The Virginia Inmate Population
Virginia does not have one public roster that covers every person in custody. The statewide count has two main adult layers. The Virginia Department of Corrections, or VADOC, reports the state-responsible prison population. Local and regional jails report people booked after arrest, held before trial, serving local jail sentences, waiting for transfer, or held for another authority. Federal BOP custody and ICE detention sit outside both Virginia systems.
The latest VADOC monthly population report found in the research was the May 2026 Monthly Population Summary. It reported 22,612 Virginia state-responsible inmates incarcerated in VADOC facilities and total institutional average daily population of 22,645 when 33 out-of-state contract inmates were included. Virginia local and regional jails reported average daily population of 20,307 in the FY 2024 Jail Cost Report. Those figures should not be merged as if they came from one database, but together they explain why a statewide search has to route by agency.
The Virginia Department of Corrections home page is the statewide anchor for sentenced prison custody.
Use the agency site for VADOC custody and supervision, then use local jail pages for recent arrests and county jail records.
Virginia Inmate Population Statistics
The strongest published Virginia figures come from VADOC monthly population reports, the State Board of Local and Regional Jails capacity report, and the FY 2024 Jail Cost Report. VADOC's May 2026 report separates major institutions, field units, work centers, and a secure hospital unit. The jail reports track local and regional jail capacity, rated capacity, and average daily population. That split matters because a person can be under VADOC authority while housed in a local or regional jail.
| Measure | Figure | Source / Date |
|---|---|---|
| Virginia state-responsible inmates in VADOC facilities | 22,612 | VADOC May 2026 Monthly Population Summary |
| Total VADOC institutional ADP | 22,645 | VADOC May 2026 Monthly Population Summary |
| Virginia jail average daily population | 20,307 | FY 2024 Jail Cost Report |
| Sibling locality folders in the apex directory | 107 | Statewide research roll-up, July 2026 |
The VADOC population reports page is the source used for the current prison figures.
The report page is the place to verify the latest monthly VADOC inmate population before relying on a count.
Virginia Inmate Population Trends
VADOC's May 2026 report shows a small one-month increase and a small year-over-year decrease. The state-responsible institutional population rose from 22,493 in April 2026 to 22,612 in May 2026, an increase of 119 people or 0.53 percent. It was down from 22,817 in May 2025, a decrease of 205 people or 0.90 percent. Community supervision was much larger than prison custody, with 59,239 probation and parole end-of-month population in May 2026.
| Period | VADOC State-Responsible Population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| April 2026 | 22,493 | Baseline month in VADOC report |
| May 2026 | 22,612 | Up 119 from April 2026 |
| May 2025 to May 2026 | 22,817 to 22,612 | Down 205 year over year |
Virginia Jail Capacity and ADP
Virginia's local jail system is heavily regionalized. Many people are not held in a jail named for the county that arrested them. Regional authorities serve clusters of counties and independent cities, so the right search may be Rappahannock Regional Jail, Central Virginia Regional Jail, Piedmont Regional Jail, Southwest Virginia Regional Jail Authority, or another multi-locality facility. The State Board of Local and Regional Jails capacity report is the statewide checklist for those adult local and regional jail facilities.
The Virginia Board of Local and Regional Jails provides statewide oversight context for local and regional jail standards.
That statewide board context explains why jail population records are split among sheriffs, cities, and regional jail authorities.
Laws Governing Virginia Inmate Records
Virginia's public-records framework starts with the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. Code of Virginia Section 2.2-3700 states the policy of open access to governmental activity and liberal interpretation of access provisions. Section 2.2-3704 gives the request procedure and response framework. Section 2.2-3706 is the key law-enforcement records section for criminal incident information, adult arrestee photographs, and investigative-file boundaries. Local and regional jail standards are tied to Section 53.1-68, while regional jail boards and authorities are addressed in Section 53.1-106.
Key Virginia statutes:
Virginia Code Section 2.2-3700 states the public policy behind FOIA.
Virginia Code Section 2.2-3704 sets the public-records request process.
Virginia Code Section 2.2-3706 addresses criminal and law-enforcement records.
How to Search Virginia Inmates
A Virginia inmate lookup works best as a custody ladder. Start with the event. A same-day arrest points to a county or city jail, often a regional jail. A sentenced state-prison case points to VADOC. A federal sentence points to BOP. Immigration detention points to ICE. Custody notification points to Virginia VINE or VINELink. Court dates and charges point to the Virginia judiciary, not to a jail roster.
- For a recent arrest, identify the county, city, or regional jail that booked the person.
- Open the locality from the Virginia locality directory and use that jail roster or contact channel.
- For a state sentence or VADOC supervision, search the VADOC Inmate and Supervisee Locator.
- For federal custody, search BOP; for immigration custody, search ICE.
- For notification of custody changes, use Virginia VINE or VINELink.
The VADOC Inmate and Supervisee Locator covers VADOC custody and supervision categories.
The VADOC locator is the official state-prison starting point, but it is not a substitute for a local jail roster after a new arrest.
Virginia Jail vs Prison Search
Local jail custody and VADOC custody are often confused because a case can move through both systems. A person is usually booked into a local or regional jail first. If a court later imposes a state sentence, VADOC receives sentencing documents, evaluates the person, assigns a security level, and places the person in a state facility. VADOC says classification considers offense, conduct, and sentence length, and staff review security level, good conduct, and facility assignment after placement.
| Question | Local / Regional Jail | VADOC State Prison |
|---|---|---|
| Who is held? | Recent arrests, pretrial custody, local sentences, holds | State-responsible inmates and supervised people |
| Who runs it? | Sheriff, city jail, or regional jail authority | Virginia Department of Corrections |
| Where to search? | Local roster, jail contact, or VINE | VADOC locator |
| Best use | Current booking and jail housing | State sentence, prison assignment, supervision |
Federal, VINE, and Court Search
Some Virginia inmate searches leave the state jail and prison systems. The Federal Bureau of Prisons locator applies to federal criminal custody, including people at FCI Petersburg Low, FCI Petersburg Medium, USP Lee, or a federal facility outside Virginia. ICE's locator applies to civil immigration detention. Virginia VINE and VINELink help with custody status and notifications. Virginia Courts OCIS and the courts online services pages show charges, hearings, dispositions, and case events.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator is the correct route for federal criminal custody.
Federal records can include Virginia residents even when the person is not held in a Virginia jail or VADOC prison.
The Virginia VINELink page supports custody-status notification for covered custody events.
VINE is useful when release notification matters or when a county jail does not publish a simple public roster.
Virginia Court Records After Arrest
Court records are separate from custody records. A jail roster shows booking and current custody. A court record shows the filed charge, case number, hearings, disposition, and sentence. A person can have an open court case without being in jail, and a jail booking can appear before the court portal updates. Virginia's OCIS 2.0 landing page and the courts online services page are the statewide starting points for case information.
The Virginia Courts online services page lists statewide court-search tools.
Use the court system for charges and case status, then return to the jail or VADOC system for current custody.
The Virginia OCIS 2.0 landing page is another statewide court-records access point.
OCIS helps connect an arrest to the court case that follows, but it does not replace the jail roster.
Virginia Detention Facilities
The statewide roll-up identifies roughly 110 de-duplicated adult custody facilities from sibling locality research and official gap research. It includes county jails, city jails, regional jails, state prisons, work centers, field units, federal prisons, ICE detention, lock-ups, and community-corrections custody settings. Covered facilities link to representative locality subdomains with the APEX_DOMAIN_TBD placeholder. Danville City Jail, Danville Adult Detention Center, and Richmond City Justice Center are listed as uncovered official-source rows because the current folder set does not include the matching city subdomain.
Browse the full Virginia facility directory
The VADOC facilities and offices directory is the official state-prison facility source.
The apex facility directory combines that VADOC source with local jail and regional jail research.
Virginia Inmate Population FAQ
How big is the Virginia inmate population?
For May 2026, VADOC reported 22,612 Virginia state-responsible inmates incarcerated in VADOC facilities and total institutional ADP of 22,645 after out-of-state contract inmates were included. Separately, the FY 2024 Jail Cost Report reported local and regional jail average daily population of 20,307. Those are separate systems.
Where should a Virginia inmate search start?
Start with custody type. Use a county, city, or regional jail roster for a recent arrest. Use VADOC for sentenced state-prison custody or VADOC supervision. Use BOP for federal prison custody, ICE for immigration detention, VINE for notification, and the courts for charges and hearings.
Why is a person missing from VADOC?
A recent arrestee may still be in a local or regional jail and may not yet have any VADOC custody or supervision record. VADOC is the state-prison and supervision authority. Local jail records are kept by the sheriff, city jail, or regional jail authority.
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