Guide
Louisiana Inmate Search at a Glance
Louisiana holds more people per capita than almost any state, and more than half of its state prisoners are not in state prisons at all. They are housed in parish jails run by sheriffs under contract with the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections, alongside pretrial detainees. State facilities include the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, the Elayn Hunt Correctional Center in St. Gabriel, David Wade, Dixon, Rayburn, Allen and the Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women.
The Department does not run a public inmate locator website of its own. Custody status for state inmates, wherever they are housed, is provided through VINELink.
Official sources on this page were checked on September 25, 2026.
Guide
Louisiana state inmate search
| State prison inmates | Yes, through VINELink |
|---|---|
| County jail inmates | No, parish sheriff rosters |
| Parole and probation | No |
| Released inmates | No |
| Photographs | No |
| Release dates | No, status only |
| Best search key | Full name or DOC number |
Search VINELink with Louisiana selected. The result shows the offender's name, DOC number, the facility or the parish jail holding the person, and the custody status, with free registration for release alerts. For a person held on parish charges only, the parish sheriff's roster is the record. For the sentence, the clerk of court of the convicting parish holds the judgment, and several large parishes post case searches online.
- VINELink LouisianaCustody status and release alerts for Louisiana state inmates
- Louisiana Department of Public Safety and CorrectionsState facilities, parish housing, visiting, mail and money deposits
- Board of Pardons and Committee on ParoleParole and pardon hearings, dockets and decisions
- Louisiana State Police criminal recordsCriminal history and background check requests
Guide
Parish jails and local custody in Louisiana
The Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office runs the Orleans Justice Center in New Orleans and posts an inmate lookup with charges and bond. The East Baton Rouge Parish Prison, the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center in Gretna, the Caddo Correctional Center in Shreveport, the St. Tammany Parish jail in Covington, the Lafayette Parish Correctional Center and the Calcasieu Parish jail in Lake Charles publish rosters as well. New Orleans Police and Baton Rouge Police book into the parish jail, and many parish jails hold state inmates under contract who appear in both the roster and VINELink.
- Louisiana Parish Sheriff DirectorySheriff offices and jail rosters for all 64 parishes
- Louisiana Police DepartmentsCity police records and arrest logs
- Louisiana Criminal RecordsCriminal history through the Louisiana State Police Bureau of Criminal Identification
- Louisiana Most WantedFugitives and outstanding warrants
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What Louisiana inmate records show, and what stays private
The Louisiana Public Records Law, La. R.S. 44:1 and following, makes booking and custody records public, and parish sheriffs post booking photos and charges. The Department's own release of offender information is limited to name, DOC number, facility, status and release date. Medical and mental health records, the pre-sentence investigation, disciplinary and classification files and Board of Pardons case files are confidential. Criminal history reports from the Louisiana State Police are available to the subject and to authorized employers and agencies, not to the general public by name.
Guide
Parole, probation and release in Louisiana
The Committee on Parole, part of the Board of Pardons, holds parole hearings and posts its docket, and the Department's Division of Probation and Parole supervises releases and felony probationers from district offices statewide. Louisiana's good time rules release many prisoners to supervision at the diminution of sentence date without a hearing. The judgment sits with the clerk of court of the parish district court, and the Louisiana Supreme Court's case search points to each parish's records.
Guide
When the search shows nothing
If VINELink shows nothing for Louisiana, check the parish jail roster for the parish of arrest, starting with Orleans, East Baton Rouge, Jefferson, Caddo or St. Tammany, since a person on parish charges only never appears in the state system. Check the clerk of court for the case, the federal Bureau of Prisons locator for a federal case and the ICE detainee locator for an immigration hold, which Louisiana parishes house in large numbers.
Straight answers
Louisiana Inmate Search, questions
Does Louisiana have a state inmate locator website?
No. The Department of Public Safety and Corrections provides custody status through VINELink, which lists state inmates whether they are in a state prison or a parish jail.
Why is a Louisiana state prisoner in a parish jail?
More than half of Louisiana's state inmates serve their sentence in parish jails under contract with the Department. The parish roster and VINELink both show the person.
Where is someone arrested in New Orleans held?
At the Orleans Justice Center, run by the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office. The sheriff's online inmate lookup lists the charges and bond.
What is a diminution of sentence date?
It is the date a Louisiana prisoner earns release through good time credit. Release on that date is to supervision by the Division of Probation and Parole, without a parole hearing.