Guide
New York Inmate Search at a Glance
New York holds state prisoners under the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, DOCCS, at facilities such as Attica, Clinton in Dannemora, Green Haven, Sing Sing in Ossining, Elmira, Auburn, Five Points, Wende, Bedford Hills for women and dozens of medium and minimum security prisons across upstate. New York City runs its own jail system through the New York City Department of Correction, mainly on Rikers Island, and the other 57 counties run jails through their sheriffs.
The DOCCS Incarcerated Lookup is the state lookup. It runs on the DIN, the Department Identification Number, or the name, and covers people in prison and people under community supervision after release.
Official sources on this page were checked on September 25, 2026.
Guide
New York state prison inmate search
| State prison inmates | Yes, DOCCS Incarcerated Lookup |
|---|---|
| County jail inmates | No, NYC DOC lookup and county rosters |
| Parole and probation | Community supervision yes, probation no |
| Released inmates | Yes, with release date |
| Photographs | No |
| Release dates | Yes, earliest, conditional and maximum |
| Best search key | DIN |
The DOCCS lookup returns the DIN, name, sex, date of birth, race and ethnicity, the custody status, the date received, the facility, the county of commitment, each crime with its class, the aggregate minimum and maximum sentence, the earliest release date, the parole hearing date, the conditional release date, the maximum expiration date and the post release supervision maximum. People released to parole appear with a parole status and the date of release. The DIN, two digits, a letter and four digits, is printed on every DOCCS document.
- DOCCS Incarcerated LookupSearch New York state prisons and community supervision by DIN or name
- New York State Department of Corrections and Community SupervisionFacilities, visiting, mail, phone and money deposits
- New York State Board of ParoleParole interviews, decisions and victim impact statements
- New York City Department of Correction inmate lookupRikers Island and borough jail custody search
- VINELink New YorkCustody alerts for New York county jails and state prisons
Guide
New York City and county jails
The New York City Department of Correction runs an inmate lookup for everyone held on Rikers Island and in the borough facilities, searchable by name, book and case number or NYSID. Outside the city, the Nassau County Correctional Center in East Meadow, the Suffolk County jails in Riverhead and Yaphank, the Westchester County Jail in Valhalla, the Erie County Holding Center in Buffalo, the Monroe County Jail in Rochester, the Onondaga County Justice Center in Syracuse and the Albany County Correctional Facility post rosters. Since the 2020 bail reform many people charged with misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies are released without bail and never appear in a jail roster.
- New York County Sheriff DirectorySheriff offices and county jail searches for all 62 counties
- New York Police DepartmentsNYPD, city police and State Police records
- New York Criminal RecordsCriminal history searches through the Office of Court Administration
- New York Most WantedFugitives and outstanding warrants
Guide
What New York inmate records show, and what stays private
The New York Freedom of Information Law, Public Officers Law article 6, makes the custody record public, and DOCCS posts crimes, sentences and every release date, though not photographs. New York seals cases that end in dismissal or acquittal and many older convictions under the Clean Slate Act, so a sealed case never appears in a public search. Medical and mental health records, the pre-sentence report, classification and disciplinary files and Parole Board case files are exempt. The Office of Court Administration sells a statewide name based criminal history search of open and convicted cases to anyone for a fee.
Guide
Parole, community supervision and release in New York
The Board of Parole interviews people serving indeterminate sentences at the earliest release date and posts decisions; determinate sentences end at the conditional release date after good time and carry a fixed period of post release supervision. DOCCS Community Supervision, the former Division of Parole, supervises everyone released from state prison, which is why released people remain in the lookup. Probation is run by each county's probation department, so probationers appear in court records. The judgment sits with the county clerk of the convicting county.
Guide
When the search shows nothing
If the DOCCS lookup returns nothing, check the New York City Department of Correction inmate lookup for a city arrest or the county jail roster for Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Erie, Monroe or Onondaga county. Under bail reform many people are released before trial, so check WebCriminal for the pending case. Check the federal Bureau of Prisons locator for a federal case, including the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, and VINELink for a recent release.
Straight answers
New York Inmate Search, questions
What is a DIN?
The Department Identification Number is the DOCCS identifier assigned at reception, in the form of two digits, a letter and four digits. It appears on every state prison record and is the best search key in the lookup.
Does the New York DOCCS lookup cover Rikers Island?
No. Rikers Island and the borough jails belong to the New York City Department of Correction, which runs its own inmate lookup. The DOCCS lookup covers state prisons and people released from them.
What is the conditional release date on a New York record?
It is the date a prisoner can be released after earning good time, before the maximum expiration of the sentence. For determinate sentences it is the usual release date, followed by post release supervision.
Why is someone arrested in New York not in any jail roster?
Since 2020 New York releases most people charged with misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies without bail. The pending case appears in the court system's WebCriminal search rather than in a jail lookup.