Sacramento County Inmate Search
A Sacramento County inmate search can help you locate someone in county custody and reach the jail responsible for their housing. This article explains the Sheriff’s Office search options, the information to prepare, the differences between the county’s two custody facilities, and the next steps for release notifications, communication, scheduled release pickup, and property collection.
The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office operates the county’s incarcerated person information system. Its custody facilities include the Main Jail in downtown Sacramento and the Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center, commonly called RCCC, in Elk Grove. Establishing the person’s current housing location is useful before making arrangements that depend on a particular facility.
Official Inmate Search Options
The Sheriff’s Office offers searches by name and XREF number. For a name search, open the official Sacramento County inmate name search. The form has separate last-name and first-name fields, both marked as required. Enter the person’s name in the corresponding fields rather than placing the full name in one field.
The Sheriff’s Office Inmate Information page provides access to both the name and XREF number search options. It also connects custody information with services such as email and release notifications. Keeping these functions together allows you to locate the person first and then proceed to the service associated with their custody information page.
Information to Have Ready
The information you prepare should match the search method you intend to use. The name search asks for a first and last name. The separate XREF search is the option to select when you have the person’s XREF number.
The person’s first name for the first-name field.
The person’s last name for the last-name field.
The person’s XREF number, if you intend to search by that identifier.
Keep the distinction between a name and an identifier clear. A court case number or another number on paperwork should not be treated as an XREF number simply because it relates to the same person. Select the search method that matches the information you actually have, and review your entries before proceeding.
Once you reach a person’s custody information page, confirm that you have selected the intended person before using its email or notification functions. Those services are accessed through the individual’s information page, so selecting the correct person is part of completing the task.
County Custody and State Prison
The Sheriff’s Office information page also offers a California prison incarcerated persons locator. That is a separate search option from the county’s name and XREF searches. Choose the system according to the custody information you are seeking: the county search for Sacramento County custody information, or the prison locator option for a state prison search.
Do not assume that a reference to a state prison sentence establishes someone’s current physical location. RCCC serves as the central transportation point for defendants sentenced to state prison. Its responsibilities therefore include people moving through the custody system, as well as people serving county jail sentences.
What the Custody Information Means
The name search page states that charges shown for arrested or in-custody people represent the most recent information known to the Sheriff’s Department. Charges may change as a person moves through the judicial process. Read the displayed charges with that limitation in mind, particularly when comparing the search result with information obtained earlier.
A charge shown in the custody system should not be described as a conviction. The facilities house people in different circumstances, including detained individuals and people sentenced to county jail. The presence of a custody record alone does not establish which stage of the judicial process applies to every charge displayed.
It also helps to separate the questions you are trying to answer. Locating someone, reviewing the charges currently displayed, arranging communication, and registering for custody status notifications are related tasks, but they serve different purposes. After locating the correct person, continue to the specific function that addresses your need.
Main Jail and RCCC Housing
The Main Jail and RCCC have different locations, public hours, and responsibilities. A search for someone in Sacramento County custody should account for both facilities. Avoid choosing a destination solely because one jail is closer to you or because you associate a particular type of custody with that location.
Main Jail in Downtown Sacramento
The Sacramento County Main Jail page provides facility information and access to visitation, mail instructions, inmate funds, and inmate information. The Main Jail provides custodial and security services for incarcerated and detained people held for the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office and other agencies.
Published public hours are 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. daily. These are the facility’s public hours; they should not be treated as a visitation schedule or a promise that a particular service is available throughout that entire period. For a visit, use the facility’s visitation information when planning your trip.
Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center
The Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center page provides information about the Elk Grove facility, including scheduled releases and property collection. RCCC is the primary custody facility for people sentenced to county jail by Sacramento County courts, but its population also includes pre-sentence detainees.
RCCC additionally houses people traveling to other jurisdictions, federal prisoners under a contract with the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, and reciprocal prisoners from other counties. It accepts newly arrested people booked by law enforcement agencies in the southern part of Sacramento County. These responsibilities explain why a person’s presence at RCCC does not, by itself, establish that they are serving a county jail sentence.
The RCCC public line’s administrative hours are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. Scheduled release pickup and property release operate under separate hours. Match your plans to the particular service you need rather than using the administrative hours for every purpose.
Custody Status Change Notifications
The Sheriff’s Incarcerated Persons Release Elective Notification System, called SIRENS, allows victims and other concerned citizens to register for notice when an offender’s custody status changes. Available notification methods include email, text message, and telephone call.
To register through the online system, first search for the person. Open their custody information page and select the SIRENS link near the bottom. This sequence matters because the registration link is associated with the person whose custody information you are viewing.
Users may also register by contacting the Main Jail at the number in the office list below. The Sheriff’s Office describes the service as providing crime victims with criminal case and custody status information 24 hours a day. For someone seeking ongoing status information, registration serves a different purpose from conducting a single search.
A custody status notification and a release pickup arrangement are separate matters. If you are planning transportation from RCCC on a scheduled release date, review that facility’s pickup instructions as well.
Email After Locating an Inmate
The incarcerated person information system includes an email function for family members. After locating the person, select the link labeled “Email this incarcerated persons” on their information page to reach the email service.
Messages are printed and delivered to incarcerated people, usually the next day. This is not a live conversation or a conventional email exchange. The recipient does not have access to a computer system to reply, so sending a message does not create an electronic reply channel.
The usual next-day delivery described by the Sheriff’s Office should also guide expectations about time-sensitive arrangements. A printed message delivery process is different from immediate communication. Soliciting business through the email system is prohibited.
Mail Rules After a Search
Locating a person’s housing facility does not mean that all correspondence should be mailed directly to that jail. The Sheriff’s Office changed its incarcerated person mail policy effective November 1, 2023. Under that policy, general correspondence sent through the U.S. Mail is processed through a digital mail center rather than sent directly to the Main Jail or RCCC.
Legal and confidential mail continues to be sent directly to incarcerated people at their respective housing locations. The distinction between general correspondence and legal or confidential mail therefore affects where the item goes.
Before mailing correspondence, open the Mail Instructions option available through the Sheriff’s Office inmate information or facility pages. Use those instructions for the applicable mailing procedure. The facility street addresses in the office list below identify the jails; they should not be substituted for the general correspondence instructions.
Visitation Changes and Facility Notices
The Sheriff’s Office warns that unforeseen circumstances can require visits to be canceled without advance warning. Locating someone in custody is therefore only one part of arranging a visit. The appropriate facility’s visitation information is the next step for planning attendance.
The Sheriff’s Office states that it will, to the best of its ability, provide notices about changes that significantly affect visitation at either facility through its official social media feed. A planned visit may still be affected by an unexpected cancellation.
Keep the service distinctions clear when making arrangements: a custody information page identifies the person for search-related functions, while visitation instructions govern a visit. Likewise, the Main Jail’s public hours and RCCC’s administrative hours do not replace the visitation information for either facility.
Scheduled Release Pickup at RCCC
For pickup on an incarcerated person’s scheduled release date at RCCC, the facility directs drivers to report to the gatehouse between 4:30 and 5:00 a.m. This early-morning window is separate from the public line’s weekday administrative hours.
People who do not have a ride are transported by a Sheriff’s Office bus and released at the Main Jail in downtown Sacramento. That changes the pickup destination for a person leaving RCCC without an arranged ride. Keep the RCCC gatehouse pickup procedure and the Main Jail release location distinct when coordinating transportation.
The facility also strongly discourages members of the public from offering rides to other people being released from RCCC. Plan transportation around the person you are collecting and the facility’s published scheduled-release instructions.
Property Collection at RCCC
Collecting an incarcerated person’s property at RCCC is a separate procedure from picking up the person at release. Property releases are processed daily from 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. An incarcerated person must submit a property release form in advance for the facility to release the property promptly.
Forms are also available upon request at the gatehouse. However, RCCC warns that processing a form that way can involve an extreme delay. The public counter officer provides a waiting-time estimate and may suggest returning several hours later or the following day.
There are limits on what can be collected. Clothing may not be released unless the incarcerated person is going to state prison. When requesting personal property items, the recipient must take the entire package rather than selecting individual items.
Bringing property into RCCC is another distinct matter. Items unavailable at the facility that are essential to an incarcerated person’s health and well-being may be accepted as determined by the gatehouse officer. That provision does not establish general permission to drop off personal belongings. Review the purpose of your trip before arriving so that release pickup, property collection, and delivery of an essential item are not confused.
Inmate Search Offices and Facilities
Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office — Main Jail
651 I Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
916-874-6752
Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office — Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center (RCCC)
12500 Bruceville Road
Elk Grove, CA 95757
916-874-1927