How Florida jails are organized
Each county in Florida runs its own jail, and each has its own page here. Miami is Miami-Dade, not Broward. Fort Lauderdale is Broward. West Palm Beach is Palm Beach County. Tampa is Hillsborough; St. Petersburg is Pinellas — two bayside sheriffs. Orlando is Orange; Kissimmee is Osceola; Sanford is Seminole. Jacksonville is Duval (consolidated city-county). Tallahassee is Leon. Tallahassee is the state capital, but arrests are booked in the county where they happen.
Florida county jails are sheriff-run and often huge. FDC (the state prisons, including women’s at Lowell) is separate. A night in a municipal lockup or a Baker Act facility is not the county inmate search. This site currently has live roster pages for 12 of 67 counties (12 jail pages, 12,739 records tracked). The other 55 counties have a jail information page with lookup steps and contacts; until a roster feed is connected, the sheriff or detention center is the official source for who is in custody there.
Finding someone in a Florida jail
Many Florida sheriffs publish detailed rosters (charges, bond, booking). That is why this state’s pages look like live tables. Coverage is still county-by-county — Orange is not Miami-Dade. If you know the county, open its roster above and search by name or charge. If you only know the city of arrest, find which county the city is in first.
Circuit and county courts sit in 20 judicial circuits that group counties. A Miami-Dade felony is the Eleventh Circuit. Do not mix Broward’s courthouse with Miami’s. The courthouse and the jail are often in different buildings. Confirm the facility name on the booking paperwork or with the attorney before you travel.
Bond, visits and money in Florida
Florida cash and surety bonds are a large industry. Each jail has bondsmen who work that window. First appearance is typically within 24 hours. Bond amounts on the roster can change after the hearing. Bond amounts shown on a roster can change after the first court appearance. CurrentPrisonList does not post bail or accept payments.
Large jails use appointment and video systems (many vendors). Miami-Dade, Broward, and Orange do not share a visiting PIN. Hurricane closures are a Gulf and Atlantic fact. Dress codes, video-visit providers and appointment times are set by each jail. Check the sheriff's website on the day of the visit.
Travel and common mistakes in Florida
MIA, FLL, PBI, TPA, MCO, JAX, and TLH are different counties after you land. I-95 and I-4 do not merge the jails. Tourist-area arrests (I-Drive, South Beach, Clearwater Beach) still book into the county named on the roster. Take the jail address from the sheriff's website or from the contact section of the county page, not from a generic map search.
A common mistake: driving to Orange County because the arrest was “in Orlando” when the booking is Seminole or Osceola, or calling FDC about a county jail inmate. Neighboring states have their own state pages on this site.