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.
Kelso, Washington, in Cowlitz County, has about 13,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Kelso is held at the county jail, run by the Cowlitz 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: Kelso public records, Cowlitz County inmate search, Kelso arrest records, Kelso warrants, Kelso criminal records, Kelso court records, Washington arrest records and Washington inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Kelso
The county jail, run by the Cowlitz County Sheriff's Office, holds everyone kept in custody after an arrest in Kelso, from every agency.
SearchSystems opened and checked the custody page of the Cowlitz County Sheriff's Office at apps.co.cowlitz.wa.us/CCCD/custody/default/index.html (page title: Cowlitz County Jail Roster), Monday : 9:00am - 12:00pm, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
That page is the place to look for someone booked recently. A person cited and released at the scene, or held only a few hours by a city department, will not be on it.
The Cowlitz County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2023 the jail held about 210 people, down from about 260 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023 was 354 beds, and it ran at 58 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Cowlitz County has about 114,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 18 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Cowlitz County Jail
The Cowlitz County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Kelso (filed by the FBI as Kelso Police Department) make the arrests that end in a booking in and around Kelso.
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Longview's 2,474 for 2025, Kelso's 805 for 2025 and the Cowlitz County Sheriff's Office's 784 for 2025.
Together, the six agencies in Cowlitz County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 4,358 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 Kelso arrest records.
From the Jail to State Prison
The jail holds people awaiting trial and people serving short sentences. A person sentenced to prison in Cowlitz County serves the sentence in a facility of the Washington State Department of Corrections, whose inmate locator is at doc.wa.gov/records/incarcerated-data-search/incarcerated-search.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Kelso?
Look on the custody page of the Cowlitz County Sheriff's Office at apps.co.cowlitz.wa.us. It covers people booked into the county jail.
How many people are in the Cowlitz County jail?
About 210 on an average day in 2023, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 354 beds.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Cowlitz County go?
To a facility of the Washington State Department of Corrections; its inmate locator is at doc.wa.gov.
Is this the official Kelso website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official city, county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.