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Polk County Jail Roster & Inmate Search

This page lists custody and booking records for Polk County Jail in Polk County, Iowa: legal name, booking number, booking date, listed charges and custody status. Records are synced from the county's official booking source. Below the roster you will find practical information on bond, inmate money, communication, visitation and Polk County court records.

Current Polk County jail roster

917 records in the latest sync — newest booking first

Show more records (867 remaining)

A jail roster is a custody record, not a court docket. Charges listed at booking are allegations, not convictions. Custody status, bond and release details change constantly, so confirm anything time-sensitive with Polk County Jail or the court. If a record on this page is inaccurate, use our corrections and removal page.

What this roster shows right now

Of the 917 people currently listed in Polk County, the most common reason recorded is probation or parole violation at 51% of records, followed by drug offence (27%) and theft or property (25%). This county's source system does not publish bond amounts. The most recent booking on file is dated 2026-10-23.

Recent bookings in Polk County

Counting from the latest sync on 2026-10-23, 66 people were booked into Polk County Jail within a day, and 142 within the past week — that is 15% of everyone currently listed. Among the last day's bookings the most common recorded reason is probation or parole violation.

A high share of recent bookings means the roster turns over quickly and a name can appear and disappear within days. If you are looking for someone booked in the last few hours, they may not be in this sync yet — the booking desk is the only real-time source.

Figures are recomputed from Polk County's own roster at every sync and describe allegations recorded at booking, not convictions. Categories are derived from published charge text, and a record can fall into more than one. See the national data report for method and comparison.

What to do with this information

Posting bond in Polk County

Bond is set by a judge, usually at a first appearance within about 24 to 72 hours of booking. Until a bond amount is set, no one can be released. Once it is set you generally have two options: pay the full amount in cash directly to the detention center, which is refundable at the end of the case, or pay a licensed Iowa bail bondsman a non-refundable fee, typically around ten percent, to post the bond for you. Ask the jail which payment methods it accepts and whether bonding hours are limited.

Sending money to someone in custody

Most county jails use a third-party commissary vendor rather than accepting cash at the desk. You will normally need the person's full legal name and booking number, both shown on the roster above. Funds usually appear on the account within a few hours and are used for commissary, phone credit and messaging. Vendor fees vary, so check the amount charged before confirming a deposit.

Phone calls, mail and visitation

Calls are placed by the person in custody, not by you, and are recorded. Visitation is often scheduled in advance and may be video-only. Physical mail is inspected, and many facilities reject anything other than plain letters on white paper. These rules differ from county to county and change often, so verify them with Polk County Jail before making arrangements.

Finding the related Polk County court case

The roster shows custody, not court proceedings. To follow the case itself, including hearing dates, filings and final disposition, you need the Iowa court record system for Polk County. Search using the person's full legal name and, where possible, date of birth or case number.

If the person is not on the roster

They may have been released, transferred to another facility, held by a different agency, or booked too recently to appear in the latest sync. People serving longer sentences are usually held by the state department of corrections rather than a county jail, and appear in a separate state system.

Guides for what comes next

Each of these explains one step of the process in detail, written for people dealing with it for the first time rather than for lawyers.

Common questions

Other counties named Polk

6 other states we cover have a county of the same name. County names repeat across states, so confirm the state before assuming someone is not in custody.

Other Iowa county jail rosters

Booking often happens in the county where the incident occurred rather than where the person lives, so neighbouring counties are worth checking when a search comes up empty.

All Iowa counties · Every published county · Guides