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 between September 23, 2026 and October 4, 2026.
Franklin County, Virginia, has about 56,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by one state agency. 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 Franklin 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: Franklin County public records, Virginia arrest records, Virginia inmate search and Virginia criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Franklin County
The Corrections | Office of The Sheriff of Franklin County is the county law enforcement agency of Franklin County.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Franklin County: the Franklin County State Police (state police).
Booking: Where People Arrested in Franklin County Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Franklin County and kept in custody ends up, whichever agency made the arrest, though a city department may hold someone in its own cells first and a person cited and released at the scene is never booked. The jail's record of each person held, with the charges, is a public record of the arrest, and once the person is released or sentenced the record continues in the court file.
On an average day in 2025 the jail held about 48 people, down from about 200 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 110 beds, and it ran at 141 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 Corrections | Office of The Sheriff of Franklin County at franklincountysheriffva.com/corrections-2 (page title: Corrections | Office of The Sheriff of Franklin County), a site that blocks automated checks (HTTP 429), so open it in a browser.
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison; the Virginia Department of Corrections lists its inmates at vadoc.virginia.gov/family-and-friends.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Franklin County
Whether someone was arrested in Franklin County, and what came of it, shows up in two places: the case index of the Franklin Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at franklincountyva.gov/503/Courts, phone 540-483-3030); the Commonwealth's Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at franklincountyva.gov/509/Commonwealth-Attorney, phone 540-483-3030).
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 Franklin County
The report of an arrest is released by the agency that made it; the jail and the court hold their own records of the same event, but not the report. 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 Corrections | Office of The Sheriff of Franklin County: ask its records unit.
- An arrest by the Franklin County State Police: the records office of the agency involved.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the Commonwealth's Attorney, 540-483-3030, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Franklin Circuit Court, through the court records page at franklincountyva.gov/503/Courts, phone 540-483-3030.
- 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 Franklin County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists no city in Franklin 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 Franklin Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where are people arrested in Franklin County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Corrections | Office of The Sheriff of Franklin County; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Franklin County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Franklin 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 Franklin County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Corrections | Office of The Sheriff of Franklin County 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 Franklin 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.