Denver Jail Inmate Search: Find DDC or County Jail Custody First
Denver operates two major Sheriff detention facilities. Every new detainee is processed through the Van Cise-Simonet Downtown Detention Center, but a person may later be housed at the Denver County Jail on Smith Road.
Use the official Denver Sheriff inmate search first, save the Criminal Descriptor (CD) number, confirm the current facility, and then use the correct court, bond, visit, mail or money service.
Denver Custody Source Board
Fast Answer
Use Denver Sheriff’s official inmate search first. It is the correct first source for locating someone in Denver Sheriff custody and determining whether they are currently housed at the Downtown Detention Center or Denver County Jail.
If the arrest just happened, do not assume a blank search means release. Denver Sheriff says intake normally takes about 2–6 hours, and outside fingerprint or warrant checks can make processing longer.
After locating the person, save the CD number. Denver uses it for mail, money orders and several other jail services.
Go directly to the Denver jail task you need
- Choose the correct source
- Use the inmate search
- DDC vs County Jail
- Booking & intake
- No-result troubleshooting
- Bond & warrants
- Court records
- Visitation
- Money & commissary
- Calls & Securus
- Property release
- Medical & welfare concerns
- Colorado VINE
- Colorado DOC
- Records
- Official action directory
- FAQs
Which Denver Custody Source Should You Use?
This helper does not search the Denver Sheriff, court, DOC, VINE or federal databases. It only routes you to the correct official source.
Select a task above
The appropriate official source will appear here.
How to Perform a Denver Jail Inmate Search
- Open Denver Sheriff’s official inmate search. Start with the City and County of Denver system rather than a copied booking directory.
- Search the legal name carefully. If a common or hyphenated surname produces problems, try reasonable spelling variations.
- Save the Criminal Descriptor number. The CD number is useful for mail, account deposits and other Denver Sheriff services.
- Confirm the current facility. Do not assume everyone arrested in Denver remains at the Downtown Detention Center.
- Review court and bond information separately. A jail result answers custody; the court record answers case status and disposition.
- Recheck immediately before acting. A person can move between facilities, court, release processing, another jurisdiction or another custody system.
Open Official Denver Sheriff Search ↗
Downtown Detention Center vs Denver County Jail
Denver is not a one-building jail system. The two facilities serve different operational roles and have different visitation options.
Van Cise-Simonet Downtown Detention Center
490 W. Colfax Avenue Denver, CO 80204- All detainees are processed here.
- Intake, identification and fingerprint clearance occur here.
- In-custody Denver County Courtrooms and the Bonding Office are located at this facility.
- Social visitation is video only.
Denver County Jail
10500 E. Smith Road Denver, CO 80239- Handles different longer-term county custody populations.
- Offers onsite and remote video visitation.
- Eligible people can also receive in-person visits.
- Visit schedules differ from DDC.
Denver Booking, Fingerprints and Intake Timing
Denver Sheriff describes reception/intake as a multi-step process rather than a simple name entry into a database.
Identification
- Search and intake procedures
- Digital booking photograph
- Right index fingerprint
- Property inventory
Health Screening
- Medical evaluation
- Mental-health evaluation
- Additional care routing where required
External Checks
- Colorado and federal fingerprint clearance
- Additional warrant search
- Identification-system processing
What If the Person Does Not Appear in the Denver Inmate Search?
Still in Intake
The person may be physically in Denver custody but not fully processed or searchable yet.
Different Spelling
A middle name, alternate spelling, hyphen, former name or data-entry variation can affect the match.
Metro Denver Arrest
An arrest in the metro area may involve Adams, Arapahoe, Jefferson or another county instead of Denver custody.
State or Federal Custody
The person may have moved to Colorado DOC, federal custody or another jurisdiction.
Recommended No-Result Sequence
- Recheck the legal name and spelling.
- If the arrest was recent, allow for intake and fingerprint processing.
- Confirm the arrest actually occurred within the City and County of Denver.
- Check Denver County Court for a case, warrant or court date where applicable.
- Check nearby county jail systems if the arrest location was outside Denver’s jurisdiction.
- Check Colorado DOC if a state-prison transfer is possible.
- Check Federal BOP when federal prison custody genuinely applies.
- Call the appropriate official agency rather than assuming a blank result means release.
For a nearby Colorado example, see our Adams County Jail Inmate Search guide.
Denver Bond, Warrants and Release
Bonding is administered through Denver County Court, not by Denver Sheriff staff. Denver Sheriff specifically directs bonding questions to the County Court Bonding Office.
Van Cise-Simonet Detention Center
490 W. Colfax Avenue Denver, CO 80204 Phone: 720-337-0062Denver County Court’s current contact page lists staffed Bonding Office hours as:
- Monday–Friday: 7:00 a.m.–7:00 p.m.
- Weekends & City Holidays: 7:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Call Before Travelling
The separate Denver County Court Bonding & Warrants page says in-person bond posting is accepted for a longer daily period than the staffed hours shown on the Court’s contact page.
Best practice: call 720-337-0062 immediately before travel to confirm the current payment window and case eligibility.
Before Paying a Denver Bond
- Confirm the person’s full legal name and CD number.
- Confirm fingerprints have cleared and booking is complete.
- Verify every case number connected to custody.
- Confirm the exact bond type and amount.
- Check whether the bond can be posted online.
- Check for another jurisdiction’s warrant.
- Check for holds or additional cases.
- Understand the conditions on the bond paperwork.
Denver Court Records and Case Follow-Up
The jail search and court search answer different questions. Denver Sheriff confirms whether someone is in its custody; Denver County Court and the Colorado Judicial Branch track the legal case.
Public Portal
The Public Portal supports case-number or Arrest Booking number searches and a separate tool for finding active future court dates.
Lindsey-Flanigan Courthouse
520 W. Colfax Avenue, Room 160 Denver, CO 80202 Phone: 720-337-0410Colorado Judicial Branch
A felony matter may move beyond Denver County Court into Denver District Court. Use Colorado Judicial Branch resources when the case is in district court rather than assuming every Denver arrest stays in County Court.
Denver Jail Visitation: DDC and County Jail Are Different
Denver currently uses Securus for remote and onsite video visitation. The Downtown Detention Center offers video visits only; the Denver County Jail also offers eligible in-person visits.
Downtown Detention Center Visits
Onsite video location: 490 W. Colfax Avenue.
Current onsite video windows:
- 7:00 a.m.–10:00 a.m.
- 12:00 p.m.–2:00 p.m.
- 3:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m.
- 6:00 p.m.–9:00 p.m.
DDC video visits may last up to 30 minutes and are currently limited to one visit per week at one visit per day.
Denver County Jail Visits
Location: 10500 E. Smith Road.
Current onsite video visits:
- Friday, Saturday and Sunday
- 12:00 p.m., 1:00 p.m., 6:00 p.m., 7:00 p.m., 8:00 p.m.
Current eligible in-person visits:
- Friday and Saturday
- 12:00 p.m., 1:00 p.m., 2:00 p.m., 3:00 p.m.
Visitor Preparation
- Schedule video visits through Securus.
- Bring current valid identification.
- Arrive about 15 minutes early for onsite/in-person visits.
- Do not assume a late visit can be rescheduled.
- Visitors may be subject to warrant checks.
- Follow the current dress and behavior rules.
- Video and non-privileged visits may be monitored or recorded.
View Current Denver Visit Rules ↗
Denver Jail Mail: Two Different Addresses
Denver’s current system separates ordinary personal correspondence from legal mail, money orders, checks, books, magazines and government documents.
Mail Is Scanned
[Person in Custody Name], CD# Denver Sheriff Department P.O. Box 20707 Tampa, FL 33622Denver says physical personal mail sent here is scanned and delivered through the person’s assigned tablet and/or housing kiosk.
Legal, Money Orders, Books & Documents
[Person in Custody Name], CD# Denver Sheriff Department P.O. Box 1108 Denver, CO 80201Denver directs legal mail, checks, money orders, books, magazines and government documents such as birth/death certificates to this Denver address. Books and magazines must be sent directly from the publisher.
How to Send Money to Someone in Denver Sheriff Custody
Denver Sheriff’s current incarcerated-person services page lists three methods. Each requires the person’s Criminal Descriptor number.
Access Corrections
Denver Sheriff currently links to Access Corrections for online account deposits.
Start from the Denver Sheriff services page or the provider link it supplies rather than an advertisement or unrelated payment page.
Lobby Kiosk
Cash or credit-card kiosk payments are currently available at both major Denver Sheriff facilities:
- Downtown Detention Center
- Denver County Jail
USPS Money Order Only
Denver currently says only a U.S. Postal Service money order is accepted for this mail/in-person method—no other money order or check.
Write the person’s name and CD number directly on the money order.
View Official Denver Inmate Services ↗
Denver Jail Phone Calls and Securus
Denver Sheriff currently contracts with Securus Technologies for phone services and video-visitation equipment. The current city contract extends through 2030.
Receiving Calls
Friends and family who want to receive ordinary calls should use the current Securus account process linked through Denver Sheriff resources.
People in custody cannot receive unrestricted ordinary incoming calls in the same way as a residential phone.
Privacy Caution
Ordinary jail calls, electronic messages and video visits should be treated as potentially monitored or recorded.
Case-specific legal strategy should be discussed with counsel through appropriate privileged channels rather than ordinary family communication.
Denver Property Release
Denver Sheriff says property can be released to another person only when the person in custody authorizes that release.
- The person in custody must authorize the release.
- The pickup person must bring valid government photo identification.
- Complete the property-release request at the Downtown Detention Center.
- Be present when the officer presents the property.
- Be prepared to take all property being released. Denver says users cannot pick and choose only selected items.
Medical, Mental-Health and Urgent Welfare Concerns
Denver Health provides medical, mental-health and dental services within the Denver jail system. The Sheriff’s current services page describes behavioral-health teams, transition units and the High Acuity Transition unit at DDC.
Contact the Correct Facility
If a family member has an urgent safety, medication, detoxification, suicide-risk or other serious welfare concern, contact Denver Sheriff/facility staff using current official channels rather than waiting for a web listing to change.
Medical Information Is Protected
A public inmate-search guide cannot disclose or verify someone’s private medical condition. Provide factual information to authorized medical/correctional staff without publishing it online.
Colorado VINE Custody Notifications
Colorado VINE is separate from the Denver Sheriff locator and Denver County Court. For participating county-jail custody, users can register for automated notifications about qualifying custody-status changes.
Colorado VINE
Colorado VINE can provide qualifying jail-custody notifications such as release, transfer or other status changes.
Colorado VINE: 888-263-8463
Colorado DOC Uses Its Own Victim Process
Do not assume the county-jail VINE workflow replaces Colorado DOC’s separate post-sentencing victim-notification process.
Use Colorado DOC resources after transfer into state correctional custody.
When to Use Colorado DOC Instead of Denver Jail Search
Use Denver Sheriff Search
- Recent Denver arrest
- DDC intake
- Denver County Jail housing
- Local pretrial custody
- Denver CD number
- Denver jail visits, mail and accounts
Use Colorado DOC Search
- Transfer into Colorado state prison
- Colorado DOC number
- Current state-correctional placement
- State-prison custody rather than Denver county jail custody
Open Colorado DOC Offender Search ↗
Federal Custody
If the person is in Federal Bureau of Prisons custody, Denver Sheriff and Colorado DOC are the wrong systems.
For more detail, see our Federal Jail Inmate Search guide.
Denver Jail, Police and Court Records
| Information needed | Best source | Important distinction |
|---|---|---|
| Current Denver jail custody | Denver Sheriff inmate search | Custody source, not a complete criminal history. |
| Booking / jail operational information | Denver Sheriff | Availability depends on correctional-record and privacy rules. |
| Police arrest / investigation record | Denver Police Department records | Police records and jail records are separate. |
| Denver County Court case | Denver County Court Public Portal | Search with the appropriate case or arrest-booking information. |
| Certified County Court documents | Clerk of Denver County Court | A screenshot from the inmate locator is not a certified court document. |
| Denver District Court matter | Colorado Judicial Branch / 2nd Judicial District | Felony/district-court records do not necessarily stay in Denver County Court’s system. |
| Colorado state-prison custody | Colorado DOC Offender Search | Separate from Denver Sheriff’s jail system. |
Official Denver Jail Action Directory
Find current Denver custody, CD number and facility information.
Open Inmate Search ↗Current DDC and County Jail video/in-person visit rules and schedules.
View Visit Guide ↗Check current Denver County Court bond procedures and eligibility.
View Bond Rules ↗Search by case number or Arrest Booking number and review court dates.
Open Court Search ↗Verify current personal and non-personal mail instructions before sending anything.
View Mail & Services ↗Current kiosk, USPS money-order and Access Corrections options.
View Money Options ↗Use after transfer into Colorado state correctional custody.
Open DOC Search ↗Use for Federal Bureau of Prisons custody rather than Denver or Colorado DOC.
Open BOP Locator ↗Common Denver Jail Search Mistakes
- Assuming the Downtown Detention Center and Denver County Jail are the same building.
- Searching too soon after arrest and interpreting a blank result as release.
- Forgetting to save the CD number.
- Driving to DDC for an in-person social visit even though DDC currently offers video visits only.
- Sending personal letters to the Denver non-personal-mail address.
- Sending legal mail or money orders to the Tampa scanning address.
- Using an account deposit as though it posts bond.
- Trying to pay bond before fingerprint clearance and full booking.
- Relying on an old bonding-office schedule without calling first.
- Treating a jail charge as the final court outcome.
- Using Denver Sheriff search after a person has transferred to Colorado DOC.
- Using ordinary jail communications for confidential legal strategy.
Denver Jail Inmate Search FAQs
What is the official Denver jail inmate search?
The City and County of Denver provides an official Sheriff inmate-search tool for people in Denver custody. Use that system first to locate the person, identify the CD number and confirm the current jail facility.
How long does Denver jail booking take?
Denver Sheriff’s current incarcerated-person services page says booking normally takes about two to six hours, but fingerprint checks, identity issues, warrants and other processing can make it longer.
Are the Downtown Detention Center and Denver County Jail the same place?
No. The Van Cise-Simonet Downtown Detention Center is at 490 W. Colfax Avenue and handles all intake. Denver County Jail is at 10500 E. Smith Road and serves different longer-term custody populations.
Can I visit someone in person at the Downtown Detention Center?
No ordinary in-person social visits are currently offered at DDC. Denver Sheriff says DDC visitation is video only. Eligible in-person social visits are offered at Denver County Jail on Smith Road.
How do I post bond for someone in Denver custody?
Bonding is handled through Denver County Court rather than Denver Sheriff. A newly arrested person must first complete booking and fingerprint clearance. Check Denver County Court’s bonding portal or call the Bonding Office at 720-337-0062 before travelling.
Where do I search for a Denver criminal court case?
Denver County Court’s Public Portal supports searches by case number or Arrest Booking number and provides a separate active court-date search. District Court matters should be checked through the Colorado Judicial Branch.
Where do I send ordinary personal mail to a Denver inmate?
Current Denver Sheriff instructions direct personal mail to the person’s name and CD number, Denver Sheriff Department, P.O. Box 20707, Tampa, FL 33622. The mail is scanned for delivery to the person’s tablet or housing kiosk.
Where do legal mail, books and money orders go?
Denver directs legal mail, checks, money orders, books, magazines and government documents to the person’s name and CD number, Denver Sheriff Department, P.O. Box 1108, Denver, CO 80201. Books and magazines must come directly from the publisher.
How do I put money on someone’s Denver jail account?
Denver Sheriff currently lists three routes: a cash/credit lobby kiosk at either jail, a U.S. Postal Service money order, or online payment through Access Corrections. All methods require the person’s Criminal Descriptor number.
When should I use Colorado DOC instead of Denver Sheriff search?
Use Colorado DOC when the person has moved into Colorado state-prison custody. Recent Denver arrests, DDC intake and Denver County Jail custody should be checked through the Denver Sheriff inmate search first.
Official Sources Reviewed for This Guide
- City and County of Denver — Inmate Search
- Denver Sheriff — Find & Visit Someone In Our Care
- Denver Sheriff — Programs & Services for Incarcerated Persons
- Denver Sheriff — Court Services
- Denver County Court — Bonding & Warrants
- Denver County Court — Post Bond / Address Warrant
- Denver County Court — Case Search
- Denver County Court — Contact & Bonding Office Hours
- Colorado Judicial Branch
- Colorado VINE
- Colorado Department of Corrections — Offender Search
- Federal Bureau of Prisons — Inmate Locator