How to Search the Sonoma County Inmate Roster
The Sonoma County jail roster is hosted by Sheriff-Coroner Eddie Engram, who took office on January 2, 2023 as the county's 35th elected sheriff. The official tool is the Sonoma County Sheriff Jail Inmate Search. It runs from the Sheriff's web system and is the only public-facing inmate lookup for the county jail. The page has a bilingual interface with an English and Spanish toggle. The data behind it comes from the jail's booking system, so most updates appear soon after a booking is processed. The public list is not a court file. It is a custody list. A name drops off the public roster once the person is no longer in Sonoma jail custody.
The roster does not cover state prison, federal prison, or immigration custody. People held by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation appear in CDCR CIRIS. People held by the federal Bureau of Prisons appear in the BOP inmate locator. People held in another county's jail will not show up in Sonoma's tool. For post-release tracking, see Sonoma County released inmates. For active warrants, see Sonoma County warrant records.
Sonoma County Sheriff's Jail Inmate Search
The search lives on the Sheriff's inmate subdomain. The page title reads "Sonoma County Sheriff Jail Inmate Search." It offers two search routes. One searches by last name. The other searches by booking number. Both routes run against the same live jail data. Use whichever you have. If you only know the name, use the last name tab. If you have the booking number from a court notice or a jail call, the booking-number tab is faster and returns just one record.
The Sheriff's main website at sonomasheriff.org links to the inmate tool from the law-enforcement menu. The page also has English and Spanish buttons. Users can toggle the language without losing their search. The search itself is free and does not require an account. No login is needed for basic results. Some deeper links from the profile, such as online money deposits, route to a third-party vendor.
- Open the Jail Inmate Search page in any browser.
- Pick the "Search by Last Name" tab or the "Search by Booking Number" tab.
- Type the last name or the booking number into the input field.
- Click the Search button. The list view shows matching inmates.
- Click a name in the list to open the full inmate profile.
- Use the profile to read charges, bail, court dates, and mail or money details.
A live screen capture of the form is posted on the Sheriff's Jail Inmate Search page.
The capture shows the two tabs, the input box, and the language toggle in their default state before any search is run.
Search Fields for the Sonoma County Jail Roster
The roster uses a short input set. The form is not a full booking record search. It is a quick lookup. The fields below come from a direct check of the live form. Field IDs are taken from the public page source. The Sheriff's site does not let users search by date of birth, race, gender, or address on the jail page. The warrant app uses some of those extra fields, but the jail roster does not.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Search by Last Name | Tab | No | Opens the last-name search form. |
| Enter inmate's Last Name | Text | Yes for last-name search | Field id SearchName. Public test on the live page accepted a single last name like "Smith." |
| Search by Booking Number | Tab | No | Opens the booking-number search form. |
| Booking Number | Text | Yes for booking-number search | Field id SearchBookingNumber. Use the exact number from a court notice or a jail call. |
| Search | Button | n/a | Button id submitLastName or searchBtnBookingNumber based on tab. |
| En Español | Button | n/a | Language toggle to Spanish. |
Search by Last Name
The last-name search is the most-used route. Type the last name and click Search. The system returns a list view, not a single record. Each row stands for one current booking. A common last name will return many rows. The list shows the name, age, arresting agency, and booking number. The name in each row is a clickable link to the full inmate profile. If a person uses an alias, the same booking number may appear with more than one name spelling. That is normal. The Sheriff's office posts alias names tied to the same booking.
For best results, use just the last name with no first name or initials. Partial last names are not always accepted. If the result list is empty, try a shorter version of the last name. Check the spelling on the court notice or the jail call printout. Bear in mind that a missing record may also mean the person is no longer in Sonoma County jail custody.
Search by Booking Number
The booking number is a numeric jail ID issued at intake. It is not the same as a Superior Court case number. A Sonoma court case number looks like CR-25CR05255. A jail booking number is a separate digit string. When you have the booking number, the booking-number tab is the cleanest way to pull a single profile. Friends and family can ask the inmate for the booking number on the first phone call. It is also printed on bail receipts and on some court notices.
If a search by booking number returns no record, the person may have been released, transferred to state custody, or moved to another agency. Verify with the Sheriff's office or the court before drawing a conclusion.
Reading Sonoma County Inmate Search Results
The results list is short on purpose. Each row is meant to confirm the person is in custody and to point users to the deeper profile. The list view does not display a mugshot. It does not display the charges. It does not display the bail. Those fields live one click deeper on the inmate profile.
| Result Column | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Name | Full name as booked, shown as a clickable link to the profile. Aliases tied to the same booking may show as extra rows. |
| Age | Age in years. Full date of birth is not shown on the list page. |
| Arresting Agency | Agency that brought the person in. Common values include Santa Rosa Police Department, Petaluma Police Department, California Highway Patrol, Probation Department, and Sonoma County Sheriff's Office. |
| Booking Number | Numeric jail ID. Use this for money deposits, mail, and bail. |
The Sonoma County Inmate Profile
The profile page is the long-form record. It is reached by clicking a name from the list. Fields come from the live profile inspected at the Sheriff's inmate search. Some rows on the profile pull from the jail booking record. Others pull from the court system to show the next scheduled hearing. Money instructions are static and appear on every profile.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Name | Full booked name in large text at the top of the profile. |
| Age | Public age value. Full DOB is not shown. |
| Booking Number | Jail ID tied to this stay in custody. |
| Arresting Agency | Police, sheriff, CHP, or probation agency that booked the person. |
| Date Booked | Booking date and time in MM/DD/YYYY HH:MM:SS AM/PM format. |
| Facility | Short code for the holding facility, for example MADF for the Main Adult Detention Facility. |
| Facility Address | Street address of the holding facility, for example Main Adult Detention Facility, 2777 Ventura Avenue, Santa Rosa, CA 95403. |
| Mailing Address | Mail-processing address: inmate name and booking number, Main Adult Detention Facility - 2000, PO Box 96777, Las Vegas, NV 89193. |
| Charges | Charges table with case, bail amount, and charge columns. Not every booking has a full public charge row at the time of intake. |
| Bail | Bail dollar amount for each charge, shown inside the charges table. |
| Scheduled Court Date | Court date table with case number, court date, and location columns. Example: case CR-25CR05255, set in Courtroom 3. |
| Money Deposit | Standing block with kiosk, internet, phone, and mail options, plus phone 1-866-232-1899 and facility code 295403. |
Charges, Bail, and Scheduled Court Dates
The charges block on the profile links the jail record to the court file. Each row in the charges table maps to a case in Sonoma Superior Court. The bail amount is the figure set by the judge or by the county bail schedule. The court-date block shows the next hearing for each open case. The location field uses courtroom names like "Courtroom 3," which sit inside the main court complex at 600 Administration Drive in Santa Rosa.
Charges on the jail roster reflect booking charges, not final convictions. A person may be booked on one set of charges and later face a different set after the District Attorney files. Some rows on the jail page may show a charge field that is blank or pending. That can happen before the formal complaint is filed. For the underlying court file, use Sonoma County court records through the Odyssey Portal. For arrest detail before charging, see Sonoma County arrest records.
Sonoma County Jail Facilities
The Sheriff's Office runs two adult jail facilities. The main intake site is the Main Adult Detention Facility, often shortened to MADF. The second site is the North County Detention Facility, often shortened to NCDF. Both sit on the north Santa Rosa government campus. Most new bookings are processed at MADF. NCDF is named in the Sheriff's inmate-money instructions as one of the two mailing addresses for money orders and cashier's checks. The exact facility for each inmate appears on the profile in the Facility field.
Main Adult Detention Facility (MADF)
2777 Ventura Avenue
Santa Rosa, CA 95403
Active intake facility shown as MADF on the inmate profile.
North County Detention Facility (NCDF)
2254 Ordinance Road
Santa Rosa, CA 95403
Second facility listed in the Sheriff's inmate-money mailing instructions.
Depositing Money for a Sonoma County Inmate
The Sheriff's money-deposit block sits on every inmate profile. Funds can be added to an inmate's account in four ways. Each path needs the inmate's full name and booking number. Personal checks are not accepted. Money orders and cashier's checks must include the name and booking number on the instrument itself. The official rules are posted on the Sheriff's inmate money page.
- Jail lobby kiosk. In-person deposits at kiosks in the lobbies of the jail facilities.
- Internet. Online deposit through the link on the inmate profile page.
- Phone. Deposit by phone at 1-866-232-1899 using facility code 295403 and the inmate's booking number.
- Mail. Money order or cashier's check, with the inmate's full name and booking number written on the instrument, mailed to the facility where the inmate is housed.
Mailing the Sonoma County Inmate
Inmate mail is processed at an off-site scanning center. The mail-processing address on the public inmate profile uses a Las Vegas PO Box for at least some MADF mail. Always check the current mail rules on the Sheriff's jail mail page before sending letters or money. Mail can be rejected for contraband, explicit material, coded messages, stickers, cash, personal checks, or third-party packages.
The format on the inmate profile reads:
- Inmate full name and booking number
- Main Adult Detention Facility - 2000
- PO Box 96777
- Las Vegas, NV 89193
What Is Not in the Public Search
The Sonoma County jail search is built for custody confirmation and basic case linking. It is not a deep record. Several fields are held back by jail and court rules. Search results do not show Social Security numbers. They do not show full medical or mental health detail. They do not show jail classification flags or housing decisions. They do not show victim names or contact information. They do not show confidential informant data. Sealed juvenile records and sealed adult records are also kept off the list.
Some fields that do appear on the warrant search, like a full date of birth, are kept off the jail roster. The jail page uses age only. People who need a full DOB or a deeper history should look at the underlying Sonoma County court records through the Odyssey Portal, request certified copies from the Clerk of the Superior Court, or use Sonoma County warrant records for an active warrant check.
Release Status and VINELink Notifications
The Sonoma County roster is a current-custody tool. When a person is released, their record drops from the public list. There is no separate "recently released" list on the Sheriff's site. People who want to know the moment a person is released should set up free alerts through VINELink. VINELink is the state-wide victim notification system. It works through phone, email, and SMS alerts. Users select California, search for the person by name, and pick a notification method.
For state prison release tracking, use CDCR CIRIS. For federal release, use the BOP locator. For a registered sex-offender search after release, use the California Megan's Law site. For a full walkthrough of post-release tools, see Sonoma County released inmates. For broader jail data and capacity context, see Sonoma County inmate population.
Note: VINELink alerts depend on agency data feeds and may not catch every same-day release event, so confirm with the jail when timing matters.