Virginia Inmate Search

The Virginia Department of Corrections has made it easier for interested parties to search for inmate information. It collects, stores, and shares information on anyone incarcerated in the Virginia correctional system. The Department has developed an inmate locator feature on its website, which makes things easier for the public as they gather information.  

For a start, you should at least have the inmate's first and last name. The system provides you with an inmate roster of all inmates with similar details as the ones you provided. It is better to know as much information as possible about the inmate to narrow down the search results.  

How Do I Search for an Inmate in Virginia? 

Follow the steps below to access inmate information in Virginia: 

1. Visit the Virginia Department of Corrections website and click on the offender locator tool.  
2. Fill into the provided spaces; the most important space to be filled is the offender's first name and last name or their DOC number. Suppose you do not have their DOC number; you will be given alternative options to provide the offender's alias, middle name, age, location, sex, and race. 
3. Identify the inmate; a list of inmates with information matching your provided data will be displayed to you. Carefully go through the list to identify the inmate you are looking for. Click on the inmate's name after identifying them.  

Inmate information is updated daily on the website. The department does not tolerate continuous discussions about an inmate's sentencing with the public on the website. Suppose you want more details on the inmate's general sentencing, consider visiting the Time Computation page. 

Apart from using the VADOC website's Virginia offender lookup tool, you can also request to view and copy inmate information from the Warden or Superintendent of the facility by submitting a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to them, especially for a state prison managed by the VADOC.  

Submit the request to the facility via phone, email, fax, US Mail, or in person. You may also request electronic records of inmates if they are available. VADOC website has also provided a contact us form to fill out when requesting these inmate records. You don't always have to submit why you are interested in the inmate's criminal records.  

You may search for inmates currently incarcerated in Virginia County and regional jails by visiting the facilities' websites. Their local law enforcement official website has search tools that allow you to search for an inmate in that particular holding facility. Alternatively, you could personally visit the facility.  

Virginia Inmate Roster 

Virginia inmate rosters are official documents that carry personal information about inmates serving sentences in correctional facilities under the Virginia Department of Corrections. The contents of the documents include personally-identifying data, inmate location status, and in some instances, the release date may be included.  

The Virginia Freedom of Information Act ensures that this data is provided to the public and any other interested third-party organization. However, there are specific occasions when the inmate information is not released to the public, most often due to restrictions by the law- either due to safety issues or since the inmate is a juvenile.  

Apart from the Virginia Department of Corrections website, Virginia inmate roster can also be obtained at a specific fee from private third-party websites and organizations that are not government-sponsored. The information may differ from one website to another depending on how quickly the website updates its inmate data. However, the amazing part of using them is that they have no geographical boundaries; all you will require is the inmate's name, state, county, and city where they are held.  

About Virginia Department of Corrections 

The Virginia Department of Corrections (VADOC) is the government body that oversees all the operations of prisons, correctional facilities, and community corrections in Virginia in the United States. It's headquartered in the state capital of Richmond. 

The Virginia Department of Corrections has 44 correctional facilities split over Western, Central, and Eastern regions. Some facilities hold inmates with long-term prison sentences for felony crimes. Local county jails hold short-term inmates serving short sentences as others await their trials.  

The state department government agency is believed to be the oldest working correctional agency in the United States, with a prisons and jail system of 71 jails in 133 counties and 26 state prisons. 

The Virginia Department of Corrections also runs three federal prisons and two federal prison camps under the Federal Bureau of Prisons. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), there are approximately 62,443 offenders on probation and 1,709 on parole in Virginia's community correction facilities currently.