Iowa Inmate Search

Use this website for informational purposes only.

Iowa has one of the strictest laws in the US. Naturally, those convicted of those laws would be sent to 9 state prisons or the 112 jails operated by the counties. The Iowa Department of Human Services (DHS) runs the 4 juvenile centers that hold underage inmates within the state. Iowa does not use any private prisons for its inmates. State prisons are operated by the Iowa Department of Corrections (IDOC), while the respective sheriffs of each county run the county jails. While there are about 8 judicial districts in the state, the inmates are housed depending on the security level of the state jail. The classification of offenders 4in the state is based on offense class, mental health needs, and security risk. Some of the state jails have minimum security satellite facilities. 

There are also many community correctional offices supervising offenders on parole and probation. The nine state jails hold over 9,000 inmates compared to 4,300 held in all the county jails in the state. The IDOC is in charge of the accreditation and financial support of the state prisons. IDOC also inspects the county jails and the Iowa Prison Industries ( a non-profit initiative that imparts practical manufacturing job skills to inmates).  

Inmate Records 

It is not possible for the prison system to hold any of the inmates properly without proper inmate records. The inmate records are vital in the classification and sometimes the sentencing of the inmates. The inmate records of all adult names in the state are public records per the Iowa Open Records Law. Juvenile records are treated differently and may need special permission to obtain. 

Inmate records are kept by the DHS, IDOC, state, county, and city holding the inmate. Some data kept in the inmate record include personal information, inmate mugshots, arrest and booking details, court information, and release dates. You can obtain the data from any of these institutions online, by mail, or from third-parties sites. 

Inmate Searches 

Most prisons and jails keep an inmate roster that contains the list of the inmates currently locked up in the facility. The jail roster may contain most of the inmate records. It is a vital detail that helps loved ones find inmates locked up in different state prisons and county jails.  

The IDOC website provides a search tool that lets you search names based on their names, date of birth, sex, offender number, location, and so forth. You can also write to IDOC for more comprehensive detail on state inmates. 

This site is not owned or operated by any state government agency, read more.