Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. 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.
Fairfax County, Virginia, has about 1.2 million residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by three campus, state or other agencies. An arrest leaves the same records whoever makes it: the arresting agency's report, the record of anyone held at the county jail, and, if the Commonwealth's Attorney files charges, a case in the Fairfax Circuit Court. This guide says who keeps each one, what it costs and who may see it.
This guide covers who makes arrests, booking and the jail, finding an arrest, copies, cities and common questions.
Related guides: Fairfax County public records, Virginia arrest records, Virginia inmate search and Virginia criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Fairfax County
The Sheriffs of Fairfax County Since 1742 | Sheriff is the county law enforcement agency of Fairfax County.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Fairfax County: the Fairfax County State Police (state police); Northern Virginia Community College and George Mason University (campus police).
Booking: Where People Arrested in Fairfax County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Fairfax County is held at the county jail, whichever agency made the arrest, apart from the short stay some city departments' own holding cells allow; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked at all. The jail's record of each person held, with the charges, is a public record of the arrest, and the court file takes over from there.
On an average day in 2025 the jail held about 540 people, down from about 840 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 1,259 beds, and it ran at 49 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Sheriffs of Fairfax County Since 1742 | Sheriff at fairfaxcounty.gov/sheriff/sheriffs-fairfax-county-since-1742 (page title: Sheriffs of Fairfax County Since 1742 | Sheriff), phone 703-246-3227, 4110 Chain Bridge Road Fairfax, VA 22030, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
A person sentenced to prison serves the sentence in a facility of the Virginia Department of Corrections, whose inmate locator is at vadoc.virginia.gov/family-and-friends.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Fairfax County
An arrest in Fairfax County can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the case index of the Fairfax Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at fairfaxcounty.gov/circuit/newsandevents/circuit-court-news/fairfax-..., phone (703) 691-7320); the Commonwealth's Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at fairfaxcounty.gov/commonwealthattorney/commonwealthattorney, phone 703-246-2776).
Statewide, Online Case Information System is the Virginia courts' free statewide case search.
Virginia does not let the public search another person's statewide criminal history. The record kept by the Virginia State Police goes to the person it belongs to and to employers and agencies the law authorizes; for everyone else the court's own case index is the public record of an arrest that led to a charge.
Getting a Copy of an Arrest Record in Fairfax County
An arrest report belongs to the agency whose officer wrote it, and that agency releases it, not the court or the jail. Under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act the agency must answer within 5 working days, and it may charge the actual cost of searching and copying.
- An arrest by the Sheriffs of Fairfax County Since 1742 | Sheriff: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 703-246-3227.
- An arrest by the Fairfax County State Police, Northern Virginia Community College or George Mason University: the records office of the agency involved.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the Commonwealth's Attorney, 703-246-2776, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Fairfax Circuit Court, through the court records page at fairfaxcounty.gov, phone (703) 691-7320.
- Your own statewide record: a request to the State Police Central Criminal Records Exchange; a check on someone else needs their signed consent.
Cities in Fairfax County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists no city in Fairfax County with an arrest reporting agency of its own.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the Fairfax Circuit Court.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Fairfax County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Fairfax County?
Ask the Sheriffs of Fairfax County Since 1742 | Sheriff at 703-246-3227; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at fairfaxcounty.gov.
Where are people arrested in Fairfax County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Sheriffs of Fairfax County Since 1742 | Sheriff; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Fairfax County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Fairfax Circuit Court are public and can be looked up through the court. The statewide criminal history kept by the Virginia State Police is not public; you can get your own. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act.
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in Fairfax County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Sheriffs of Fairfax County Since 1742 | Sheriff for its own arrests, or the agency that reports for the city where it happened. Under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act the answer is due within 5 working days.
Is this the official Fairfax 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.