Jefferson County Inmate Inquiry Portal
The Sheriff's Inmate Inquiry is the official roster lookup. It runs on Tyler Technologies New World software, which Alabama and other states use for jail roster pages. The form supports name, subject number, booking number, and date range. A Housing Facility dropdown lets you filter to Birmingham or Bessemer or leave it blank for all.
The portal is free and no account is needed. A common-surname search returns many rows; the booking number or subject number narrows fast. The default booking date range covers about one year back from the day you load the page.
The form sits at the top of the page; search results show below with the photo, name, and a quick column set per row.
How to Use the Jefferson County Jail Roster
The portal returns a result list keyed to the fields you enter. The smarter your search, the cleaner the rows back. Start narrow.
- Open the Inmate Inquiry portal and let the form load.
- Pick a search type: name, subject number, or booking number.
- Enter the data. For name, use last name first; add a first name to narrow common surnames.
- Check the In Custody box to limit results to people still in jail.
- Choose a Housing Facility if you know it: Jefferson County Jail - Birmingham or Jefferson County Jail - Bessemer.
- Set the Booking From and Booking To dates if you want a window narrower than one year.
- Click Search. Open the row to see the detail page with bookings, bonds, court info, and charges.
Jefferson County Inmate Search Fields
The form labels and types below come from the live Sheriff portal. Use them as a reference if a field is not clear in the live page.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes / Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Text | Optional | Free text; smart with last name first. |
| Subject Number | Text | Optional | Exact subject number when known. |
| Booking Number | Text | Optional | Exact booking number when known. |
| In Custody | Checkbox | Optional | True limits results to currently jailed only. |
| Booking From Date | Date | Optional | MM/DD/YYYY; default one year back. |
| Booking To Date | Date | Optional | MM/DD/YYYY; defaults to current day. |
| Housing Facility | Dropdown | Optional | Blank, Jefferson County Jail - Bessemer, Jefferson County Jail - Birmingham. |
| Search | Button | N/A | Runs the search. |
| Clear | Button | N/A | Clears the form. |
What the Result List Shows
Each row on the search results page shows a short set of identifiers and one quick custody indicator. From the result list you can click into the detail page for a full booking record.
- Photo (booking thumbnail)
- Name
- Subject Number
- In Custody flag
- Scheduled Release Date
- Race
- Gender
- Date of Birth
- Height and Weight
- Multiple Bookings flag
- Housing Facility
Sample Inmate Detail Fields
The inmate detail page expands the row into full booking content. The table below comes from a live record inspected at the inquiry portal.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Header | "Inmate Detail" and the name with a back-to-search link. |
| Demographics | Name, subject number, date of birth, age, gender, race, height, weight. |
| Address | City, state, and ZIP only; full street address not shown. |
| Aliases | Other names known to the booking system. |
| Photo | Booking photo with timestamp; thumbnail and full image links. |
| Booking Data | Booking date, release date, scheduled release date, prisoner type, classification, housing facility. |
| Total Bond / Total Bail | Aggregate bond and bail amounts. |
| Booking Origin | Arresting jurisdiction or booking source. |
| Bonds Table | Bond number, type, amount; may show "No data." |
| Court Info Table | Charges, court date, court, courtroom; may show "No data." |
| Charges Table | Number, charge description, offense date, docket number, sentence date, disposition, disposition date, sentence length, crime class, arresting agency, attempt/commit, bond. |
Note: A blank disposition or sentence does not mean no court action. It can mean the data has not been posted to the public roster.
Jefferson County Jail Facilities
The county runs two jails. The Birmingham facility is on Richard Arrington Jr. Boulevard North, next to the Mel Bailey Criminal Justice Center. The Bessemer facility sits next to the Bessemer Sheriff's Office Headquarters in the Bessemer Cutoff. Both jails have on-site medical services. The Birmingham facility has law libraries and adult education services.
Birmingham County Jail
809 Richard Arrington Jr. Blvd. N.
Birmingham, AL 35203
(205) 325-5670
Admin (205) 325-5772
Pre-Trial Release (205) 325-5716
Bessemer County Jail
1822 2nd Avenue North
Bessemer, AL 35020
(205) 481-4160
Bessemer Cutoff Division
Pre-Trial Release on site
The Corrections Division page publishes the visitation rules, jail flow numbers, and the Pre-Trial Release operations notes.
Booking, Bond, and Pretrial Release
After arrest, the booking process at either Jefferson County jail captures demographics, charge info, photos, and bond status. The Pre-Trial Release Office runs out of both facilities to help qualified inmates secure release without posting cash and to assist the public in posting bonds for those who do not qualify for the program.
Bond and bail rules come from Alabama Code Title 15, Chapter 13. The detail page shows total bond, total bail, and a bonds table that can list bond number, type, and amount. A "no data" entry on the bonds table usually means no bond has been set yet or the bond entry has not posted.
Jefferson County Jail Visitation Rules
The Sheriff's Corrections page lists the visitation rules in detail. Visits are scheduled by the inmate, not the visitor, and the jail can refuse entry for any cause. The schedule table below shows the published rules.
| Rule | Detail |
|---|---|
| No visitation days | Monday and Friday |
| Visit length | 45-minute time slot |
| Scheduling | Inmate must schedule one day prior |
| Weekly limit | Two visits per inmate per week |
| Adult visitor minimum age | 17 with valid state ID or driver's license |
| Visitors per visit | Two adults and two children over age three |
| Children under 3 | First Sunday of every month only |
| Searches | All visitors subject to search |
| Banned property | Cell phones, electronic devices, purses, packages, food, drinks |
Note: Visitation days and times are subject to change; call the jail before the trip if the schedule matters.
Release Date and Scheduled Release Date
The detail page has both a Release Date and a Scheduled Release Date field. Release Date is set when the inmate is actually released. Scheduled Release Date is a projected date used by the jail's case-management software and can change with sentence credit, court order, or transfer. A blank in either field does not lock in a release status.
To verify release, call Birmingham jail at (205) 325-5670 or Bessemer jail at (205) 481-4160. For verification of release after transfer, see the released inmates page for ADOC, BOP, and VINELink lookups.
ADOC and BOP Inmate Searches
The county jail is not the only custody system. People convicted of state felonies often move to the Alabama Department of Corrections Inmate Search after sentencing. Federal custody is searched through the Federal Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator. Each system has its own ID number: AIS for ADOC, BOP Register Number for federal.
ADOC notes that Youthful Offender Act inmates are excluded from the public inmate search and population totals. BOP supports searches by register number, DCDC number, FBI number, INS number, or by name with race, sex, and age fields.
Prisoner Type and Classification
The detail page lists a Prisoner Type field, such as Pretrial Inmate, and a Classification code. Prisoner Type tells you whether the person is in pretrial custody, sentenced, or in for another reason like a hold. Classification is the jail's internal housing code; the Sheriff has not published a public key for the alphanumeric codes, so the build does not decode them.
Pretrial inmates are people held while a case moves through the court but before a final sentence. Many pretrial inmates qualify for release through the Pre-Trial Release Office, which is why that office runs out of both jails. Sentenced inmates may stay in county jail for short sentences or wait at the county for transfer to the Alabama Department of Corrections.
Search Tips for the Jefferson County Roster
A few small habits make the roster much faster to use. Start with the strongest identifier you have: booking number beats subject number, and subject number beats a name. Use the In Custody checkbox when you only need current inmates; leave it off if you want recent bookings that may have been released.
- Search by last name only first, then narrow with a first name or DOB.
- Use the Housing Facility dropdown when you know which jail the booking went to.
- Set Booking From and Booking To dates to filter to the period that matters.
- If a row shows "Multiple Bookings," click into the detail page to see the booking history.
- Photo thumbnails help confirm identity when the name is common.
Note: A blank Scheduled Release Date is not a guarantee that the inmate has no release date; it can mean the jail has not posted one yet.