The fastest way to find someone in the Miami-Dade County jail is the free Inmate Search tool run by the county’s Corrections and Rehabilitation Department, which lets you search by name, jail number or date of birth. If the person has already been sentenced to state prison, use the Florida Department of Corrections offender search instead. We walk through both below, plus what to do when a search comes up empty.
Quick steps: run a Miami-Dade jail inmate search
- Open the Miami-Dade County website and go to Corrections and Rehabilitation.
- Choose Inmate Search.
- Enter last name and first name, or the jail number.
- Add a date of birth if the name is common.
- Open the record to see facility, charges and bond.
- Note the jail number and case number for calls and visits.
- If nothing appears, check the Florida DOC offender search.
What you need
- Full legal name, spelled as it appears on ID
- Date of birth, if you have it
- Jail number or court case number, if known
- Rough arrest date, to narrow results
Step 1: Search current inmates in the Miami-Dade jail
Everyone arrested in Miami-Dade County, whether by Miami-Dade Police, a city department or the Florida Highway Patrol, is booked into the county system run by the Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation Department. That makes the department’s Inmate Search the main tool for any recent arrest.
The search covers people currently in custody. A result typically shows the person’s name, jail number, booking date, the facility holding them, each charge and the bond set for it. We suggest writing down the jail number right away. The department uses it for everything from inmate mail to video visitation, and it saves a second search later.
A few habits make the search work better:
- Search by last name only first. Misspelled first names are the most common reason a search fails.
- Try alternate spellings and hyphenated or two-part surnames in both orders.
- Add the date of birth once you see a long list of matches.
- Don’t panic if a person arrested an hour ago isn’t showing. Booking takes time, and the online system lags behind intake.
Step 2: Know which facility the record points to
The record will name a facility. Miami-Dade runs several, and knowing which one matters for visits, mail and bond.
| Facility | Address | Typically holds |
|---|---|---|
| Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center (TGK) | 7000 NW 41st St, Miami | New bookings, intake, bond court |
| Pre-Trial Detention Center | 1321 NW 13th St, Miami | Pretrial detainees, near the courthouse |
| Metro West Detention Center | 13850 NW 41st St, Doral | Largest general population facility |
Confirm the current facility list and any visitation rules on the Corrections and Rehabilitation pages of the county site before you drive anywhere, because the department moves people between facilities and changes schedules without much notice.
Good to know
Bond amounts shown online can change after first appearance, which usually happens within 24 hours of booking at the TGK bond court. Only pay bond through the jail or a Florida-licensed bail bondsman. Anyone who calls demanding gift cards or wire transfers to “release” a relative is running a scam.
Step 3: Check the Florida offender search for state custody
Once a person is sentenced to more than a year, they leave the county jail for the Florida Department of Corrections. The county search will then show nothing. The state’s Offender Information Search covers current inmates, people on supervision and released offenders, and it includes a photo, DC number, custody level, current institution and release date.
The DC number does the same job at the state level that the jail number does at the county level. Keep it for calls, mail and the state’s visitation application.
Step 4: Look up the court case and booking history
The jail roster only shows people in custody right now. For anyone already released, or for charge details, court dates and documents, go to the criminal case search run by the Miami-Dade Clerk of Courts. The clerk’s online case search is free for basic lookups, and it keeps records long after the jail roster drops a name. Most hearings for jail cases take place at the Richard E. Gerstein Justice Building on NW 12th Street, across from the Pre-Trial Detention Center.
| Situation | Best search | Who runs it |
|---|---|---|
| Arrested in the last few days | Inmate Search | Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation |
| Sentenced to state prison | Offender Information Search | Florida Department of Corrections |
| Released, or need case documents | Online case search | Clerk of the Courts |
| Federal charges | Federal Inmate Locator | U.S. Bureau of Prisons |
| Immigration detention | Online Detainee Locator | U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement |
Step 5: Set up victim and release notifications
Florida participates in VINE, the free notification service that alerts you by phone, text or email when an inmate’s custody status changes. Register once with the person’s name or ID number, and you’ll hear about releases, transfers and escapes without rerunning the search every day. VINE is open to anyone, not only crime victims. Confirm current contact details on the VINELink site.
Local tip
The Pre-Trial Detention Center sits a short walk from the Gerstein courthouse and the Civic Center Metrorail station, so you can check a case at the clerk’s window and handle jail business in one trip. Street parking around the medical district is scarce, so take Metrorail if you can.
Searching Broward and Palm Beach instead
Each South Florida county runs its own system, so a Miami-Dade search will never show someone held up the road.
| County | Tool | Agency |
|---|---|---|
| Miami-Dade | Inmate Search | Corrections and Rehabilitation Department |
| Broward | Arrest Search | Broward Sheriff’s Office |
| Palm Beach | Booking Blotter | Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office |
Broward’s main jail is on SE 1st Avenue in downtown Fort Lauderdale, and the broward county clerk of courts handles the matching court records. Palm Beach bookings go through the Main Detention Center on Gun Club Road in West Palm Beach.
Common problems and fixes
| Problem | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| No result for a recent arrest | Booking not yet entered | Wait a few hours and search by last name only |
| Too many matches | Common name | Add date of birth or jail number |
| Person “disappeared” from roster | Released, bonded out or transferred to state | Check clerk’s case search, then Florida DOC |
| Charges differ from what you heard | Charges updated after first appearance | Open the clerk’s case file for current counts |
| Juvenile not found | Juvenile records aren’t public | Contact the Department of Juvenile Justice |
When to get help
Call the department’s inmate information line, listed on the Corrections and Rehabilitation page of the county site, when the online search fails for more than a day. For bond questions, charges or a public defender, the clerk’s criminal division and the Miami-Dade Public Defender can point you in the right direction. If a hearing is already set, a criminal defense attorney can pull the file faster than you can.
FAQ
How often is the Miami-Dade inmate search updated?
The department updates it throughout the day as booking records are processed, but new arrests can take several hours to appear. Check again before assuming someone isn’t there.
Can I see a mugshot in the Miami-Dade jail search?
The county tool focuses on booking details rather than photos. The Florida Department of Corrections search does include photos for state inmates.
Is the Miami-Dade County inmate search free?
Yes. The county search, the state offender search and basic clerk case lookups cost nothing. Certified copies and some document downloads carry clerk fees, which are posted on the clerk’s site.
What if the person was arrested on a federal or immigration charge?
They won’t appear in the county or state search. Use the Bureau of Prisons inmate locator for federal custody, and the ICE Online Detainee Locator for immigration holds, including at the Krome detention center in west Miami-Dade.
