Search Yakima County Inmates

Yakima County Jail Roster Overview

Two separate agencies handle public safety in the county. The Yakima County Sheriff's Office, led by Sheriff Robert Udell, does law enforcement work. The Yakima County Department of Corrections runs the jail itself and keeps the inmate roster. So when you want to find someone in custody, the jail roster comes from the Department of Corrections, not the Sheriff. The roster lives on the county website as an embedded live report. It pulls from the jail's own booking system, so the data tracks who is held at the jail at that time.

The roster shows only the slice of jail data that is public. Under state law, the jail roster is public release information, but most other inmate records are confidential. That means the roster is a current custody list, not a full case file or rap sheet.

The county explains its rules on the Yakima County Jail Records page, which sets out what the public can and cannot get.

That page is worth a read before you assume the roster will hand over a mugshot or a medical note, because it will not.

The roster also does not cover every kind of custody. People held in state prison appear in the Washington Department of Corrections system. People in federal custody appear in the Bureau of Prisons locator. The county roster is for the local jail only. For folks who have already left, the released inmates page covers state, federal, and notification tools.

How to Use the Yakima County Inmate Roster

The roster is free and open to anyone. You do not need an account, and you do not pay to look. The fastest path is to open the county's inmate lookup, then browse or filter by name. Have the person's full name ready. If you already know the inmate ID or R number, the search goes even faster.

You can reach the tool from the Yakima County Inmate Lookup page, which loads the live jail roster report.

The report is interactive, so you can scroll the list and use the built-in filters to narrow it down.

1. Open the Yakima County Inmate Lookup and let the live roster report load.
2. Type a last name, or a last and first name, into the search or filter box.
3. Review the rows that come back, since common names can return more than one match.
4. Read across the row for the ID number, booking date, housing location, and planned release date.
5. Write down the name and ID number, because you need both for mail, phone, money, and visits.

The county also keeps an updated build of the tool on the revised Inmate Lookup page, which is handy if the main link acts up.

Both versions draw from the same booking data, so the results should match.

Roster Search Fields

The Yakima County inmate lookup runs as an embedded report rather than a plain web form. Because of that, the field labels are not fixed text on the page. In practice, you browse the roster list and filter it down. The table below shows the search inputs the roster supports based on the county's own lookup description.

The roster shows public release data only, so do not expect a charge sheet or a bond figure to appear unless the county displays it in the live report. When in doubt, call the jail to confirm.

What a Yakima County Inmate Profile Shows

Each roster row is a short profile of one person in custody. The fields are limited on purpose. State law lets the jail share roster data while keeping the rest of the inmate file private. So a profile confirms custody and tells you how to reach the person, but it is not a full criminal history. The table below lists the fields tied to the county's public roster.

Some things never show on the public roster. Booking photos, often called mugshots, are confidential under state law. Medical and mental health details stay private too. The roster will not give you a release of those records without inmate authorization or a court order, as the county jail records rules make clear.

Yakima County Jail Facilities

Adult inmates are booked into the county jail run by the Department of Corrections on North Front Street in downtown Yakima. That building handles the roster, visiting, mail, phone, and inmate accounts. The Sheriff's Office sits across town on South 1st Street and handles law enforcement, collision reports, and concealed pistol licenses. Juvenile matters route to the Juvenile Justice Center, where records are mostly confidential. Use the contact cards below to reach the right office.

The jail director is Jeremy Welch. Professional and attorney visits use a different line at 509-574-1652, open Monday through Friday from 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM.

Booking Process in Yakima County

A person arrested in the county is usually booked into the Department of Corrections jail at 111 N Front Street. The exception is when a city police force or another agency holds the person somewhere else. Booking creates the record that feeds the public roster. Once the booking posts, the name should appear in the inmate lookup.

After booking, the inmate gets an ID or R number. That number matters. You need it to send mail, set up phone access, and deposit money. Family members who want to help should pull the name and ID number straight from the roster first, then move on to mail, visits, or funds.

Because most jail records past the roster are confidential, the jail will not hand out booking photos, medical notes, or other file details to the public. Those require inmate authorization, a signed release, or a court order. For the charges and court dates behind a booking, the court case file is the better source. See Yakima County criminal records for how arrests connect to court cases.

Visitation Hours and Rules

Public visits at the Yakima County jail run Monday through Friday only. There are no weekend or holiday visits. Each inmate gets two 30-minute visits per week. You must schedule a visit two business days ahead by calling 509-574-2929. Visiting takes place at the Annex Lobby at 111 N Front Street. General visiting hours fall in two windows, 8:45 to 10:15 AM and 1:00 to 4:30 PM, with exact times set by the inmate's housing unit.

The visit day depends on where the person is housed, so check the roster for the unit first.

The county posts visit rules and the Securus video visit links on the Visiting the Jail page.

All visitors must show proper ID. Children under 18 must come with a parent or legal guardian and cannot be left alone. People on probation, parole, or other release need permission from both their supervising agency and the jail director.

Note: Visiting days and tank times can change, so always call 509-574-2929 to confirm the schedule before you drive to the jail.

How to Contact a Yakima County Inmate

You can reach an inmate by mail or phone. Both need the person's name and ID number from the roster. General mail is screened by a third-party vendor, Securus. Legal mail follows a different path so it stays private.

Non-legal mail goes to the Securus processing address, not the jail. Address it to the inmate name and ID number, Yakima County WA, PO Box 20888, Tampa, FL 33622. The inmate ID number must be six digits, so add leading zeroes if the number is shorter. Legal mail goes straight to the jail at the inmate name and booking number, Yakima County Department of Corrections, 111 N Front Street, Yakima, WA 98901, and must be marked "Legal Mail" on a lower corner.

The county lists the full mail rules, including the long list of items the jail will reject, on the Sending Inmate Mail page.

Greeting cards, stickers, hardcover books, and many other items are not allowed, so read the list before you send anything.

For calls, inmates can place collect, prepaid collect, and debit calls through Securus. Calls have a 15-minute limit, then they cut off. An in-state call costs $1.50 for the first minute and $0.12 per minute after that. The county explains call setup and rates on the Inmate Phone Service page.

To set up a prepaid or debit phone account, you can call Securus at 800-844-6591.

Commissary and Inmate Funds

Inmates can spend their own money on commissary items like food, personal care products, and writing supplies. To add money, you use TouchPay, the jail's funding vendor. Cash, personal checks, payroll checks, and money orders are not accepted. The only mailed-funds exception is a tribal per-capita check issued directly to the inmate, marked "Attention: Inmate Accounts," with the inmate's name and booking number.

You can deposit funds three ways: online or by app, at a kiosk in the Main Jail lobby, or by phone. For the locator, the TouchPay facility number for the Yakima County jail is 298907. To fund an account you need the inmate's R number and name. Phone deposits go through 866-232-1899 with a Visa or Mastercard, and a confirmation number is given. Convenience fees apply, and your statement may read Touchpay Direct or Correctional Payment Services.

The county lays out the deposit methods and the inmate trust account rules on the Inmate Trust Accounts page.

Packages can also be ordered for an inmate through the iCare commissary vendor online.

Note: Always confirm the inmate name and R number on the roster before you deposit money, because funds sent to the wrong number can be hard to recover.

Related Searches

For people recently released, see released inmates. For broader population data, see inmate population. For active warrants, see warrant records. For underlying cases, see criminal records.