San Joaquin County Jail Roster Overview
The county jail is run by the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office under Sheriff Patrick Withrow. The Sheriff's Custody Division books, houses, and releases people arrested by city police, the California Highway Patrol, the Sheriff's own deputies, and other agencies that bring people to the county jail. The custody page is the gateway to the live roster, jail rules, and visit and mail rules. The Who's in Custody page is the public face of the roster.
The roster shows who is in county custody right now. It does not show people in state prison, federal prison, or immigration custody. It does not show old bookings after the person is released. For older arrest records, the search shifts to court case files or to the arresting agency. For people sent to state prison, the search shifts to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation locator at CDCR CIRIS. For people in federal custody, the search shifts to the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.
The Sheriff's home page is the place to start when you do not have a direct link. The home page links to custody, who is in custody, visiting, mail, phone, money, and the most wanted page. The sjsheriff.org home page is shown below.
The page above is the main hub for every jail tool the Sheriff publishes. Bookmark it so the other pages are one click away.
How to Use the San Joaquin County Inmate Roster
The roster is reached through the Sheriff's site. Live application fields can change. Read the on-page notes each time you search, since the live tool drives the final search experience. The basic flow is short.
- Open the Sheriff's Who's in Custody page.
- Click the link or button that opens the live custody lookup tool.
- Enter the inmate's last name. Add a first name if the result list is long.
- If you have a booking number, use that field instead. A booking number is the most exact match.
- Review each match. A common name can return more than one person.
- Open the profile to see charges, bail, and any court date that is set.
- If the person is not in the list, call the Sheriff's custody information line for the most current status.
The custody division page at sjsheriff.org/custody sets the rules that apply to all inmates. The page is short but it is the source of the official rules. The image below is the page that hosts the custody division content.
Use the custody page above to confirm jail rules before you visit or send a deposit. The Sheriff updates the page when rules change.
Roster Search Fields
The Who's in Custody tool is a live application. Static page review did not expose every field that the live form shows. The table below lists what the public roster typically asks for. Confirm the live field labels and the submit button text on the day you search.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Name | Text | Likely | Most jail roster tools key off the last name first. Spell it as the Sheriff has it on file. |
| First Name | Text | No | Adds a filter when the last name returns many hits. |
| Booking Number | Text | No | Use when the booking number is known. It is the most exact way to pull a single record. |
| Search / Submit | Button | Yes | Confirm the button label in the live tool before you call it the wrong name. |
The field set above is the model. The live tool may add or drop fields without notice. Treat the live page as the source of record for the form.
What an Inmate Profile Shows
A profile page returns the public facts about a current booking. The Sheriff sets what is shown and what is held back. Some fields are not shown for safety reasons. The table below lists the fields a public profile commonly returns when the Sheriff's tool includes them.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Inmate Name | Full legal name on the booking sheet. Middle name is often included. |
| Booking Number | Unique number for this booking. Keep it. It speeds up every later call. |
| Booking Date and Time | When the person was logged into county custody after arrest. |
| Arresting Agency | Police, Sheriff, CHP, or other agency that brought the person in. |
| Charges | Code section and short charge text. A charge is not a conviction. |
| Bail / Bond Amount | Amount set, if any. May read "no bail" for some holds. |
| Housing or Facility | The pod, tower, or unit, if the Sheriff shows it. |
| Court Date | Next set hearing, when the booking has one. |
| Release Date or Status | Shown when the person has been released or transferred. |
| DOB or Age | May be full or partial. Some sites show only a year. |
| Mugshot | May or may not appear. Sheriff sets the policy. |
Some fields are not on a public profile. Medical and mental health flags are not public. Protective custody status is not public. Confidential informant or active investigative notes are not public. Juvenile custody is held separately under state law. Victim and witness contact data is held back.
San Joaquin County Sheriff and Jail Contact
The Sheriff's Office runs the county jail. Static research did not capture a verified street address for the jail building. Use the Sheriff's custody page for the current mailing and visiting address before you drive over or send mail. The card below points to the official online source rather than a guessed street.
San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office
Sheriff Patrick Withrow
Custody Division
Stockton, CA
Visiting, Mail, and Phone
Visit rules: sjsheriff.org/visiting
Mail rules: sjsheriff.org/inmate-mail
Phone rules: sjsheriff.org/inmate-phone-system
Money deposits: sjsheriff.org/inmate-money
Note: The jail's exact mailing address and booking number format should be read off the Sheriff's live page on the day you write or visit, since the Sheriff updates these without notice.
Booking Process in San Joaquin County
Booking starts with arrest and a ride to the county jail. The Sheriff's intake staff then runs a set list of steps before a person is placed in housing. The list is largely the same across California county jails, but the timing varies with the day, the time, the number of bookings ahead in the queue, and the medical screening that the case needs.
- Intake search and identification at the sally port.
- Personal property is inventoried and stored.
- Medical and mental health screening by jail health staff.
- Photo and fingerprints, when the case calls for them.
- Charges and any active warrants are entered into the booking system.
- Classification staff assigns housing based on safety, gender, and case type.
- Bail or release eligibility is checked against the local bail schedule.
- Court date is set for arraignment, often within two court days.
Booking can take a few hours or most of a day. The roster may not show a brand new booking right away. A person can be at the jail and still not appear on the public list. Call the custody line if a search comes back empty and the arrest was recent.
Bail and Holds in San Joaquin County Jail
Bail in California can take many forms. Cash bail is paid in full to the court or the jail. A bond is posted by a licensed bail agent for a fee. Own recognizance release lets a person leave without paying, with a written promise to return. Supervised release adds check-ins, drug testing, or other terms. A no-bail hold blocks release until a judge sets bail or the hold clears.
The court's uniform bail schedule sets the standard amount for each charge before a judge rules. The schedule changes by year and by county. Read the current schedule on the Superior Court site. Real bail can be higher or lower than the schedule based on the judge's order at first appearance. Probation, parole, federal warrants, immigration holds, or out of county warrants can keep a person in jail even after county charges clear.
Visitation Hours and Rules
The Sheriff publishes the current visit rules at sjsheriff.org/visiting. Times, days, and visit type can change. The table below describes the visit types that California county jails use. Read the live page for the exact day, hour, and any signup that the Sheriff requires.
| Visit Type | Who It Is For | Schedule Source |
|---|---|---|
| Social visit | Family and approved visitors. May be in person, by video, or both. | sjsheriff.org/visiting |
| Attorney visit | Bar-licensed counsel and authorized legal staff. Confidential rules apply. | sjsheriff.org/visiting |
| Professional visit | Clergy, social workers, and other professionals as approved. | sjsheriff.org/visiting |
| Remote or video visit | Offered when the Sheriff posts the option. Account and fee may apply. | sjsheriff.org/visiting |
The visit page is shown below. It is the live source for hours, signup, ID rules, dress code, child rules, and lockdown cancellations.
Use the page above to confirm the visit window before you drive. A late visitor often loses the slot.
Mail, Phone, and Inmate Money
The Sheriff publishes three rule pages for staying in touch with a person in jail. Each page sets the format, the limits, and the rules that the jail will enforce. Use the live pages, not a third party site, for the current rules. Each rule page is the source of record for that topic.
Mail to a county inmate must use the jail's mailing address format. The address line carries the inmate's full name and booking number. Packages are blocked. Stamps and cash are blocked. Legal mail is treated separately and has its own marking rules. The full rule set lives at sjsheriff.org/inmate-mail. Phone calls run through the jail's contracted provider. Calls are monitored, with attorney calls treated as confidential. Account funding methods and call rates are set by the provider and posted at sjsheriff.org/inmate-phone-system. Inmate money deposits are made online, by phone, or at a lobby kiosk through the provider listed at sjsheriff.org/inmate-money. Deposit fees and limits are set by the provider and posted on that page.
Court Dates After Booking
Most people booked into the San Joaquin County jail have a first court date set within two court days. The first hearing is the arraignment. Charges are read, a plea is entered or set over, counsel is appointed if needed, and bail is reviewed. The case then moves on to pretrial and trial settings if no plea ends it earlier.
Court dates are not always shown on the jail roster. The court runs its own search at sjcourts.org/case-management-search. The court site is the source of record for hearings and orders. The jail roster is the source of record for current custody. Use both to track a case from arrest through first appearance. For deeper case detail, see San Joaquin County court records and criminal records. For Superior Court divisions and locations, see San Joaquin Superior Court.
Sealed or Restricted Inmate Information
Some custody information is not public. Juvenile custody is not posted on the adult roster. Sealed warrants are not shown. Active investigative holds are not shown. Medical and mental health status is held back. Victim contact data is held back. Some inmates may be flagged for safety reasons and have housing data hidden.
Adult convictions can sometimes be dismissed under California Penal Code 1203.4 after probation. Some arrest records can be sealed under Penal Code 851.91. A dismissal under 1203.4 does not erase the record but changes how it is read. Both are court orders that follow a written petition. The court's California Courts self-help guide walks through both. None of these orders change the live jail roster while a person is in custody. They affect later background checks and later court records, not active booking pages.
Common Booking Terms
Jail pages use a short list of legal terms. A clear read of the roster turns on the right read of those terms. The list below is short. It covers the words that show up the most often on a profile or a court date entry.
- Booking
- The intake process that puts an arrested person into county custody and creates the booking number used on every later search.
- Arraignment
- The first court hearing after arrest. Charges are read, a plea is set or deferred, and bail is reviewed.
- Bail
- Money or a bond posted as a promise to return for court. Forfeit if the person fails to appear.
- Own Recognizance (OR)
- Release without money, on a written promise to return. The judge weighs ties to the area, prior record, and the case.
- No-Bail Hold
- A hold that blocks release until a judge acts. Common for serious charges and for probation or parole holds.
- Transfer
- A move from county jail to state prison, federal custody, another county, or a treatment program.
Note: A charge listed on a booking page is what the arresting agency said, not what a court has proven; charges may change after a prosecutor files or rejects the case.