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 October 9, 2026.
Vernon County, Wisconsin, has about 31,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Vernon County is held at the county jail, run by the Vernon 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: Vernon County public records, Vernon County arrest records, Vernon County warrants, Vernon County criminal records, Vernon County court records, Wisconsin arrest records and Wisconsin inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Vernon County
The county jail, run by the Vernon County Sheriff's Office, holds everyone kept in custody after an arrest in Vernon County, from every agency.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Vernon County Sheriff's Office at vernoncountywi.gov/departments/sheriff_s_office/jail.php (page title: Welcome to Vernon County, WI), phone 608-638-5780, 1320 Bad Axe Court, Viroqua, WI 54665, 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 608-638-5780.
The Vernon County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2025 the jail held about 76 people, down from about 81 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2025 was 128 beds, and it ran at 59 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Vernon County has about 31,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 24 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Vernon County Jail
The Vernon County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Viroqua, Westby, Hillsboro, La Farge and Readstown make the arrests that end in a booking in Vernon County.
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Viroqua's 166 for 2025, Hillsboro's 157 for 2019 and the Vernon County Sheriff's Office's 140 for 2025.
Together, the two agencies in Vernon County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 306 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 Vernon County 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 Vernon County serves the sentence in a facility of the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, whose inmate locator is at appsdoc.wi.gov/lop/welcome.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Vernon County?
Ask the Vernon County Sheriff's Office at 608-638-5780; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at vernoncountywi.gov.
How many people are in the Vernon County jail?
About 76 on an average day in 2025, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 128 beds.
What is the phone number for the Vernon County jail?
608-638-5780, the number on the page of the Vernon County Sheriff's Office SearchSystems verified.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Vernon County go?
To a facility of the Wisconsin Department of Corrections; its inmate locator is at appsdoc.wi.gov/lop/welcome.
Is this the official Vernon 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.