Booking Reports in Sonoma County

Sonoma County booking reports document every arrest processed at the county detention facility in Santa Rosa. The Sonoma County Sheriff's Office provides an online inmate search where you can look up booking data for people in custody. Searching Sonoma County booking reports takes just a few minutes through the sheriff's website. You get names, charges, and custody information for current inmates. The tool tries to show the most current data available, though the sheriff notes that occasional network outages can cause brief delays in updates.

Sonoma County Inmate Search

The Sonoma County Sheriff's Office hosts a Jail Inmate Search tool online. This free system lets anyone search for people currently in Sonoma County custody. The information shown is meant to be current at the time you search. But the sheriff's office warns that network outages and other technical issues can sometimes cause delays. If the results seem off, try again later or call the sheriff's office to confirm.

The Sonoma County Sheriff's Office provides its Jail Inmate Search for public access to booking data.

This is the starting point for online Sonoma County booking report searches.

Sonoma County Detention Facility

The Sonoma County Sheriff's main office is at 2796 Ventura Avenue, Santa Rosa, CA 95403. The general phone number is (707) 565-2511. The Main Adult Detention Facility has its own line at (707) 565-1400. When you need Sonoma County booking reports that go beyond what the online search offers, call either number. Staff can help with older records, verify custody status, and tell you about any fees for paper copies.

All Sonoma County bookings happen at the detention facility in Santa Rosa. Police departments from Santa Rosa, Petaluma, Rohnert Park, Windsor, Healdsburg, and other local agencies bring people here after arrest. The booking process creates a report with the person's identity, charges, bail information, and arrest details. It does not matter which agency made the arrest. The booking report ends up in the county sheriff's system either way. One search covers arrests from all Sonoma County law enforcement agencies.

Note: Call (707) 565-1400 for direct contact with the Sonoma County detention facility about booking information.

Sonoma County Booking Record Laws

Booking reports in Sonoma County are governed by the same state laws that apply everywhere in California. The California Public Records Act under Government Code Section 7920.000 establishes the right to access government records. Government Code Section 7923.600 specifically lists what booking data must be public: names, physical descriptions, charges, arrest times, booking times, bail amounts, and custody locations. The Sonoma County Sheriff's Office must provide this when asked. Formal requests get a 10-day response window.

A booking report is not a criminal history. Penal Code Section 13300 defines criminal history as a master record of all arrests and case results. Those records are restricted in California. Sonoma County booking reports, which cover single arrest events, are public. For your own criminal history, the California DOJ accepts fingerprint-based requests for $25. That is the only way to get a complete criminal history record.

Sealing Sonoma County Booking Reports

If an arrest in Sonoma County does not end in conviction, the person can seek to seal the record. Penal Code Section 851.91 lets people petition the Sonoma County Superior Court for this. A granted petition means the booking report, arrest records, and related documents become sealed. They no longer appear in the inmate search or in response to public records requests from Sonoma County.

People found factually innocent have additional protections under Penal Code Section 851.8. In Sonoma County, a factual innocence finding means booking photos, fingerprints, and all arrest records get sealed for three years and then destroyed. The Sonoma County Sheriff and the California DOJ both have to comply with the order. Booking photos also face restrictions under Penal Code Section 13665, which limits social media posting of booking photos for nonviolent arrests.

Track Sonoma County Custody Status

The California VINE system covers Sonoma County. Sign up for free to get alerts when an inmate is released, transferred, or escapes. Choose phone, email, or text notifications. VINE is a helpful companion to the sheriff's inmate search. The online search shows who is in custody right now. VINE tells you when something changes. Together they give a full picture of Sonoma County booking and custody activity.

Cities in Sonoma County

Sonoma County includes cities like Santa Rosa, Petaluma, and Rohnert Park. None of these cities have populations over 100,000, so booking report searches for the entire county go through the sheriff's office. City police departments arrest people, but the county sheriff handles all bookings at the Santa Rosa detention facility.

Nearby County Booking Reports

Sonoma County is in the North Bay, bordered by Marin, Napa, and several rural counties. Check these neighbors if you think the arrest occurred outside Sonoma County.