North Carolina Inmate Search

The North Carolina State's jail system is administered under four separate regions, namely the Western, Southern, Central, and Eastern Regions. Each region manages at least 11 correctional facilities. Currently, North Carolina has at least 55 state prisons spread across different jurisdictions. The state's five female correctional facilities, one of which is a private contract facility, are managed by the Central Region. All the state's correctional facilities are managed by the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction (DAC).

The average rate of incarceration in North Carolina is currently 268 persons per 100,000 population, according to the National Institute of Corrections (NIC). The state is home to two federal prisons and several county jails.

North Carolina Inmate SearchPrison in North Carolina
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According to the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction, the state's correctional system includes 55 state prisons across 4 regions (Western, Southern, Central, and Eastern). The system has an incarceration rate of 268 per 100,000 residents. The state operates 5 women's facilities (including 1 private contract facility) and houses inmates in 2 federal prisons and multiple county jails.

North Carolina Department of Adult Correction Inmate Search

All state-level correctional facilities in North Carolina are under the purview of the state's Department of Adult Correction (DAC). As part of its responsibilities, the DAC focuses on inmate rehabilitation to create a safer North Carolina. In addition, it keeps and manages records of all inmates housed in the state correctional facilities across the four regions of the state's jail system.

The North Carolina Department of Adult Correction (DAC) provides an online offender public information service, the Offender Search/Locator, that allows members of the public to perform inmate searches. Interested persons may search the online resource with inmates' names and offender numbers. Searches typically return no more than 10,000 inmate records. Hence, it is best to use as many search criteria as possible, to trim down the number of search results when performing the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction inmate search through the Offender Search. Such criteria include an inmate's gender, race, ethnic group, birth date, and age range. Once the search results from an inmate search are displayed, select the offender number to get an expanded view with more comprehensive details.

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Find Inmate by Name

To find an inmate by name using the North Carolina DAC Offender Search, enter all or part of the inmate's name in the appropriate fields. It is also possible to request to look up inmates whose last name sounds like the last name entered by checking the "Last Name Sounds Like" box. For instance, if you want to find an inmate whose last name is RICHARD and whose first name starts with the letter D, you may input RICHARD in the last name field and the letter D in the first name field. The search results will contain all inmates whose names satisfy the search criteria.

User

Find Inmate by Number

An inmate's NC DAC Division of Adult Correction Offender Number is the required search criteria when looking up an inmate by number in the state using the Offenders Search service. Where an inmate's/offender's assigned number is known, it is the easiest and fastest way to retrieve an inmate's record or information in North Carolina. If an inmate's number starts with zero, it is not important to enter it in the appropriate search field with the leading zeros. For instance, if an offender number is 0012345, entering 12345 as the search criteria is enough to return the desired search result.

What Information is Contained in a North Carolina Inmate Record?

The following is a list of information contained in a typical North Carolina inmate record obtained from the state's Department of Correction Offender Search service:

  • Mugshot - This is the photo of the inmate or offender taken at the point of booking
  • Inmate's Personal Information - This includes the offender's full name, date of birth, age, ethnic group, gender, and race
  • Current Location - The current correctional facility where the inmate is housed
  • Inmate Status - This shows if the inmate's status is either active or inactive
  • Probation/Parole/Post Release Status - This is either displayed as active or inactive
  • Most Recent Incarceration Summary - This summarizes the inmate's most recent incarceration information and typically contains details such as incarceration status, total incarceration term, conviction date, primary crime, primary crime type, admission date, and admission location. Other details contained in the incarceration summary are the number of infractions, next custody review, last movement, last movement date, and the projected release date
  • Offender Sentence History - This lists the details of the most recent and previous period of incarceration record and contains information such as sentence number, conviction date, service status (active or inactive), county of conviction, punishment type, and sentence type. Others are commitment type, offense date, sentence begin date, actual release date, minimum term, maximum term, and projected release date. The release date connotes the expected date that an inmate will be released from incarceration.

North Carolina Inmate Records by Counties

The North Carolina Department of Adult Correction Offender Locator only contains records of inmates incarcerated in state prisons. It does not include records or information on individuals incarcerated and housed in county jails. Generally, most county sheriff's offices in the state maintain online databases of inmates housed in county jails. While some may list currently incarcerated persons, others will allow members of the public to search using criteria such as inmate's names or numbers. For example, the Inmate Search service maintained by the Halifax County Sheriff's Office is an online resource that allows users to either search an inmate record in the county jail by name or view all inmates housed in the county detention center.

Are Incarceration Records Public Information in North Carolina?

In North Carolina, incarceration records are a part of the state's public information and documents. Per Section 132.1 of the state's General Statutes, public information and documents created or compiled by any agency of the North Carolina government, including the Department of Adult Correction (DAC) are the people's property. Hence, incarceration records are publicly available and may be obtained by interested members of the public.

Although most incarceration records are in North Carolina, there are instances where certain information is redacted from an inmate's record before disclosing it to the public. According to state law, incarceration records containing confidential information or exempt from disclosure or release under federal or state law are limited from public view. For instance, juvenile inmate records are exempt from public disclosure by law. Similarly, information such as medical data, financial reports, and any other highly sensitive information are usually redacted from incarceration records before dissemination.

Federal Prisons in North Carolina

North Carolina is home to a few government-run private federal prisons and one private federal correctional facility. One of the key differences between state-run prisons and federally-operated correctional facilities in North Carolina is the type of persons housed in them. While the federal prisons in the state accommodate individuals tried and found guilty of federal offenses, the state-run correctional facilities house persons convicted of state crimes. Also, while state prisons are financed and managed by the state government, the government at the national level is fully responsible for the federal prisons in North Carolina, including their management and funding.

All the federal prisons in North Carolina fall under the jurisdiction of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) and operate at varying security levels. These include low, minimum, high, medium, complex, and administrative-level securities, and each level accommodates different types of offenders, depending on the severity of their crimes. Generally, the average sentence length served by inmates incarcerated in federal correctional facilities tends to be longer.

Name of Federal Prison FacilityLocationSecurity LevelAverage Capacity
Federal Medical Center Butner (FMC Butner)Butner, North CarolinaAdministrative885 inmates
Federal Correctional Institution Butner Low (FCI Butner Low)Butner, North CarolinaLow1,120 inmates
Federal Correctional Institution Butner Medium 1 (FCI Butner Medium 1)Butner, North CarolinaMedium616 inmates
Federal Correctional Institution Butner Medium 2 (FCI Butner Medium 2)Butner, North CarolinaMedium1,403 inmates
Correctional Institution Rivers (CI Rivers)Wiston, North CarolinaLow1,137 inmates (Private prison)
Federal Correctional Institution Butner Camp (FCI Butner Camp)Butner, North CarolinaMedium179 inmates

Frequently Asked Questions about Inmate Records

You may request a North Carolina Department of Adult Correction (DAC) public record in person, by mail, or online. However, the DAC prefers accepting such requests through its Online Public Records Request Form . If requesting the department's public record online, make sure to indicate whether you want a digital or paper copy of the request.

Alternatively, obtain a North Carolina Department of Adult Correction (DAC) public record by submitting a written request in person or by mail to the department at:

North Carolina Department of Adult Correction
5201 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-5201
Phone: (919) 733-2126

The Offender Search/Locator maintained by the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction is a repository for all inmates incarcerated in the state correctional facilities. You will need an inmate's name or their NC DAC Division of Adult Correction Offender Number to look them up online using the Offender Search service. Similarly, most sheriff's offices manage online repositories (inmate locators) where you can look up inmates incarcerated in county jails.

You may find old inmate records in North Carolina through the DAC Offender Search/Locator service. The database contains historical inmate information dating back to 1972 , excluding records of those incarcerated in county jails. State-level inmate records before 1972 may be found at the State Archives of North Carolina at:

State Archives of North Carolina
109 E. Jones St.
4614 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27601
Phone: (919) 814–6840

Records of old inmates incarcerated in county jails may be found at the county jails where such inmates were housed.

You may find an inmate death record in North Carolina by completing and submitting the state's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) Document Request Form . Generally, deaths occurring in a prison, jail, police custody, and correctional institution, especially under an unusual, suspicious, or unnatural circumstance, fall under the North Carolina OCME jurisdiction. The OCME also accepts mail requests for inmate death records at:

Office of the Chief Medical Examiner
3025 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-3025
Phone: (919) 743-900

After prison classification , it generally takes about 24 hours for a newly booked inmate's information to be publicly available on the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction Offender Search/Locator. The database is typically updated frequently to reflect the current status of each inmate housed in the state prison facilities.

In North Carolina, only individuals identified as approved visitors for an inmate may deposit funds into the inmate's account . The state generally allows mobile, phone, web, money orders, and walk-in options for sending money to inmates. A deposit slip is required to send money orders to an inmate in North Carolina, and the maximum amount that may be sent in one transaction is $300.