The Orange County Sheriff’s Department runs the county jail system. Which facility someone is in depends on where they were arrested and how far along the process is — and, importantly, not every facility accepts bail around the clock.

Orange County jail facilities

City jails in Orange County

Not everyone arrested in Orange County is taken straight to a county facility. Several cities run their own Type 1 jails inside the police station, where people are booked and held short term. The one families ask us about most is the Anaheim Police Department Detention Facility at 425 South Harbor Boulevard — and its public entrance is on Santa Ana Street, not Harbor Boulevard.

The detail that catches families out

The Intake Release Center accepts bail 24 hours a day. Theo Lacy accepts bonds only between 8:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.

If someone is at Theo Lacy at three in the morning, no one can post a bond there until the cashier opens. That is a fact about the facility, not about your bail agency, and any agency telling you otherwise is not being straight with you. We will tell you exactly what is and is not possible at the hour you call.

Before you go anywhere

The Sheriff’s Department advises confirming three things before bail is paid: the person’s full name, their booking number, and the full bail amount owed. Getting any of those wrong wastes a trip.

Finding out where someone is being held is free and usually takes us a few minutes. Call whichever office is nearest the city of the arrest — Anaheim (714) 520-2002, Brea (657) 286-5038, or La Habra (562) 690-8303.

Where the case is heard

The jail is where someone is held; the courthouse is where the case goes. Those are usually different places in different cities. Our Orange County courthouses page explains which justice center covers which city, and North Justice Center covers the eight cities around our offices.

For the county-wide picture see Orange County bail bonds, or North Orange County bail bonds for the area around Anaheim, Brea and La Habra.

Please note: American Freedom Bail Bonds is a private bail bond agency licensed by the State of California (licence 1841014). We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. The Sheriff’s Department states that it cannot recommend or direct you to any bail bond agent or company, and we would not claim otherwise. Facility details here are drawn from the Sheriff’s own published information and can change — confirm directly with the facility before you travel.

Los Angeles County custody

Los Angeles County books men and women into different facilities — one reason families there are told there is no record of their relative.

• Inmate Reception Center — central booking for men, downtown Los Angeles
• Century Regional Detention Facility — women only, Lynwood

See our Los Angeles County guide for how the 2023 release protocols changed when a bond is needed.

Which communities each facility serves

Knowing which city an arrest happened in usually tells you which facility to call first.

• Orange County Intake Release Center, Santa Ana — central booking for the whole county, including sheriff-policed cities such as Yorba Linda, Stanton, Mission Viejo and Lake Forest.
• Theo Lacy Facility sits in Orange; the James A. Musick Facility is in Irvine, next to Lake Forest.
• Cities with their own jails are the exception worth checking first — Huntington Beach, Santa Ana, Whittier and Long Beach all operate municipal facilities.
• In Los Angeles County, men go to the Inmate Reception Center and women to Century Regional in Lynwood — covering Norwalk, La Mirada, Cerritos, Downey and the rest of the Gateway cities.

Find someone

Locate a person in custody

Choose the county that made the arrest. Locating someone is free.

Step by stepFind an InmateHow to search in either county, and what to do when the record has not appeared yet.How to searchOrange CountyJails & Inmate InformationThe three county facilities and the official Sheriff’s locator.OC custody hubLos Angeles CountyJails & Inmate InformationMen and women are held separately here. Check which facility first.LA custody hub