Are North Carolina Inmate Records Public Information?
Yes, North Carolina inmate records are releasable to the public under the state's Public Records Law. Interested individuals can obtain these records from law enforcement agencies to find someone in jail or review information about the inmate. However, some information may be restricted from public examination, especially where a basic North Carolina inmate search is requested. For example, the health records of incarcerated individuals are not accessible to the public.
North Carolina Inmate Search
North Carolina inmate records are the personal and administrative records of anyone who is in custody in North Carolina. Some of these records are publicly available online, while others are sealed and only available when requested by approved parties. Inmate records provide identifying details such as names, ages, genders, and inmate mugshots. These records also contain conviction information like inmates' past and current locations, registration numbers, custody statuses, and jail transfer data.
Inmate records are considered public in the United States and, therefore, are made available by both traditional governmental agencies as well as third-party websites and organizations. Third-party websites may offer an easier means to search, as these services do not face geographical limitations. However, because third-party sites are not government-sponsored, the information obtained through them may vary from official channels. To find inmate records using third-party aggregate sites, requesting parties must provide the following:
- The location of the sought-after record, including the state, county, and city where the inmate resides.
- The name of the person listed in the record, unless it is a juvenile.
How to Find Someone in Jail in North Carolina
Finding someone in a North Carolina jail is not a difficult task. Several online inmate databases remain accessible to members of the public who wish to perform a North Carolina inmate search to locate someone imprisoned in a North Carolina jail. Typically, an interested person can find these databases on the websites of county sheriffs or municipal jails. However, some third-party public records sites may offer North Carolina inmate search tools to find someone in jail within state limits.
How Do I Send Money to an Inmate in North Carolina Prisons and Jails?
State-run prisons do not accept funds sent to incarcerated individuals directly. Rather, the NCDPS partners with JPay to offer several options for sending money to individuals incarcerated in its facilities. Note that only those listed on an inmate's approved visitor list can deposit money into the inmate's accounts.
The NCDPS, via JPay, allows approved depositors to send money to inmates in North Carolina prisons through the following methods:
- Walk-in cash deposits
- Money orders mailed to JPay
- Credit/debit card deposits online at JPay.com
- JPay Mobile App
- Credit/debit card deposits over the phone
To make a cash deposit, visit any MoneyGram agent location and provide the following receive code: 1224. individuals can see a list of such locations on JPay.com. These include all Walmart stores and CVS Pharmacies.
When sending money by money order, mail it along with a deposit slip (Spanish version) to:
JPay
P.O. Box 173070
Hialeah, FL 33017
Make the money order payable to JPay. Funds sent by money order will be available to the receiving inmates within ten business days.
However, the quickest way to send money to inmates in North Carolina state prisons is by making credit/debit card deposits online via the JPay website. Fund transfers via JPay mobile apps are also quick. Download the mobile app for iPhones from the Apple App Store or for Android phones from the Google Play Store. Lastly, anyone can also send money to an inmate in North Carolina by calling JPay's fund transfer line at (800) 574-5729. This phone number is available 24/7.
North Carolina city and county jails have different options for accepting funds sent to inmates held in those facilities. Check the city or county website for payment methods approved by the local law enforcement agency. Usually, most North Carolina local jails allow friends and family members to deposit cash, money orders, and checks at a designated area in the jail's lobby or reception areas. Some also accept checks and money orders sent by mail.
How to Get Approved to Visit an Inmate in North Carolina Prisons and Jails
To visit an offender in a North Carolina correctional facility run by NCDPS, all visitors must be on the approved visitor list. Send a completed visitor application to the prison facility to apply to be on this list. Offenders are responsible for sending blank application forms to intending visitors. Each inmate is allowed a maximum of 18 visitors, including adults and minors.
Minors must also complete visitor application forms. The NCDPS regards individuals under the age of 16 as minors. A minor must attach a copy of the original birth certificate to the completed application, while an adult must attach an approved photo ID. Approved minors must update all applications with photo IDs upon turning 16 to remain eligible for visitation. Send completed applications to the mailing address of the prison where the inmate is currently housed. Inmates are expected to notify prospective visitors about the status of this application.
The NCDPS also requires legal, law enforcement, clergy, consular, local and state Family Services, and Juvenile Court officials to register before visiting inmates in its facilities. However, these individuals do not count towards the 18-person limit of an offender's visitor list.
Inmates are not allowed more than one visit per week. Each visitation session must not exceed two hours. These limitations do not apply to clergy, legal, and law enforcement visits. Read the handbook for family and friends of inmates to learn about other regulations of prison visitation, including dress code and visitation time.
How to Find a County Inmate Roster in North Carolina
Individuals can check the official websites of county governments or sheriffs in North Carolina to find out who is in jail. Each county jail has an inmate roster that can be used to find out who is incarcerated in the county. The roster can be accessed via a search engine provided on the county or sheriff's website. Usually, inquirers can conduct a North Carolina inmate search using the inmate's last name or identifying number (jail number).
How Do I Perform a North Carolina Prison Inmate Search?
The NCDPS provides a handy free inmate search-by-name tool that interested persons may use to find someone in prison. The inmate lookup tool also provides information on state prison probationers and parolees, as well as escapees, captures, and absconders.
Use the North Carolina inmates locator to find an inmate by providing the inmate's name or inmate ID number. Other search parameters provided to narrow the search include gender, race, ethnic group, age range, and birth date. The prison lookup tool is also useful for finding records of released inmates. The public can search for inmate releases by county, month, and year. The North Carolina inmate search tool pulls the records of inmates released over the last three years and lists personal details such as names, offender numbers, release dates, offense types, and release types.
How Do I Perform a North Carolina Jail Inmate Search?
There is no central repository of inmate records for North Carolina municipal jails. Persons who wish to search county and city jails must visit the jail's official website or visit the sheriff's office in person. Municipalities typically provide instructions on how to find out if someone is in jail on the local law enforcement website. It is also common for jails to publish updated lists of inmates currently in that correctional facility.
North Carolina State Prisons and County Jails: Understanding the Difference
North Carolina state prisons and county jails are operated by the North Carolina Department of Public Safety. The county jail system is made up of 100 jails, which are operated by the sheriff's office in each county.
Prisoners in the state prison system are classified into three levels: minimum, medium, and maximum security. Those in minimum security are considered to be at a lower risk to public safety, while those in maximum security are considered to be at a higher risk. All prisoners in the state prison system are required to work while they are incarcerated.
The average daily population in the state prison system was approximately 35,000 in fiscal year 2018. The average length of stay for prisoners in the state prison system was 3.6 years. In the county jail system, the average daily population was 8,000 in fiscal year 2018.
How Do I Find Out an Inmate Release Date?
Inmate release dates are among the information obtained during a North Carolina inmate record search. However, this information may be unavailable if it puts the inmate in significant danger. In such cases, inmate release dates will only be available to the inmate's immediate family members, attorneys, victims, and authorized law enforcement officers.
Facilities Operated by the North Carolina Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
The North Carolina Department of Public Safety (NCDPS) oversees the operations of 57 state prisons, including two women's prisons and two prison work farms. The NCDPS has four regional prisons (Eastern, Western, Central, and South Central) offices. Each of these manages the prisons, correctional institutions, correctional centers, and work farms in its geographical zone. Check the North Carolina prison directory to visit facility pages for addresses, phone numbers, jail information, and visitation times. Besides state prisons, North Carolina also has county and city jails. These municipal jails are operated by local law enforcement, including sheriff's offices or police departments.
The following are the addresses of some of the North Carolina state prisons and correctional institutions:
Black Mountain Substance Abuse Treatment Center for Women
1449 North Fork Road,
Black Mountain, NC 28711
Bladen Correctional Center
5853 US 701 North,
Elizabethtown, NC 28337
Buncombe Regional Juvenile Detention Center
20 Lee's Creek Road,
Asheville, NC 28806
C. A. Dillon Youth Development Center - NC
100 Dillon Drive, Butner, NC 27509
Cabarrus NC Youth Development Center
1484 Old Charlotte Road Southwest,
Concord, NC 28027
Charlotte NC Correctional Center
4100 Meadow Oak Drive,
Charlotte, NC 28208
Chatham NC Youth Development Center
Central Carolina Business Park 560 Progress Boulevard,
Siler City, NC 27344
Dobbs Youth Development Center
3060 Dobbs Farm Road,
Kinston, NC 28504
Duplin Correctional Center
364 Highway 11 South & 903,
Maury, NC 28554
Edgecombe Youth Development Center
78 Positive Way,
Rocky Mount, NC 27801
Evergreen Rehabilitation Center - Edgecombe
1212 Recovery Road,
Box D,
Tarboro, NC 27886-1111
Evergreen Rehabilitation Center - Robeson
20513 US 301 North,
St. Paul's, NC 28384
Lenoir Youth Development Center
3055 Dobbs Farm Road,
Kinston, NC 28504
McCain Correctional Hospital
855 Old Highway 211,
Raeford, NC 28376
NCDPS - Albemarle Correctional Institution
44150 Airport Road,
New London, NC 28127
NCDPS - Alexander Correctional Institution
633 Old Landfill Road,
Taylorsville, NC 28681
NCDPS - Alexander Juvenile Detention Center
928 NC Highway 16 South,
Taylorsville, NC 28681
NCDPS - Anson Correctional Center
1019 Old Prison Camp Road
P.O. Box 189,
Polkton, NC 28135
NCDPS - Avery-Mitchell Correctional Institution
600 Amity Park Road,
Spruce Pine, NC 28777
NCDPS - Bertie Correctional Institution
218 Cooper Hill Road,
Windsor, NC 27983
NCDPS - Brown Creek Correctional Center
248 Prison Camp Road,
Polkton, NC 28135
NCDPS - Buncombe Correctional Center
Highway 251 North,
Asheville, NC 28814
NCDPS - Burke CRV Center
5161 Western Avenue, ‘
Morganton, NC 28655
NCDPS - Caldwell Correctional Center
480 Pleasant Hill Road,
Lenoir, NC 28645
NCDPS - Caledonia Correctional Institution
2787 Caledonia Drive,
Tillery, NC 27887
NCDPS - Carteret Correctional Center
1084 Orange Street,
Newport, NC 28570
NCDPS - Caswell Correctional Center
444 County Home Road,
Blanch, NC 27379
NCDPS - Catawba Correctional Center
1347 Prison Camp Road,
Newton, NC 28658
NCDPS - Central Prison
1300 Western Boulevard,
Raleigh, NC 27606
NCDPS - Columbus Correctional Institution
1255 Prison Camp Road,
Brunswick, NC 28424
NCDPS - Craggy Correctional Center
2992 Riverside Drive,
Asheville, NC 28804
NCDPS - Craven Correctional Institution
600 Alligator Road,
Vanceboro, NC 28586
NCDPS - Cumberland Regional Detention Center
1911 Coliseum Drive,
Fayetteville, NC 28306
NCDPS - Dan River Prison Work Farm
981 Murray Road,
Yanceyville, NC 27379
NCDPS - Davidson Correctional Center
1400 Thomason Street,
Maury, NC 28554
NCDPS - Durham Correctional Center
3900 Guess Road,
Durham, NC 27705
NCDPS - Durham County Youth Home
2432 Broad Street,
Durham, NC 27704
NCDPS - Eastern Correctional Institution
2821 Highway 903,
Maury, NC 28554
NCDPS - Pender Correctional Institution
906 Penderlea Highway,
Burgaw, NC 28425
NCDPS - Piedmont Correctional Institution
1245 Camp Road,
Salisbury, NC 28147
NCDPS - Pitt Regional Juvenile Detention Center
451 Belvoir Road,
Greenville, NC 27834
NCDPS - Polk Correctional Institution
1001 Veazey Road,
Butner, NC 27509
NCDPS - Raleigh Correctional Center for Women
1201 South State Street,
Raleigh, NC 27610
NCDPS - Randolph Correctional Center
2760 US Highway 220 Bus,
Asheboro, NC 27203
NCDPS - Robeson CRV Center
803 NC Hwy 711,
Lumberton, NC 28360
NCDPS - Rutherford Correctional Center
549 Ledbetter Road,
Spindale, NC 28160
NCDPS - Sampson Correctional Institution
700 Northwest Boulevard Highway 421 North,
Clinton, NC 28328
NCDPS - Sanford Correctional Center
417 Advancement Center Road,
Sanford, NC 27330
NCDPS - Scotland Correctional Institution
22385 McGirt's Bridge Road,
Laurinburg, NC 28353
NCDPS - Southern Correctional Institution
272 Glen Road,
Troy, NC 27371
NCDPS - Swannanoa Correctional Center for Women
55 Lake Eden Road,
Black Mountain, NC 28711
NCDPS - Tabor Correctional Institution
4600 Swamp Fox Highway West,
Tabor City, NC 28463
NCDPS - Tillery Correctional Institution
1984 Caledonia Drive State Road 1141,
Tillery, NC 27887
NCDPS - Tyrrell Prison Work Farm
620 Snell Road,
Columbia, NC 27925
NCDPS - Wake Correctional Center
1000 Rock Quarry Road,
Raleigh, NC 27610
NCDPS - Wake Juvenile Detention Center
700 Beacon Lake Drive,
Raleigh, NC 27610
NCDPS - Warren Correctional Institution
379 Collins Road,
Manson, NC 27553
NCDPS - Wilkes Correctional Center
404 Statesboro Road,
North Wilkesboro, NC 28659
Perquimans NC Juvenile Detention Center
125 Jessup Street,
Hertford, NC 27944
Richmond NC Juvenile Detention Center
269 Cartledge Creek Road,
Rockingham, NC 28379
Robeson Correctional Center
NC Highway 711,
Lumberton, NC 28359
Samarkand Youth Development Center
3600 Samarkand Road
P.O. Box 96,
Eagle Springs, NC 27242-0096
Stonewall Jackson Youth Development Center
1484 Old Charlotte Road Southwest,
Concord, NC 28027
Swannanoa Valley Youth Development Center
741 Old US 70 Highway,
Swannanoa, NC 28778
Wayne Correctional Center
700 Stevens Mill Road,
Goldsboro, NC 27530
Western Youth Institution
5155 Western Avenue,
Morganton, NC 28655
Woodson Wilderness Challenge
741 Old US 70 Highway,
Swannanoa, NC 28778
