Find an Inmate at a Correctional Facility
What is Inmate Lookup?
Inmate lookup is intended to provide interested constituents with information on the status and location of inmates incarcerated in all 54 NYS Department of Corrections and Community Supervision Correctional Facilities. Information is taken directly from the Department’s main inmate information database at the moment a request is made.
Who is listed?
- Current inmates
- Certain former inmates incarcerated since the early 1970’s
Who is not listed?
- Youthful offenders and those who have had their convictions set aside by the court.
- All youthful offender records and papers are confidential and may not be made available to any person or public or private agency due to Criminal Procedure Law 720.35.
-
Visiting_4403.pdf More information on visiting guidelines, rules and regulations.
-
Telephone_4423.pdf Learn more about how to send and receive phone calls from inmates.
-
Sending Mail_4422.pdf Learn more about how to write letters to inmates.
-
Packages_4911.pdf Learn more about what you can and cannot send to inmates.
-
FamilyGuide.pdf A helpful guide for family members to understand more about the New York State correctional system.
Refer to this step by step process to complete an inmate search online.
- Gather accepted identifying information (See below)
- Open the form
- Complete the form
- Refer to Results section for more information
- Print it or write information down
Ready? Have with you:
To find an inmate, have one or more of the following identifying information:
- Department Identification Number (DIN)
- A DIN is an Internal number assigned to an inmate upon reception into a correctional facility and used throughout an inmate’s term of commitment no matter which facility he or she may be housed in: Learn More.
- You can obtain the number from the inmate or use the name search capability. For more assistance you may call (518)-457-5000. Standard phone rates/fees apply.
- New York State Identification Number (NYSID)
- A NYSID is a unique identifier assigned to an individual by the Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS). If you know a person’s NYSID, you will not be prevented from accessing his or her records online, however a NYSID will not be provided when searching by another search criteria.
- Last Name, First Name
- Birth Year (only to be used with Last and First Names)
You can access the lookup tool at specific times:
12:00am to 11:45pm, Monday to Friday
12:30am to 11:30pm, Weekends
For more assistance, contact us by phone
8:00am to 5:00pm, Monday-Friday
(518) 457-5000 for NYS and out of state residents
Standard phone rates and fees apply.
Call us Monday-Friday 8:30AM-5:00PM
Or contact us via the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision website: https://publicapps.doccs.ny.gov/DOCCSWebContactForm.aspx
New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision 1220 Washington Ave, Building 2 Albany, New York 12226-2050