was 542 beds, and it ran at 99 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Hamilton County has about 386,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 14 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Hamilton County Jail
The Hamilton County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Chattanooga, East Ridge, Soddy-Daisy, Red Bank, Collegedale, Signal Mountain and one more cities make the arrests that end in a booking in Hamilton County.
The FBI's agency list also places two other agencies and two campus police departments in Hamilton County (the arrest records guide names each one).
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office's 4,677 for 2025, Chattanooga's 3,591 for 2025 and East Ridge's 761 for 2025.
Together, the seven agencies in Hamilton County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 10,513 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 Hamilton 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 Tennessee Department of Correction lists its inmates at foil.app.tn.gov/foil/search.jsp.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Hamilton County?
Ask the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office at 423-209-7000; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at hcsheriff.gov/Corrections/Inmates-app.
How many people are in the Hamilton County jail?
About 540 on an average day in 2023, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 542 beds.
What is the phone number for the Hamilton County jail?
423-209-7000, the number on the page of the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office SearchSystems verified.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Hamilton County go?
To a facility of the Tennessee Department of Correction; its inmate locator is at foil.app.tn.gov/foil/search.jsp.
Is this the official Hamilton 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.