Jefferson County Jail Inmate Search | Birmingham & Bessemer

Key Inmate Search Resources in Jefferson County, Alabama

People trying to confirm Jefferson County jail custody work mainly with the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, which oversees the county jail system in Birmingham and Bessemer. Before you search, it helps to gather as much identifying information as possible, and statewide context from Alabama Public Records can be useful if an arrest may have occurred outside Jefferson County.

Have the person’s full name, approximate booking date, and any booking or subject number from paperwork ready. Online inmate tools and jail rosters update as people are booked, released, or transferred, so results are a snapshot and should be verified with official agencies, especially for time-sensitive or legal decisions; this independent site cannot provide legal advice or guarantee record completeness.

Understanding Jail and Inmate Information

The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office Corrections Division is responsible for people held in the county jail system while they await trial or transfer to the Alabama Department of Corrections. According to the sheriff, the division processes tens of thousands of admissions and releases each year and manages an average daily population of around 1,000 inmates across the Birmingham and Bessemer jail facilities, with on-site medical care and access to legal and educational resources at the Birmingham jail.

County jail information is usually organized around bookings. A single person may appear more than once if they have been booked into jail on different occasions. Online inmate search tools and rosters for Jefferson County generally focus on people who are or were recently in custody, showing basic details tied to a specific booking rather than every detail of the underlying court case.

  • Identifying details such as name and an internal subject number.
  • A booking number and booking date associated with that jail stay.
  • Custody indicators such as whether the person is currently in custody.
  • A housing or facility field showing where within the Jefferson County jail system the person is held.

County jail records are separate from prison, probation, or parole information. Someone who was arrested in Jefferson County might be in a city or municipal holding facility, another Alabama county, a state prison, or federal custody instead of the county jail. Because movement between facilities can be frequent and online tools may lag behind real-time changes, any search result should be treated as informational only and confirmed with the appropriate official agency when accuracy is critical.

Where Someone May Be Held After an Arrest in Jefferson County

After an arrest in Jefferson County, a person may first be held briefly by the arresting agency, such as a city police department or another law enforcement unit, before being booked into one of the county jails. The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office operates two main jail facilities that hold county inmates: the Birmingham County Jail in downtown Birmingham and the Bessemer County Jail in Bessemer.

Which jail is used can depend on where the arrest occurred and how the Sheriff’s Office chooses to manage its population. The Corrections Division supervises custody at both locations and works with the Sheriff’s Pre-Trial Release Office to manage releases for people who qualify for pre-trial programs or who are able to make bond under terms set by the courts. Until bond or pre-trial release is approved and processed, a person may continue to appear as in custody in the jail system.

For very recent arrests, it may take time before a person appears in the county jail system at all. They might still be in a municipal or other temporary holding facility, in transit, or waiting on booking. In some situations, people arrested in Jefferson County may later be transferred to another county, to a state prison under the Alabama Department of Corrections, or to a federal facility.

When you are not sure where someone is being held, you can start with the agency that made the arrest and then check the county jails. For Jefferson County, people often call the Birmingham Jail main switchboard at 205-325-5670 or the Bessemer Jail main switchboard at 205-481-4160 to ask where someone is housed or to clarify visitation and release procedures.

To narrow the likely location after an arrest, it can help to:

  • Confirm which law enforcement agency carried out the arrest or issued the warrant.
  • Check whether that agency has its own short-term holding or city jail separate from the county facilities.
  • Use the Jefferson County jail inmate search to see if the person has been booked into Birmingham or Bessemer.
  • Consider nearby counties, the Alabama state prison system, or federal inmate databases when no county jail record appears.

The two primary Jefferson County jail facilities that house county inmates are listed below.

Facility Name Physical Address Phone Number
Birmingham County Jail 809 Richard Arrington Jr., Blvd. N Birmingham, AL 35203 (View on Google Maps) 205-325-5670
Bessemer County Jail 1822 2nd Avenue North Bessemer, AL 35020 (View on Google Maps) 205-481-4160

Checking Jefferson County Custody Using the Inmate Search

The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office provides an online inmate inquiry system that lets you look up people who are in, or were recently in, the county jails. You can search Jefferson County jail custody online using information such as a name or booking details drawn from court or arrest paperwork.

For the most precise results, start with any Booking Number or Subject Number you have. These internal identifiers are usually printed on release paperwork, bond documents, or booking sheets, and they tie directly to a specific person or booking in the Jefferson County system. If you do not have these numbers, you can search by name and use other fields—such as a booking date range or the “In Custody” option—to narrow down the results.

Typical steps when using the inmate search include entering the person’s last name and first name, applying filters like “In Custody” if they are currently in jail, and optionally setting a “Booking From Date” and “Booking To Date” when you know roughly when the arrest happened. Where available, a “Housing Facility” or similar field helps you see whether the person is listed at the Birmingham County Jail or the Bessemer County Jail.

Because common names can produce several entries, always compare as many details as the system provides—such as age, booking date, and jail location—to avoid confusing one person with another. When multiple bookings appear for the same individual, each booking number usually represents a separate jail stay, and you may need information from the courts or your own paperwork to understand which one relates to a particular case.

If no record appears, the person may have been released, transferred, booked under a different spelling, or not yet fully processed into the system. Technical issues or maintenance windows can also limit what you see online. When you need confirmation beyond what the inmate search shows, you can call the Birmingham or Bessemer jail directly using the main switchboard numbers listed above and ask staff to check current custody.

Interpreting Custody Status, Booking Details, and Location Fields

Each entry in a Jefferson County inmate search result normally represents a single booking into the county jail system. A booking number is tied to that specific jail stay, while a subject number is more like a person’s internal ID within the Sheriff’s Office records. When you look at a record, it may show whether the person is currently in custody, the booking date, and which Jefferson County facility is responsible for that booking.

  • Booking and subject numbers: used internally to track the person and each time they are booked.
  • Booking dates: when the person was processed into the jail on that particular case.
  • Custody status indicators: such as whether the person is listed as in custody or no longer held.
  • Housing or facility fields: often noting Birmingham County Jail or Bessemer County Jail.

Online jail records usually focus on jail custody, not the full history of a court case. A person may still have active charges or court dates even if the jail record shows they have been released. Likewise, someone who appears as “in custody” in a Jefferson County record could be waiting to go to court, waiting on transfer to another facility, or held on multiple matters at once. Some information, such as detailed medical, disciplinary, or court notes, may not be available online at all.

Visitation rules are tied to being in custody at one of the Jefferson County jails. The Sheriff’s Office notes that there is no public visitation on Mondays or Fridays, and that inmates are responsible for scheduling a 45-minute visitation time slot one day in advance. Each inmate is allowed a limited number of visits per week, and only a set number of adults and children may attend at once. Visiting children must be accompanied and supervised by a parent or legal guardian, and very young children are restricted to specific days.

When planning a visit, expect strict security and dress rules. Visitors must bring acceptable identification, be properly dressed, and follow staff directions at all times. The Sheriff’s Office indicates that visitors may be searched, contraband will be prosecuted, and items such as cell phones, electronic devices, purses, packages, food, and drinks are not allowed past security checkpoints. The jail can refuse entry to visitors who cause disturbances or do not follow these requirements, and visitation schedules and rules can change, so checking directly with jail staff before traveling is important.

If you plan to send mail or funds, jail staff may ask for identifying details such as the inmate’s full name and booking or subject number to ensure that items are credited to the correct person. Procedures and options for mail, money, or other services can differ between facilities and may change over time, so you should rely on the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office for current instructions.

If You Can’t Find Someone Online: Practical Next Steps

Not every person connected to a Jefferson County case will appear immediately—or at all—in the online inmate search. Very recent arrests, quick releases, transfers to other facilities, and technical issues can all cause a temporary gap between real-world custody and what the search shows. When a search returns no results, there are several ways to double-check before assuming someone is not in custody.

When you do not see the person you are looking for, you can try:

  • Searching again with only the last name or a shorter name spelling.
  • Removing middle names, suffixes, or punctuation that might limit matches.
  • Expanding the booking date range if you are not sure exactly when the arrest occurred.
  • Using a Booking Number or Subject Number from court or jail paperwork instead of a name.
  • Confirming that you are looking in Jefferson County and checking both Birmingham and Bessemer jail records where appropriate.

If the person still does not appear, they might be in another Alabama county jail, a city or municipal facility, a state prison, or federal custody. Some people are also released quickly after arrest or moved to other systems under separate authority. Juvenile cases and certain sensitive matters may have limited public information.

When online tools are not enough, you can call the Jefferson County jail facilities or related offices directly. The Birmingham Jail main switchboard can be reached at 205-325-5670 and the Bessemer Jail main switchboard at 205-481-4160. For release and bond questions, the Sheriff’s Pre-Trial Release Office operates out of both jails and can be reached through the published numbers for Birmingham (such as 205-325-5716) and Bessemer (such as 205-481-8529), as provided by the Sheriff’s Office.

Jefferson County Jail Contacts and Official Resources

The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office is the primary custodian for county jail operations and inmate records in Birmingham and Bessemer. Administrative headquarters are located in downtown Birmingham, and the Corrections Division oversees jail facilities, on-site services, and the Sheriff’s Pre-Trial Release Office. This site is independent from the Sheriff’s Office and is intended only as a general information guide to help you navigate those official resources.

Because phone numbers, locations, visitation schedules, and custody procedures can change, you should use the Sheriff’s published contact details to confirm current information before traveling, sending money, or making decisions about a case. Non-emergency jail questions are typically handled through the main administrative line and the individual jail facilities.

  • Jefferson County Sheriff's Office: 2200 Rev Abraham Woods, Jr., Blvd Birmingham, AL 35203 (View on Google Maps)
  • Phone: 205-325-5700
  • Email: info@jeffcosheriffal.com
  • Birmingham and Bessemer jail visitation questions: 205-325-5670 (Birmingham Jail) and 205-481-4160 (Bessemer Jail).

What are the main jail locations for Jefferson County inmates?
Most Jefferson County inmates are held at the Birmingham County Jail in downtown Birmingham or the Bessemer County Jail in Bessemer, but transfers to other facilities are possible.

Who should I call with questions about visitation at the Jefferson County jails?
For visitation questions, you can contact the Birmingham Jail main switchboard at 205-325-5670 or the Bessemer Jail main switchboard at 205-481-4160.