Jefferson County Jail Roster
The official roster is the Jefferson County Inmate Inquiry, a Tyler/New World portal for the sheriff's two county jail housing facilities. It covers Jefferson County Jail - Birmingham and Jefferson County Jail - Bessemer. The public search page can filter by name, subject number, booking number, custody status, booking dates, and facility. Results inspected May 27, 2026 showed current in-custody status, scheduled release date field, photo column, demographics, and housing facility.
The county roster is the first source for a person recently arrested by Jefferson County deputies, Birmingham police, Bessemer police, or another local agency that books into the county jail system. It is also useful when a family member needs the jail, bond, or charge fields. It is not the right source for a person already transferred to ADOC, a federal Bureau of Prisons facility, or an ICE detention setting.
The official results page shows how Jefferson County inmate records appear in a grid with a photo column, custody fields, demographics, and housing facility.
The grid should be read as a current public index, not a complete criminal history or a guarantee that every field is filled.
Use Jefferson County Inmate Roster
Start with the broadest known fact, then narrow only when needed. A single name field may be enough for an uncommon name. A subject number is better for people with common names or prior bookings. A booking number is best when an exact booking event is known. The housing-facility filter should stay blank unless Birmingham or Bessemer is already known, because choosing the wrong jail can hide a match.
- Open the official Jefferson County Inmate Inquiry portal.
- Enter the person's name, subject number, or exact booking number.
- Check In Custody when the search is limited to people currently jailed.
- Use Booking From Date and Booking To Date when searching the portal's available booking-date range.
- Choose Jefferson County Jail - Birmingham or Jefferson County Jail - Bessemer only when the facility is known.
- Click Search, then select the linked name in the results grid.
- Review the detail page for photo, booking history, charges, bond, court table, prisoner type, classification, and housing facility.
If the search fails, clear narrow filters before moving to other channels. Misspellings, date limits, a transfer to ADOC, a federal hold, or an immigration case can all explain a missing roster result.
Jefferson County Search Fields
The roster fields reflect how Jefferson County identifies both a person and a booking event. Subject number is a person-level number. Booking number is tied to a specific jail admission, with an observed format like 2026-00004858. The In Custody checkbox uses the portal's "Currently jailed only" label. Leaving it unchecked can broaden the search, but the official source did not state how long released records remain searchable.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Text | Unspecified | Single name field; no separate first and last name fields were observed. |
| Subject Number | Text | Unspecified | Numeric person identifier, useful for repeat contacts or common names. |
| Booking Number | Text | Unspecified | Booking-event identifier; sample format 2026-00004858. |
| In Custody | Checkbox | Optional | Limits results to people currently jailed when checked. |
| Booking From Date | Date field | Optional | MM/DD/YYYY format, used to narrow booking date range. |
| Booking To Date | Date field | Optional | MM/DD/YYYY format, used with the from-date field. |
| Housing Facility | Dropdown | Optional | Blank, Jefferson County Jail - Bessemer, or Jefferson County Jail - Birmingham. |
Jefferson County Inmate Profile
A Jefferson County inmate profile can include more than the results grid. The sample detail page inspected May 27, 2026 showed a photo area, full name, subject number, date of birth, age, gender, race, height, weight, city/state/ZIP address line, aliases, booking history, bond table, court table, and charge table. Some fields may be blank. For example, the sample court table displayed "No data" while charges and bond information were still present.
The official sample detail format shows how profile-level Jefferson County inmate records can group photo, booking, bond, court, and charge information.
The detail page is the better source when a result row does not show enough bond, charge, or housing context.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Photo | Booking image when available; a blank result photo cell does not prove no photo exists. |
| Name | Full name in last, first, middle format. |
| Subject Number | Person-level roster identifier. |
| Booking Number | Booking-event identifier tied to a specific jail admission. |
| Booking Date | Date and time the booking record was created. |
| Release Date | Release field, blank when not populated or while still in custody. |
| Scheduled Release Date | Public scheduled release field if the roster publishes one. |
| Prisoner Type | Custody type, such as Pretrial Inmate. |
| Classification | Jail security or housing classification code. |
| Housing Facility | Whether the person is listed at Birmingham or Bessemer. |
| Bonds | Bond number, bond type, bond amount, total bond, and total bail. |
| Charges | Charge description, offense date, docket number, sentence or disposition fields, crime class, arresting agency, and charge bond when populated. |
Jefferson County Custody Sources
The Jefferson County jail roster covers county custody. It may show people awaiting trial, local detainees, state or federal inmates awaiting trial, and people awaiting transfer. Once a person is accepted into Alabama state prison custody, ADOC becomes the main lookup source. A federal case can involve the county jail while a person is awaiting trial, but sentenced federal custody belongs in BOP systems. Immigration detention uses ICE ODLS.
| Custody | Where to Look | What to Expect |
|---|---|---|
| Pretrial or local jail custody | Jefferson County Inmate Inquiry | Booking, bond, charge, photo, facility, and custody fields. |
| Sentenced Alabama prisoner | ADOC inmate search | AIS, name search, current incarceration, and state facility assignment. |
| Federal BOP custody | BOP Inmate Locator | Register number or name search for BOP records from 1982 forward. |
| Immigration detention | ICE ODLS | A-Number/country search or biographical search for ICE detainees. |
| Custody notification | Alabama VINELink | Notification and custody search where records are available. |
Note: A county jail entry can exist before a state, federal, or immigration case fully appears in the matching outside system.
Jefferson County Jail Contacts
For live custody questions, use the jail that likely holds the person. The Birmingham jail is downtown near the criminal courts. The Bessemer jail serves the Bessemer Cutoff and western Jefferson County. The sheriff's contact page also lists a Records Unit for copies, older records, reports, or material not shown in the inmate inquiry.
Jefferson County Jail - Birmingham
809 Richard Arrington Jr. Blvd. N
Birmingham, AL 35203
(205) 325-5670
Administrative Office: (205) 325-5772
Pre-Trial Release: (205) 325-5716
Jefferson County Jail - Bessemer
1822 2nd Avenue North
Bessemer, AL 35020
(205) 481-4160
Administrative Office: (205) 481-8502
Pre-Trial Release: (205) 481-8529
Records Unit
Jefferson County Sheriff's Office
2200 Rev. Abraham Woods Jr. Blvd.
Birmingham, AL 35203
(205) 325-5900
Jefferson County Booking Records
Booking begins after arrest or warrant pickup. The person is transported to Jefferson County Jail - Birmingham or Jefferson County Jail - Bessemer depending on arrest location, warrant or case location, agency routing, and jail operations. The roster sample showed Booking Origin as Bessemer PD, which confirms municipal police bookings can enter the sheriff's jail roster. Intake creates identity fields, photo data, demographic fields, booking number, charges, bond information, prisoner type, classification, and housing assignment.
The roster can support recent custody checks, but the official pages did not publish a refresh interval. Results inspected May 27, 2026 showed recent booking data, yet no source stated exactly when a new booking must appear online. Court information also has limits. The county Law Library page says jail staff do not maintain individual court-date information. Court dates must be checked with the Birmingham or Bessemer District or Circuit Court, depending on the case division.
Jefferson County Jail Visitation
Visitation information must be confirmed before travel because the official sources conflict. The sheriff Corrections page says there is no visitation on Monday or Friday and that visitation days and times are subject to change. The Jefferson County Law Library page lists older detailed schedules for Birmingham and Bessemer, including Monday and Friday Birmingham blocks. The safest use of the schedule is to treat it as a starting point and call the facility.
| Facility | Day / Time | Inmate Group | Source Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Birmingham Jail | Monday, 6:00 p.m.-7:50 p.m. | Last name A-C | Law Library schedule; conflicts with sheriff no-Monday rule. |
| Birmingham Jail | Tuesday, 6:00 p.m.-7:50 p.m. | D-G | Law Library schedule. |
| Birmingham Jail | Wednesday, 6:00 p.m.-7:50 p.m. | H-L | Law Library schedule. |
| Birmingham Jail | Thursday, 6:00 p.m.-7:50 p.m. | M-Q | Law Library schedule. |
| Birmingham Jail | Friday, 6:00 p.m.-7:50 p.m. | R-T | Law Library schedule; conflicts with sheriff no-Friday rule. |
| Birmingham Jail | Saturday, 6:00 p.m.-7:50 p.m. | U-Z | Law Library schedule. |
| Bessemer Jail | Saturday 8-11 AM | A-G | Law Library schedule. |
| Bessemer Jail | Saturday 1-5 PM | H-Q | Law Library schedule. |
| Bessemer Jail | Sunday 1-4 PM | R-Z | Law Library schedule. |
| Bessemer Jail | Sunday 8-10 AM | Protective Custody | Law Library schedule. |
| Bessemer Jail | Odd Saturday 8-10 AM | Max 1 | Law Library schedule. |
| Bessemer Jail | Even Sunday 8-10 AM | Max 2 | Law Library schedule. |
Visitors must be at least 17 and must have valid state ID or a driver's license. Inmates schedule 45-minute slots one day before the visit. Each inmate may have two visits per week. Only two adults and two children over age three are allowed per visit, and children 16 and under must be with an adult parent or legal guardian.
Jefferson County Visit Rules
The sheriff rules also cover clothing, searches, and banned items. Revealing or provocative clothing is not allowed. Visitors may be searched, and refusal means the visit can be denied. Cell phones, electronic devices, purses, packages, food, and drinks are barred from the facility. Pay lockers are located in the lobby. Contraband can lead to prosecution under Alabama Code 42-5-18, according to the sheriff's jail page.
County jail mail rules, commissary vendor details, phone vendor details, and video visit vendor details were not located in the official county sources inspected. That gap matters. Before sending mail, money, or setting up calls, confirm the person's current housing facility through the roster and call the Birmingham or Bessemer jail for the current rule set.
Note: Confirm custody, housing facility, and current visit rules before sending money, traveling downtown, or relying on a posted schedule.
Jefferson County Records Unit
When the roster does not show enough, the Records Unit is the researched fallback. The sheriff contact page lists the Records Unit at (205) 325-5900. The sheriff's Metro Area Crime Center material says the Central Records Unit maintains active case files, accidents, felony reports, misdemeanor reports, subpoena compliance, and an imaging report system. It also says the Identification Unit keeps fingerprints, photographs, other identifying data, and information connected to cases.
A records request should identify the person, date of birth if known, booking number or subject number if known, date range, facility, and the specific record needed. For a booking photo, say booking photo or booking record. For an incident or arrest report, give the agency, report date, and case number if known. Alabama public-records law supports inspection and copying of public writings, but access can be limited by statute, court order, juvenile confidentiality, investigative needs, safety concerns, or expungement.
Jefferson County Lookup Fallbacks
A no-result search should be handled as a chain, not a dead end. First, search the county roster with fewer filters. Next, call the jail that may hold the person. Then contact the Records Unit for older records or copies. If the person was sentenced, search ADOC. If the case is federal, use BOP for BOP custody and court or U.S. Marshals channels for federal pretrial custody. If immigration custody is possible, use ICE ODLS.
- Roster: Jefferson County Inmate Inquiry for Birmingham and Bessemer jail custody.
- Jail phone: Birmingham at (205) 325-5670 or Bessemer at (205) 481-4160.
- Records Unit: (205) 325-5900 for older records, copies, reports, and photos not shown online.
- ADOC: State locator for Donaldson, Birmingham Community Based Facility, and other sentenced Alabama custody.
- VINELink: Custody notification and search where Alabama records are available.
- BOP and ICE: Federal Bureau of Prisons and immigration detention searches.
- JCSO app: Supplemental mobile channel because a sheriff news post lists inmate roster as an app feature.
The JCSO app roster notice supports mentioning the Jefferson County Sheriff AL app as a mobile lookup path. The inspected web roster still remains the best documented source for field-level jail records.