How to Find Someone in Kern County Jail
Someone you love just got arrested in Kern County and you don’t know where they are. We’ll walk you through finding them in under 5 minutes — including what to do when their name still isn’t showing up. Or skip ahead and call us: 661.324.6009, 24/7.
1 Find out which agency arrested them
This determines where they’re being held right now — and which database to search. If you know the answer already, skip to Step 2.
| Arresting agency | First-stop facility |
|---|---|
| Bakersfield Police Department (BPD) | Central Receiving Facility — 1415 Truxtun Ave, Bakersfield. Transferred to Lerdo Pre-Trial after booking. |
| Kern County Sheriff (KCSO) — Bakersfield area | Lerdo Pre-Trial Facility — 17695 Industrial Farm Rd, Bakersfield. |
| KCSO Taft Substation (Taft, Maricopa, McKittrick) | Held at Taft Substation, then transferred to Lerdo. |
| KCSO Mojave Substation (Mojave, Tehachapi, Boron, Rosamond) | Mojave Substation Jail — 1771 Hwy 58, Mojave. |
| KCSO Ridgecrest Substation (Ridgecrest, China Lake, Inyokern) | Ridgecrest Substation Jail. |
| California Highway Patrol (CHP) | Usually Central Receiving in Bakersfield, sometimes the nearest substation. |
| Other city PD (Taft, Delano, Wasco, Shafter, Arvin, Tehachapi, Ridgecrest, McFarland) | Booked at the city’s department briefly, then transferred to the closest KCSO facility. |
Don’t know who arrested them? Call us at 661.324.6009 with their full legal name and approximate arrest time. We’ll figure it out fast.
2 Search the right database
Kern County has two public inmate databases. Use both — they don’t always show the same data at the same time.
Database 1 — Kern County Inmate Search (recommended)
www.kerninmatesearch.org (opens in a new tab)
- Click “Inmate Search”.
- Enter their full legal first & last name (no nicknames). If you only know one, search by last name only.
- Check the result — confirm the date of birth matches if you have it.
- Click their record to see charges, bail amount, custody status, and which facility they’re at.
Database 2 — KCSO Inmate Search
www.kernsheriff.org → “Inmate Search” (opens in a new tab)
- Use this if Database 1 doesn’t return a result.
- Same search method — full legal name.
- Use this database to confirm the bail amount before you call us.
Heads up: if you have their booking number, both sites accept that and it’s the most reliable way to find them.
3 Their name still isn’t showing up. Now what?
This is the most common problem and it’s almost always one of three things:
Booking lag (most likely)
From arrest to appearing in the public database, it usually takes 2 to 6 hours. Central Receiving in Bakersfield often runs longer than KCSO bookings. The system updates in batches, not in real-time.
What to do: Check back every 30 minutes. Don’t refresh constantly — it can lock you out.
Spelling / name mismatch
Officers enter names by hand, sometimes from a verbal answer. If their legal name has accents, hyphens, or two last names (common in Lamont, Arvin, Delano), the system may have it slightly off.
What to do: Try last name only. Try just the first three letters of each name. Try common alternate spellings.
They’re not in Kern’s system at all
If the arrest happened on I-5, on a federal facility (China Lake, Edwards AFB), or for a federal charge, they may be in a different system entirely.
What to do: Call us — we can check Eastern District of CA and federal holding facilities.
Stuck? Call 661.324.6009. Give us their full legal name and approximate arrest time and we’ll find them faster than refreshing the database every 30 minutes.
4 Once you find them: what the record actually means
The inmate record shows you everything you need to make the next decision. Here’s what to look at:
- Charges — California Penal Code (PC), Vehicle Code (VC), or Health & Safety Code (HS) section numbers. We can translate them.
- Bail amount — usually set per the Kern County bail schedule. The premium is 10% (state-mandated).
- Custody status — “In Custody,” “Released on OR” (own recognizance), or “Bail Posted.”
- Court date — first arraignment, usually within 48 hours of booking (excluding weekends).
- Facility — tells you where to post bail and where to plan to pick them up.
If you see a bail amount and want them out: call 661.324.6009. We’ll start paperwork over the phone, no need to come to the office first.