San Luis Obispo County Jail Roster Overview
The Sheriff's Office runs the only public roster for San Luis Obispo County jail inmates. The portal sits at slosheriff.org/jail-information/whos-in-custody/. The page asks for a first name, last name, or both. Results show only people in custody right now at the main jail or Honor Farm. The search endpoint posts to /so-intergration/custody_search.php. Yes, the URL is misspelled; the Sheriff's site uses that path. Data refreshes throughout the day as bookings and releases process through intake.
The San Luis Obispo County roster does not show federal detainees held by the U.S. Marshals or ICE. It does not show people sent to a California state prison after sentencing. Anyone moved to CDCR custody must be searched through the CDCR inmate locator. Anyone in federal custody must be searched through the BOP locator. Juvenile bookings are not posted at all.
The lead-in screen for the San Luis Obispo County jail information page lives at the county portal. 
The county page covers the jail's role, security tiers, and Sheriff Parkinson's leadership of the custody operation.
How to Search the Roster
The roster takes seconds to use. Open the page, type a name, and click Search. The form does not need both fields. A last name alone will return all matches. Source URL: slosheriff.org/jail-information/whos-in-custody/. The screenshot below shows the live form. 
The page warns that data should not be used for legal action and that bail or charges may have changed since booking.
- Open the Sheriff's Who's in Custody page in any browser.
- Type the last name in the Last Name box. First name is optional but trims the list.
- Click the Search button. The results table loads on the same page.
- Click a name to open the full inmate profile with charges, bail, and projected release.
If no result loads, the person is not in San Luis Obispo County jail custody at that moment. Try a partial name. Try a known alias. Call the jail at (805) 781-4600 if a person was just booked and the roster has not updated yet.
San Luis Obispo County Roster Search Fields
The search form is short. Two text fields and one button. The Sheriff's site asks users to fill in the fields, though the endpoint accepts a blank value. The table below lists each field on the form along with the actual HTML field name used by the page.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Name | Text | No | HTML form field name fn. Can be left blank. |
| Last Name | Text | No | HTML form field name ln. Last-name-only search returns results. |
| Search | Button | N/A | Posts the form to the custody search endpoint. |
The form has no booking number field, no date range, no charge filter. To search by booking date or arresting agency, switch to the 30-Day Booking Log described below.
Reading San Luis Obispo County Inmate Search Results
Each result row in the San Luis Obispo County jail roster opens to a full profile page. The fields listed below come from the live custody page. No mugshot loads in the HTML. No housing pod, no medical flag, no court date. Bail and charge fields show the data known at the moment the inmate was booked.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Inmate ID | The Sheriff's internal ID for the inmate. |
| Booking Number | Booking ID, format like A00831071.1. |
| Name | Full name as printed on the booking sheet. |
| Gender | Male or female as recorded at intake. |
| DOB | Date of birth. |
| Age | Age in years at the time of booking. |
| Booking Date | Date and time, MM/DD/YYYY HH:MM. |
| Projected Release | Best-known release date, may change. |
| Bail | Total bail set, or no-bail flag. |
| Height | Height as recorded at intake. |
| Weight | Weight in pounds at intake. |
| VINE link | Direct link to register for VINELink alerts. |
| Charges Table | Charge, description, bond number, and arresting agency. |
Charges shown are only the ones known to the jail. The District Attorney may file more or fewer. For the full file, see criminal records.
San Luis Obispo County 30-Day Booking Log
The Booking Log lists bookings over the prior 30 days, not just current custody. It runs as an Angular app at slosheriff.org/WebLogs/BookingLog/. To get a report, pick a date, pick a time window, and pick an agency from the drop-down. Then click Get Log. The source page is shown below. 
The log warns that data should not be relied upon for any type of legal action, and charges and bail amounts are those known at time of booking.
The XML feed that powers the log carries a deep set of fields for each booking. The list below is what a developer or open-records user can read off the raw feed.
| XML Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| InmateNumber | Sheriff's inmate ID. |
| Name (LastName / FirstName / MiddleName / Suffix) | Split name parts. |
| DOB | Date of birth. |
| Gender | Male or female. |
| Height_Primary / Height_Secondary | Feet and inches. |
| Weight | Pounds. |
| FacilityName | Main jail, Honor Farm, or women's housing. |
| DateIn | Check-in time at intake. |
| ProjectedReleaseDate | Best-known release date. |
| OverallBailNoBailFlag | No-bail hold marker. |
| ParentCaseNumber / CaseNumber | Linked court case IDs. |
| BookingDate | Booking timestamp. |
| ArrestingAgency | SLOPD, SLOSO, CHP, and others. |
| ArrestLocation | Where the arrest took place. |
| ArrestType | On-view, warrant, citation, or hold. |
| CourtDocketNumber | Court docket assigned at booking. |
| Bail / BailNoBailFlag | Bail amount or no-bail status. |
| Charges (Count, CodeType, Section, Statute, Description) | Each charge row. |
| NextCourtDate | Next court date if scheduled. |
| Court / CourtDepartment | Court and courtroom for arraignment. |
Current Custody vs Booking Log
The two tools answer different questions. The Who's in Custody page shows who is in jail right now. The 30-Day Booking Log shows every booking made in the past month, even if that person is no longer in jail. A person bailed out hours after booking will not show in the Who's in Custody page. The same person will still show in the Booking Log for the next 30 days.
For people held more than 30 days ago who are no longer in San Luis Obispo County jail custody, the Sheriff's Records and Warrants Unit handles requests by phone at (805) 781-4588. For court appearance dates, the jail will not give that out. Call the court at (805) 781-5143 or use the 5-day criminal calendar online. For warrants on the same person, see warrant records.
San Luis Obispo County Jail Facility
The main jail sits next to the Sheriff's Office at 1585 Kansas Avenue. The campus also runs the Honor Farm and a separate women's housing unit. A PREA audit notes the main jail can hold upwards of about 550 residents in maximum, medium, and minimum security settings. The jail houses pretrial arrestees and sentenced inmates and transports people to and from court. Command structure runs from the Sheriff and Undersheriff down to a Correctional Captain, Correctional Lieutenant, Correctional Sergeants, Senior Correctional Deputies, Correctional Deputies, and Correctional Technicians.
San Luis Obispo County Jail
1585 Kansas Avenue
San Luis Obispo, CA 93405
(805) 781-4600 Jail
(805) 781-4550 Sheriff Main
Records and Warrants: (805) 781-4588
Inmate Mail Address
Inmate ID #, Inmate Name
880 Oklahoma Ave.
San Luis Obispo, CA 93405
Email: SH-inmatemail@co.slo.ca.us
Hardback books not allowed.
The Sheriff's home page links to all jail tools, news, and contacts. 
The site motto reads "Sworn to serve since 1850."
San Luis Obispo County Jail Release Timing
Scheduled releases of time-served inmates take place in the morning between 7:30 AM and 9:00 AM. Inmates serving three days or less are released at the exact 24, 48, or 72-hour mark from check-in. Court-ordered releases process as quickly as the paperwork reaches the jail. Delays of several hours are normal. Transportation dates to other counties or to state prison are not made public for security reasons.
Lockdown windows are part of the jail's daily count. Phones, visits, and intake activity pause during these times. Lockdowns run 5-6 AM, 11 AM to noon, 4-5 PM, and 11 PM to midnight. For more on people just released, see released inmates. For overall counts, see inmate population.
Money and Commissary for San Luis Obispo County Inmates
The Sheriff partners with Aramark and TouchPay for commissary and deposits. Funds can buy commissary items and phone debit minutes. Deposits run 24/7 through TouchPay Direct after a one-time setup. Register by phone at 866-232-1899 or online. The lobby kiosk at the San Luis Obispo County Jail also takes cards. Facility number: 293405. Funds post within 24 hours.
TouchPay fees are flat. The cost is $2.95 for deposits up to $200, and $3.95 for deposits over $200. Through Aramark iCare, friends or family can buy pre-packaged commissary goods that ship to the inmate. Money orders still go through the U.S. Postal Service to the Oklahoma Avenue mail address.
The full inmate resources page lays out commissary, video visits, and mail in one place. 
Use that page to set up an account before a visit or a deposit.
Phone and Video Visits
NCIC is the phone and video provider for the jail. Inmates can make collect calls or automated advance-pay calls. Advance-pay accounts are set up at account.ncic.com/Registration or 1-800-943-2189. The line is open 24 hours. Phones are on roughly 7 AM to 11 PM, with cuts during lockdowns.
Video visits run $0.19 per minute. All visits are monitored and recorded. Visitors need approval, the NCIC Mobile Video Visitation app or a desktop with camera, mic, speaker, and high-speed internet. Schedule each session at videovisit.ncic.com.
San Luis Obispo County Jail Visitation Rules and Hours
Since April 7, 2025, all on-site visits must be booked through NCIC at videovisit.ncic.com. Appointments must be booked no more than 7 days ahead and no less than 48 hours ahead. Check in 45 to 60 minutes early. Each inmate gets two one-hour on-site visits per week, Sunday through Saturday. Two adults may sign up, but only one adult sits in the booth at a time, with a swap allowed at the half-hour mark. Up to three minor children may visit with one adult.
Pending felony cases, felony convictions, parole, or formal probation each require written permission from the Correctional Sergeant who handles visitor approval. No one released from the San Luis Obispo County Jail may visit for six weeks after release.
| Day | Hours (Men's Jail) | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Sunday | 8-10 AM; 12-2 PM | On-site, scheduled |
| Monday | No visits | N/A |
| Tuesday | 8-9 PM | On-site, scheduled |
| Wednesday | No visits | N/A |
| Thursday | 12-1 PM | On-site, scheduled |
| Friday | No visits | N/A |
| Saturday | 12-2 PM; 8-9 PM | On-site, scheduled |
Female jail and Honor Farm housing have their own schedules. The Honor Farm Men's Building #1 visits Saturday 12-3 PM. Building #2 visits Sunday 12-3 PM. Honor Farm Women's Bunks 1-12 visit Saturday 12-3 PM; Bunks 13-26 visit Sunday 12-3 PM.
San Luis Obispo County Inmate Mail Rules
The jail accepts email for inmate mail. Send to SH-inmatemail@co.slo.ca.us. The subject must include the inmate's last name, first name, and inmate ID number. Example: Doe, John ID# 8675309. Acceptable attachments are JPEG, GIF, BMP, PDF, TXT, DOC, and DOCX. No videos. No non-standard formats. The limit is three emails per sender per day, six pages each. No manuals, no publications, no song lyrics, no memes.
Paper mail goes to 880 Oklahoma Ave., San Luis Obispo, CA 93405. Money orders still travel by U.S. Postal Service. Hardback books are not allowed. Soft-bound books, magazines, and periodicals must ship from the publisher or retail outlet, not from a friend or family member. A denied piece of mail can be appealed within 30 days. The jail responds within 15 business days of receipt. Mail appeals go to San Luis Obispo County Jail - Mail Appeals, 1585 Kansas Avenue, San Luis Obispo, CA 93405, or to the same email inbox.
Records That Are Not Public
The San Luis Obispo County roster does not list housing pod, tank, or cell. It does not flag medical issues, suicide watch, or protective custody. Attorney visits, classification scores, and disciplinary write-ups are not public either. The jail will not release transport dates to state prison. The jail will not give court dates over the phone. Juvenile bookings are sealed.
For people in California state prison, search CDCR's inmate locator. For federal custody, use the BOP locator. For custody status alerts on a specific person, register through VINELink at vinelink.vineapps.com/search/CA/Person. The Sheriff's Jail Custody FAQs page covers more questions about release timing, bail, and book-and-release. 
The FAQ page is the fastest path to answers the Sheriff's office gives most often.