Search Santa Clara Inmate Records

Santa Clara inmate population records are managed by the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office. The city has about 127,000 residents and sits in the heart of Silicon Valley. Santa Clara does not operate its own jail. People arrested here get booked into county facilities in San Jose and Milpitas. This page covers how to search for inmates connected to Santa Clara, what statewide tools exist, the legal rules that govern record access, and the contact numbers you need to locate someone in custody.

Santa Clara County Jail Search

The Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office runs all jail operations for the city of Santa Clara. When the Santa Clara Police Department makes an arrest, officers transport the person to one of two county facilities. The Main Jail at 150 West Hedding Street in San Jose is the primary intake site. It processes bookings 24 hours a day. The Elmwood Correctional Facility in Milpitas handles medium and minimum security inmates. Together, these two jails make up the county's entire detention system, and they hold well over 3,000 inmates on a busy day.

Search for inmates at eservices.sccgov.org. The county runs this tool through its e-Services portal. Type in a name and the system returns current custody records. Results show the booking number, charges, bail amount, and which facility the person is in. The tool is free. No account is needed. If someone was arrested in Santa Clara, the booking data usually appears within hours of intake at Main Jail.

You can also call the sheriff at (408) 808-2800. Staff on the phone can check custody status and provide booking details. The county Department of Correction handles day-to-day jail management, but the sheriff remains the top authority over all Santa Clara County jail operations. Both the Main Jail and Elmwood fall under the same system, so one search covers everything.

If someone does not appear in the search, they may have been cited and released. Not all arrests in Santa Clara result in a full booking at county.

Statewide Inmate Databases

The CIRIS inmate locator from CDCR covers all 34 state prisons. It does not have county jail data. If someone from Santa Clara was convicted and sentenced to prison, CIRIS shows their current facility, admission date, and parole schedule. Search by name or CDCR number. The tool is free. Anyone sentenced in Santa Clara County Superior Court who ends up in the state prison system will have Santa Clara listed as their commitment county.

VINELink searches county jails across all 58 California counties. It is useful when you do not know which county holds someone. Maybe a person was arrested in Santa Clara but moved to a different county's jail. VINE checks all of them. It also sends alerts. You sign up and pick how you want to be told when an inmate's status changes. Options include phone, email, and text. Call 1-877-411-5588 to use VINE by phone.

The screenshot below shows the CDCR CIRIS state prison inmate locator tool.

The BSCC Jail Profile Survey publishes monthly jail numbers for Santa Clara County. It tracks average daily population, total bookings, and facility capacity. The data goes back years and is useful for tracking trends in Santa Clara County's jail population over time rather than looking up individual inmates.

Santa Clara Record Access Rules

Booking data from Santa Clara arrests is public. Government Code 6254(f) requires law enforcement to share arrest information with anyone who asks. Names, charges, bail amounts, and booking dates are all covered. The Santa Clara Police Department and the county sheriff both follow this rule. You do not need to show ID or explain why you want the information. The county posts it on the e-Services portal, and the city releases it by phone or in person.

Criminal history records are different. Penal Code 11105 restricts full criminal backgrounds to authorized users. The DOJ controls those files. To check your own record, visit a Live Scan fingerprint site near Santa Clara and pay $25 to the DOJ. Several Live Scan locations operate in Santa Clara and nearby San Jose. Processing takes a few days in most cases.

The Santa Clara County Public Defender helps residents who need to understand their own records. The Law Foundation of Silicon Valley also provides free legal services for record clearing and expungement. In California, expungement changes the record to show the case was dismissed but does not fully delete it from the system.

Note: Jail rosters are live snapshots and released inmates will no longer appear in the county search tool.

Visiting and Contact at Santa Clara County Jail

Visiting at county jails follows a set schedule from the sheriff. The Main Jail and Elmwood each have their own visiting hours and rules. You need valid photo ID. Video visits are available at both facilities. In-person visits are behind glass for most housing units. Some housing areas allow contact visits for certain inmate classifications. Call (408) 808-2800 or check the sheriff's website for the latest schedule.

Phone calls from Santa Clara County jail carry fees. The county contracts with a provider that sets the rates. Families can deposit funds to an inmate's phone account through an online portal. State prison calls became free in California starting January 2023, but that change does not cover county jails. Mail goes to the specific facility where the inmate is housed. For Main Jail, the address is 150 West Hedding Street, San Jose, CA 95110. Include the inmate's full name and booking number on all letters. Electronic messaging and commissary deposits are also handled through approved county vendors.

Nearby City Inmate Records

These cities near Santa Clara share county jail systems or are close enough to have overlapping inmate populations.

Santa Clara County Inmate Records

For the full breakdown of all county jail facilities and search tools, visit the county page.