Search Minnesota Jail Roster Records
Minnesota has 87 county jails, and most of them post a jail roster that the public can view. A jail roster shows who is in custody right now. It lists names, charges, bail, and booking dates. You can search for inmates on each county sheriff's site or use VINELink to check custody status across the state. The Minnesota Government Data Practices Act makes much of this data public. Every county runs its own jail and keeps its own records. If you want to find someone in a Minnesota jail, the sheriff's office in that county is where you start.
Minnesota Jail Roster Overview
How Minnesota Jail Rosters Work
Each of the 87 counties in Minnesota runs a jail under the sheriff's office. The sheriff is required by Minnesota Statute 641.05 to keep a jail register that logs every person who comes in. That register shows the name, age, date of commitment, the authority who committed them, and the cause. This is the foundation of every county jail roster in the state. Most sheriffs now put this data online so the public can search it from home.
A typical Minnesota jail roster shows the inmate's name, date of birth, booking date and time, charges, bail or bond amount, and the arresting agency. Some counties add mugshots. Others show court dates or projected release dates. The level of detail depends on the county.
Small rural jails may only hold a handful of people at a time. Large metro facilities like the Hennepin County jail in Minneapolis or the Ramsey County Adult Detention Center in St. Paul can hold hundreds. The Hennepin County jail roster updates every hour. Ramsey County updates about every 30 minutes. Dakota County books roughly 9,000 inmates per year and updates in real time.
You can also search the jail roster through the statewide VINELink system. VINELink lets you look up custody status by name or offender ID. It covers all participating Minnesota counties and updates every 15 minutes. Call 1-877-MN-4-VINE (1-877-664-8463) to check by phone. The service is free.
Minnesota Jail Roster Search Tools
Several statewide tools let you search for inmates and jail roster records across Minnesota counties. The Hennepin County Sheriff's Office runs one of the most detailed online jail rosters in the state, showing names, charges, bail, and court dates for everyone in custody.
This is what the Hennepin County jail roster portal looks like. It shows current inmates and people released in the last seven days. It updates hourly.
The Anoka County Inmate Locator is another useful tool. It lets you search by last name or first name and see booking dates, charges, housing facility, and expected release dates. It also shows releases from the past 10 days.
Anoka County runs both a jail and a workhouse. The jail holds 238 beds and the workhouse holds 41. Their inmate locator covers both facilities.
Minnesota Jail Roster Public Records Law
Minnesota's Government Data Practices Act (Chapter 13) controls what jail data is public. Under Section 13.82, certain law enforcement data is classified as public. This includes the name, age, sex, and address of anyone arrested or booked. The charges and the date and time of arrest are also public. This is why county jail rosters can be posted online for anyone to see.
Not everything in an inmate's file is public. Under Section 13.85, some corrections and detention data is private. Medical records, mental health records, and certain investigative data are not available to the public. Financial records, visitor logs, and history cards are also classified as private or confidential.
Note: Jail roster data is a snapshot. It can change at any time as people are booked in or released. Always verify with the sheriff's office if you need current info.
Statewide Jail Roster Resources
Minnesota has several tools that work across county lines. These are helpful when you don't know which county holds the person you are looking for.
VINELink is the main statewide system. It is free and anonymous. You can register for notifications so you get a call, text, or email when an inmate's status changes. That includes release, transfer, or escape. VINELink is available in English, Spanish, Hmong, and Somali by phone. The website supports English and Spanish. Call 1-877-MN-4-VINE to use the phone system.
Third-party jail roster portals also collect data from many Minnesota county jails into a single search page. These sites pull from public records that the counties post.
The Minnesota Department of Corrections handles state prisons. If someone has been sentenced and moved from a county jail to a state facility, the DOC offender locator can help. County jails hold people before trial and those serving short sentences. State prisons are for longer terms.
The Ramsey County Sheriff's Office page shown here links to their Adult Detention Center roster. Ramsey County also runs an open data portal with jail roster data that updates every 30 minutes.
How to Search a Minnesota Jail Roster
Start with the county. Every jail in Minnesota is run by a county sheriff. If you know which county the arrest happened in, go to that sheriff's website and look for the jail roster or inmate search page. Most counties let you search by name. Some let you filter by booking date or view the full list.
If you don't know the county, try VINELink first. It searches all participating counties at once. You just need a name. If VINELink does not show results, the person may have been released, may not be in a county jail, or may be in a facility that has not yet updated. You can also try calling the sheriff's office directly. The non-emergency number is usually listed on the county website.
For court records tied to a jail booking, the Minnesota Court Records Online system is useful. It shows case status, party names, and docket entries from district courts in all 87 counties. It won't show the jail roster itself, but it can tell you if a case is active and where it was filed.
The Minnesota Court Records Online system shown above is free to use. It helps when you need more detail beyond what the jail roster provides.
What a Minnesota Jail Roster Shows
Jail rosters in Minnesota vary by county, but most share the same basic fields. Here is what you can expect to see on a typical roster:
- Full name and date of birth
- Booking date and time
- Charges and charge status
- Bail or bond amount
- Arresting agency
- Housing facility and projected release date
Some counties like Blue Earth County include a photo, the arresting agency, case number, and projected release date on their jail custody roster. Their roster updates daily around 6:00 AM. Chisago County runs a dedicated inmate locator with real-time updates. Brown County posts its roster on the sheriff's office site with photos and booking details.
Counties handle released inmates differently on the jail roster. Hennepin County shows releases from the last 7 days. Anoka County shows the last 10 days. Most smaller counties only show current inmates. If the person you are looking for was released recently, check VINELink or call the jail.
The Stearns County inmate search page is one of many county tools that let you look up who is in custody. Each county runs its own system.
Minnesota Sheriff and Jail Roster Duties
Under Minnesota Statute 387.03, the county sheriff is the chief law enforcement officer and is responsible for the county jail. That includes keeping the jail roster up to date. The sheriff must keep a register of all persons committed to the jail as required by Section 641.05. This duty is set in state law. It is not optional.
The Minnesota Department of Corrections inspects county jails for compliance. Counties like Brown County have scored a 98.43% compliance rating. Crow Wing County has hit 99 to 100%. These inspections cover conditions, staffing, record keeping, and how well the jail roster and other data systems are maintained.
St. Louis County, shown above, is one of the largest counties in Minnesota by area. Their jail roster is posted through the sheriff's department website and covers facilities in both Duluth and Virginia.
Browse Minnesota Jail Roster by County
Each of Minnesota's 87 counties has a sheriff's office that runs the county jail and posts a jail roster. Pick a county below to find local contact info, inmate search links, and jail details.
Jail Roster in Major Minnesota Cities
No city in Minnesota runs its own jail. When someone is arrested in a city, they go to the county jail. Pick a city below to learn which county jail handles arrests in that area and how to search the jail roster.