Inmate Search in Utah: How to Find Inmates in the State of Utah

There are seven state prisons and 19 local county jails housing over 10,000 inmates in Utah.

Yet, locating an inmate in any of the state’s correctional facilities may be as straightforward as performing a simple online search, thanks to the Utah Government Records Access and Management Act and other similar legislation. 

If you're interested in locating an inmate in Utah, there are official and unofficial ways to accomplish your goal. In this article, we have detailed the most effective ways to locate inmates in Utah. 

About Utah Inmate Records

Inmate records in Utah contain personal and official information about people incarcerated or serving jail terms in the state. Those records are subject to public inspection under the Utah Government Records Access and Management Act.

Inmate records typically include the biographical information, criminal history, bail amounts, sentence length, and release dates of the inmate, as well as the charges, identification numbers, bail or bond amounts, and sentence length.

As is the case with most states in the United States, inmate records in Utah can be accessed through official (typically government agencies) and unofficial (third-party websites) means.

The Utah Department of Corrections is the official central repository of inmate information in Utah, and this agency provides an inmate lookup tool on its website.

Unofficially, third-party websites have fantastically detailed inmate databases as well, accessible to members of the public, usually for a fee.

The Utah VINELink service is another third-party platform with inmate information in the state.

How to Locate Inmates in Utah Prisons

The inmate search feature on the Utah Department of Corrections’ website is the quickest and most practical way to locate prisoners who are currently detained in correctional institutions managed by the UDC.

Anyone interested in learning more about prisoners can conduct a free inmate search by name. By asking the prison personnel of the facility where the inmate is located, information that cannot be found through this search tool can be discovered.

To use the UDC’s inmate locator tool, visit the Utah Department of Corrections’ website and click on the offender search tool.

Supply the inmate’s name or offender ID and click the search button. The website will bring up a list of inmates with details that resemble the information you provided. Note that you will have to agree to a disclaimer before using the offender search tool.

If you require additional information about the inmate, you can get it by making a physical visit (during business hours) to the corrections facility where they are being held.

The staff at the facility will be happy to provide additional details, as long as these details are not confidential.

Through Third-party Websites

According to the Utah Government Records Access and Management Act, inmate records are public records.

Third-party websites include these records in their databases, and for a small fee, you may perform inmate searches on their platforms. 

Third-party websites have an extensive collection of public records in their possession, with inmate records, court records, and criminal records featuring in their database.

To find an inmate on these websites, you'll mainly be required to provide the subject's name and last known address (city/state/county).

And if the subject has a criminal conviction in the state other than a juvenile or a special case, it should be found on the website. 

How to Locate Inmates in Utah Jails

County jails in Utah are not under the jurisdiction of the UDC, so records of people incarcerated in them will not show up when you search the UDC’s database.

In Utah, as in most other states in the US, county jails maintain their own inmate records.

They also provide independent online search tools with which members of the public can find inmate records such as details of their arrest, primary charges, their location, and conditions for their bail or bond. 

To use the online inmate search tool provided by county jails, visit their respective websites and locate the offender search tool, then provide all the necessary inmate details and click "search."

The website will bring up the details of your search subject. Alternatively, you may visit the local police department (of the county jail where your inmate of interest is incarcerated) or the sheriff’s office during business hours to make your inmate search request in person.

In a Nutshell

Finding inmates in any of Utah’s correctional facilities is much easier than the odds might suggest, thanks to the Utah Government Records Access and Management Act and similar legislation.

Officially, the UDC maintains inmate records in the state, although third-party websites also have access to these records. Whether you’re conducting your search officially or unofficially, you can find inmates in Utah with the simple click of a button.