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Find the person before you assume a bond is needed

Los Angeles County has operated Pre-Arraignment Release Protocols since 1 October 2023. For many non-violent, non-serious felonies and misdemeanors a person is cited and released, or released on their own recognisance, with no money bail at all.

So the first question is not how fast a bond can be written. It is where the person is and what release terms have already been set. We will find that out with you, and if the answer is that you do not need us, we will say so.

We do not have a Los Angeles County office. Our La Habra office sits on the county line, and that is the area we work.

Locate someone

Inmate search

We route you to the official Sheriff’s system rather than a third-party site. We are not a records service and we do not host inmate data.

GuideFind an InmateHow to search for someone in custody in either county, what information you need, and what to do when the record has not appeared yet.How to searchOfficialLA County Inmate Locatorapp5.lasd.org
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Inmate Information Center — the official county source. Opens on the Sheriff’s own website.Open official locator

The facilities

Where people are held in Los Angeles County

Men and women are processed separately. Check which facility before travelling.

MenInmate Reception CenterDowntown Los Angeles
The central processing point for male prisoners. The Sheriff publishes a 24-hour inmate information and intake line at (213) 473-6080.Visiting, bail & releaseWomenCentury Regional Detention Facility11705 S Alameda St, Lynwood, CA 90262
Holds female inmates only. Intake and administration (323) 568-4500; inmate information (213) 473-6100.Visiting, bail & release

How the county custody system fits together

The Sheriff’s Department states that the Inmate Reception Center has functional supervision over the reception unit at Century Regional and over the booking functions at all Sheriff’s stations. So both routes lead into one county system — but they are physically different places, and going to the wrong one costs you hours.

The Inmate Reception Center is a booking and release processing function, not a housing jail in its own right. The county operates other major facilities in the same downtown complex. We have not published pages for those yet, because we will not describe a facility’s current custody role until we have verified it against official Sheriff’s Department sources.

Custody resources

• Who made the arrest matters here. The Sheriff patrols 42 of the county’s 88 cities under contract; the rest run their own police departments. That decides which station holds the paperwork and where the person is taken.
• Some cities hold people locally first. Santa Fe Springs contracts policing to the Whittier Police Department, so an arrestee there may be held in the Whittier city jail rather than entering county custody at all.
• Booking has to finish before any bond can be posted, and release timing is controlled by the facility.
• A warrant is the most common reason a Los Angeles County caller genuinely does need a bond — see warrants.

More detail: Los Angeles County bail bonds, Los Angeles County courthouses, frequently asked questions and California bail bond resources. Cost options are on payment plans.

All three of our offices are in Orange County. Open 24 hours, 7 days a week. California bail licence number 1841014. See also the global jail and custody index.

Please note: American Freedom Bail Bonds is a licensed bail bond agency, not a law firm, and is not affiliated with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Nothing on this page is legal advice, and we cannot guarantee a bail amount, a release time, eligibility for release, or the outcome of any case. Los Angeles County release rules changed substantially in October 2023, and facility information, phone numbers and visiting rules change — always confirm directly with the facility. California bail licence 1841014.