Search California 24 Hour Booking
California 24 hour booking records show who got arrested and booked into county jails across the state. They are public. Each of the 58 counties in California runs its own jail and posts a booking log that tracks recent arrests. Most are free to view on county sheriff websites. You can search by name or date to find booking data. A booking number helps if you have one. Some California counties update their booking logs every few hours while others post once a day. This guide covers how to search California 24 hour booking records, what they contain, and where to find them for every county in the state.
California 24 Hour Booking Quick Facts
California 24 Hour Booking Records
A 24 hour booking record is a log that a county jail keeps each time a person gets arrested and processed. The term "24 hour" refers to the fact that most California sheriff's offices release this data within one day of the arrest. It is not the same as a full criminal record or a court case file. A booking log entry is a snapshot of one arrest event. It shows basic facts about the person, the charge, and when they came into custody. California law requires each sheriff to make this data available to the public as part of the state's commitment to open records and transparency in the justice system.
Booking records in California come from county jails run by the sheriff's office. City police departments also book people, but the jail log is kept at the county level in most cases. Large cities like Los Angeles and San Diego have their own booking systems too. The key thing to know is that 24 hour booking data in California is not hidden. It is public information that you can look up without giving a reason or paying a fee in most counties.
The California Department of Justice oversees public records access at the state level. Their site explains how the California Public Records Act works and what rights you have when asking for government documents, including booking records.
This page from the DOJ gives a clear breakdown of how to submit records requests in California.
Find Booking Records in California
The fastest way to find 24 hour booking records in California is through your county sheriff's website. Over 40 of the 58 counties run a free online booking log or inmate search tool. You type in a name and the system pulls up recent arrests. Some sites let you filter by date range or show only the last 24 or 48 hours of bookings. No account or login is needed. Results show up right away for most California county booking databases.
Each county uses a different system. Some run custom portals built by their IT teams. Others use third-party platforms like CitizenRIMS, CrimeGraphics, or ATIMS for their California booking search tools. The look and feel changes from one county to the next, but the core data stays the same. You get the name, charges, booking date, and custody status of each person booked into that county's jail.
The California Department of Justice also runs the OpenJustice data portal with statewide arrest statistics broken down by county.
OpenJustice tracks arrest trends across all California counties but does not show individual booking records. Use county sheriff sites for that.
For cities that run their own police departments, booking data often flows through to the county jail system. But some California cities publish their own daily arrest logs too. Sacramento, Anaheim, Santa Ana, Oxnard, and Huntington Beach all post arrest logs on their city police websites. These city-level logs can be a faster way to find recent booking information for arrests made by local police in California.
California Booking Record Laws
California has strong public records laws. The California Public Records Act, codified at Government Code Section 7920.000 through 7931.000, sets the rules for how state and local agencies must share records with the public. This includes booking records kept by sheriff's offices and police departments across California. The law says that government records belong to the people and must be disclosed unless a specific exemption applies. For booking data, very few exemptions come into play.
The most important statute for 24 hour booking access is Government Code Section 7923.610. This law says that every state and local law enforcement agency in California must disclose certain arrest information. That includes the full name of the person arrested, their physical description, date of birth, the time and date of arrest and booking, the location of arrest, bail amount, charges filed, and whether the person has been released or is still in custody. This is the legal basis for every 24 hour booking log published by California counties.
The statute above spells out exactly what California law enforcement must share about each booking event.
Government Code Section 7923.615 adds more detail about what must be released in California. It covers booking photos, complaint data, and incident report information. Together these two sections form the backbone of public booking record access in the state. Government Code Section 7923.600 does allow agencies to withhold certain investigative records, but that exemption does not apply to basic booking log data in California.
You can learn more about how the Public Records Act works at the POST Commission CPRA FAQ page. It breaks down common questions about public records requests in California.
The FAQ page is a good starting point if you want to understand your rights when requesting 24 hour booking records in California.
What California Booking Logs Show
A typical 24 hour booking log entry in California includes specific data points about each arrest. The level of detail can vary by county, but state law sets a minimum. Most California booking records show more than the bare minimum because sheriff's offices want to keep the public informed about who is in their jail.
California 24 hour booking records typically contain the following information:
- Full name of the person arrested
- Date of birth, gender, and physical description
- Date and time of the arrest and booking
- Location where the arrest took place
- All charges filed at the time of booking
- Bail amount set for each charge
- Current custody status or release information
Some California counties also include the booking photo in their online log. Others post the arresting agency name, the case number, and scheduled court dates. The data shown on the booking photos and complaints statute page explains what falls under mandatory disclosure in California.
This statute details what California agencies must release about booking photos and related complaint information.
Search California Arrest Records Online
Most California counties let you search 24 hour booking data right from their sheriff's website. Some of the largest county systems include the Los Angeles County Sheriff booking log, the San Diego County Who's In Jail portal, the Sacramento County inmate information system, and the Orange County Sheriff public services portal. Each of these lets you look up recent booking entries by name for free.
Smaller California counties often use shared platforms. CitizenRIMS and CrimeGraphics power the booking search tools in counties like Amador, Del Norte, Lassen, Mono, Siskiyou, and Tuolumne. The ATIMS platform is used in Placer and San Joaquin counties. These systems work the same basic way. You enter a name and the tool returns matching booking records from that California county jail.
For criminal history records that go beyond 24 hour booking data, the California DOJ offers a formal request process. Visit the DOJ Record Review page to learn how to request your own criminal history or challenge records on file.
The DOJ record review process is separate from county booking logs. It covers full criminal history, not just recent bookings in California.
Getting California Booking Records
Not every California county has an online booking search tool. A few smaller counties like Alpine, Trinity, and Sierra do not publish booking logs on the web. For those, you can call the jail directly or make a request in writing. The sheriff's office must respond to your request within 10 days under California law. The DOJ allows a 14-day extension in some cases. Copy fees are 10 cents per page at the state level, though county fees may differ.
You can also submit a formal public records request through the California DOJ online request form if you need state-level arrest data. Many California cities and counties also use platforms like NextRequest or GovQA to handle public records requests online. Sacramento, Oakland, San Francisco, Anaheim, and San Diego all accept records requests through these portals.
Use this DOJ form when you need records from the state level rather than a specific county in California.
Under Penal Code Section 13300, local summary criminal history includes booking numbers, arrest dates, charges, and dispositions compiled by local California agencies. If you need to seal an arrest record, Penal Code Section 851.91 (the CARE Act) allows a person arrested but not convicted to petition the court to seal those records in California.
Note: Sealed records will not appear in county booking search results or online jail rosters in California.
Browse California Booking Records by County
Each county in California runs its own jail and keeps a 24 hour booking log. Pick a county below to find local booking search tools and contact info for that area.
24 Hour Booking in Major California Cities
Residents of major California cities can search booking records through their county sheriff or city police department. Select a city to find local booking search resources.