Dane County Jail Roster Overview
The official Dane County Current Residents roster is run by the Dane County Sheriff's Office, not by a commercial roster site. The sheriff's site labels jailed people as residents, and the roster lists current Dane County Jail residents by name and judicial status. Each row has a Detail link that opens the resident profile. The public list was free during research and did not require an account. It is most useful for people in the Dane County jail system now, including pretrial residents, prearraignment residents, county-sentenced residents, probation or parole holds, outside holds, and in-transit residents.
The roster is not a complete inmate locator for every custody system tied to Dane County. A person sentenced to Wisconsin prison should be checked through the Wisconsin DOC Persons in Our Care locator. Federal prison records use the BOP inmate locator, and immigration custody is searched through the ICE Online Detainee Locator System. For release alerts, Wisconsin VINE is a separate notification tool. For older booking files, photos, video, audio, or incident material, the sheriff's records request process is the main fallback.
The official roster screenshot in the manifest shows the local resident list with name, judicial status, and detail links. It comes from the Dane County Current Residents roster.
This roster view is why Dane County inmate records searches often begin with a name match, then move into the resident detail page for booking and charge data.
Use the Dane County Inmate Roster
Dane County does not present the roster as a typical jail database with many separate search fields. The captured public page shows a long current-resident list, a site search box in the sheriff's header, resident names, judicial status values, and Detail links. If the site search does not narrow to a roster name, browser find is often the practical way to jump through the visible list. The sheriff's mobile app also advertises local inmate search, jail information, and active warrant access for mobile users.
- Open the official Current Residents roster and search the page for the person's last name, first name, or a known spelling variant.
- Compare the name with the listed judicial status, such as CO Pretrial, CO Prearraignment, Sentenced with Huber, outside hold, or probation/parole hold.
- Use the Detail link on the matching row to open the resident profile. That profile is where booking number, building, area, arrest data, and offense rows appear.
- If the name is not listed, check recent release, spelling, municipal custody before jail transfer, DOC custody after sentencing, federal custody, ICE custody, or a hold under another agency.
- For urgent confirmation, call the sheriff's main jail number, use the records counter, or register with Wisconsin VINE for custody-change notices.
The official Dane County Sheriff's Office app launch page says the app lets users search and view local inmates, view jail information, and see active warrants. The same source does not say those features are app-only, so the app should be treated as a mobile route to official sheriff data rather than a separate secret roster.
Dane County Roster Search Fields
The roster inventory is narrow because the public roster page exposes a list, not a full advanced-search form. The most important field is still the resident name. Judicial status then helps sort people with similar names or understand why a person is held. A court case number, if it appears on the detail page, can be moved into WCCA for the court side of the case.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Search | Site text search | Optional | Appears in the sheriff site header and is not clearly limited to roster names. |
| Name | Roster list column | Not a form field | Names appear in last-name-first style on the current resident list. |
| Judicial Status | Roster list column | Not a form field | Examples include pretrial, prearraignment, Huber, outside hold, P/P hold, and in-transit statuses. |
| Detail | Link/button | Not a form field | Opens the resident profile with booking, building, area, arrest, offense, court, and entry-code data. |
Note: Dane County's daily demographic reports are useful for jail population totals, but they do not replace a name-level current resident roster.
Dane County Inmate Profile Fields
The inspected resident detail page showed a rich booking record. It included a name, status, building, area, scheduled release date, booking number, booking date and time, name number, arrest number, arrest date, arresting agency, agency case number, offenses, counts, court case numbers, disposition values, and entry codes. That mix matters because one Dane County inmate record may show both jail facts and court pointers, but the court record itself must still be checked in WCCA.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Status | The local custody or judicial status, such as pretrial, sentenced with Huber, probation/parole hold, outside hold, or in transit. |
| Building and Area | The jail building and housing code. The sample showed PUBLIC SAFETY BUILDING and area P3K. |
| Scheduled Release | A release date when the roster posts one. The sheriff has pointed the public to roster release dates and VINE notices. |
| Booking Number | The numeric jail event identifier for that booking. |
| Name Number | A separate person identifier that helps distinguish the person from the booking event. |
| Arrest Agency and Case Number | The arresting agency and its local case number, such as a police department case entry. |
| Offense and Counts | Booking offense text and count rows. These may differ from the final charges filed in court. |
| Court Case Number | A court file number when available, useful for moving from jail records to WCCA case records. |
| Entry Code | The reason for custody, such as Bench Warrant/Commitment, Hold for Outside Agency, or Probation/Parole Violation. |
| Mugshot | No booking photo field was visible in the captured public text for the sample profile. |
The manifest includes a sample resident detail image from the Dane County resident detail page.
The detail page is the best public place to connect a Dane County booking number with building, area, arrest agency, offenses, and any posted court case number.
Dane County Jail and DOC Lookup
The Dane County jail roster covers the local jail population. Wisconsin DOC covers sentenced state prisoners and some community supervision clients. BOP covers federal inmates, and ICE ODLS covers current ICE custody or certain recent CBP custody. This split is the key to avoiding false no-match results. DOC also warns that a person not found in DOC search may be in a city or county jail administered separately, which sends Dane County searchers back to the sheriff roster or VINE.
| Custody Type | Where to Look | What It Covers |
|---|---|---|
| Dane County pretrial or county sentence | Dane County Current Residents roster | Current jail residents in the Public Safety Building or City-County Building jail system. |
| Sentenced Wisconsin prison custody | Wisconsin DOC locator | State prisoners and DOC clients, including people at Oakhill, Oregon, or Thompson. |
| Federal sentence or federal inmate record | BOP inmate locator | Federal inmates from 1982 to present, with no county mugshot function. |
| Immigration custody | ICE ODLS | Current ICE custody or certain recent CBP custody, searched by A-number or biographical data. |
| Custody notification | Wisconsin VINE | Custody and criminal-case status notifications, separate from the sheriff roster. |
Federal pretrial custody can still touch Dane County because the U.S. Marshals Service has an intergovernmental agreement for federal detainees at Dane County Jail. If a resident detail shows an outside hold or federal issue, verify with the jail, the U.S. Marshals Western District of Wisconsin, or the federal court path rather than assuming the person is in BOP prison custody.
Dane County Jail Records Requests
When the roster does not show enough detail, the Dane County Sheriff's Records Section is the local records channel. The public counter is in the Sheriff's Office Main Lobby on the second floor of the Public Safety Building. The records phone is (608) 284-6827, and the records email is sheriff.records@danesheriff.com. Requesters are told to be specific, including case number if known, names, dates, times, and locations.
The online records request form says completed records may be mailed, emailed, or picked up. Prepayment may be required for requests over $5 and for photos, video, or audio. The form says processing may take up to three business weeks. This path is important for older jail records, booking photos not shown online, incident reports, and material outside the current resident roster.
Dane County Sheriff's Records Section
Public Safety Building, Second Floor Main Lobby
115 W. Doty Street
Madison, WI 53703
(608) 284-6827
8:00 AM to 4:00 PM, Monday-Friday, excluding holidays
Dane County Public Safety Building Jail
115 W. Doty Street
Madison, WI 53703
(608) 284-6800
Bail and release window on the first floor
Dane County Jail Facilities
Dane County has two county jail buildings, both operated by the Dane County Sheriff's Office. The Public Safety Building Jail is the primary intake and release location. The City-County Building Jail is also maximum security and houses residents awaiting trial or residents without work release privileges. Dane County no longer operates a separate Huber/Work Release facility; sentenced residents with Huber privileges use Jail Diversion/CAMP if approved.
| Facility | Role | Address and Phone |
|---|---|---|
| Dane County Public Safety Building Jail | Maximum-security intake center; records, bail/release, and mail address. | 115 W. Doty Street, Madison, WI 53703; (608) 284-6800 |
| Dane County City-County Building Jail | Maximum-security jail floors for residents awaiting trial or without work release privileges. | 210 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Madison, WI 53703; (608) 284-6800 |
| Oakhill Correctional Institution | Wisconsin DOC state prison, not searched through the county roster. | 5212 County Hwy. M, Oregon, WI 53575-0140; 608-835-3101 |
| Oregon Correctional Center | Wisconsin DOC correctional center for sentenced adult male inmates. | 5140 County Hwy M, Oregon, WI 53575-0025; (608) 835-3233 |
| Thompson Correctional Center | Wisconsin DOC correctional center for sentenced adult male inmates. | 434 State Farm Road, Deerfield, WI 53531-9562; (608) 423-3415 |
Dane County Booking Process
A Dane County arrest becomes a jail record through intake. The person is transported to the jail system, usually tied to the Public Safety Building, where staff confirm identity, inventory property, create booking and name numbers, conduct screening, and assign building and area. The roster then reflects current custody with judicial status and offense rows. The research did not find a promised refresh interval, so urgent custody checks should use the roster plus phone or counter confirmation.
Booking information is not the same as final court charges. The jail detail can show arrest offense text, agency case number, and sometimes a court case number. Formal charges are checked in WCCA after the prosecutor files them. For that court path, use Dane County court records after a jail arrest. Booking photos, if needed, should be handled through the roster detail if visible or through the records request path described on the Dane County jail mugshots page.
Dane County Jail Visitation
The sheriff's visitation page says each Dane County Jail resident may have two 45-minute non-contact visits per week. Visits must be scheduled 48 hours in advance through GTL/ViaPath, and no walk-up visits are honored. The portal has returning-user fields for Visitor ID or Email and Password, plus a registration path for new visitors. Attorney visits are treated separately from ordinary public visits.
| Visit or Contact Type | Rule | Where to Start |
|---|---|---|
| Public non-contact visit | Two 45-minute visits per resident per week; 48-hour advance sign-up; no walk-ups. | GTL/ViaPath visitor portal |
| Attorney visit | Separate from public visitation and coordinated through jail/attorney channels. | Contact the jail or attorney coordinator |
| Use resident name and name number with the Dane County Jail mail address. | Dane County Jail, 115 West Doty Street, Madison, WI 53703 | |
| Phone/video/tablet funds | Dane County contracts with GTL for phone service, with funding paths through family/friends systems. | Family and Friends page and vendor portals |
Note: Confirm the person is still in Dane County custody before scheduling a visit, sending mail, or depositing funds.
Dane County Commissary and VINE
Dane County's Family and Friends information identifies JailATM for commissary deposits and orders, with a customer service number of 870-627-5476. It also references GTL for phone, video visit, and tablet funding. These systems are tied to current jail custody, so a transfer to DOC, federal custody, or release can change the correct payment route quickly. For state prison deposits, Wisconsin DOC points to AccessCorrections or CashPayToday instead of Dane County jail vendors.
Wisconsin VINE is the custody notification channel. The sheriff's release notice points people to VINE for custody-status changes, while the DOC VINE page describes online and phone access in English, Spanish, and Hmong. VINE does not replace a certified court record, but it can warn families when custody status changes faster than a person can check the roster.
- Detainer
- A notice or hold from another agency that may affect release or transfer.
- Huber
- Wisconsin work-release authority. In Dane County, approved residents use Jail Diversion/CAMP rather than a separate Huber jail.
- Pretrial
- The case is pending and the person has not been convicted on that charge.
- Booking number
- The jail event identifier for the custody intake.