Inmate Lookup: Des Moines County, Iowa

The Des Moines County Sheriff’s Office jail custody page is the primary place to check whether someone is currently held at the Des Moines County Jail in Burlington. The Sheriff’s Office runs the county jail under Iowa law, and the jail page provides custody information for current detainees. Booking date and charges are generally public under Iowa’s open-records law. Confirm numbers and hours before visiting or calling.

Looking for someone booked tonight? See If someone was just booked tonight for phone-first contact info.

Searching the Des Moines County jail roster

The Des Moines County Sheriff’s Office jail custody page is the county’s official source for current inmate information. The jail is located in Burlington, the county seat. Some fields are public by default under Iowa law — booking date, charges, and the person’s name are typically visible. Booking photos may appear in the official record depending on what the Sheriff’s Office posts online.

To search for a specific person:

1. Go to the Des Moines County jail custody page.
2. Search by last name or full name.
3. Review the results for booking date and listed charges.
4. If you need to confirm details not shown online, call the Des Moines County Sheriff’s Office at (319) 753-8212.

The Des Moines County Courthouse is located at 513 N. Main St., Burlington. Parking on the north side of the courthouse and on adjacent streets is available, though street parking can be limited. No weapons are permitted inside the building.

What the roster does (and doesn’t) show

Juvenile records, sealed cases, and federal detentions do not appear on the Des Moines County jail roster. The roster reflects only people held in the county jail under the Sheriff’s custody. Someone booked by Burlington Police or another city agency in Des Moines County is still held at the county jail — city police make arrests, but the Sheriff runs the jail. Federal charges route to a federal facility entirely outside the county system.

The roster also won’t show someone who has already been released, transferred to Iowa Department of Corrections custody after sentencing, or whose booking paperwork is still being processed. A new booking can take time to appear online. When the roster shows nothing and you know an arrest occurred tonight, the phone is faster than the web page.

If someone was just booked tonight

Is your brother actually in the Des Moines County Jail right now? Call the (319) 753-8212 — that’s the Des Moines County Sheriff’s Office, the agency that runs the jail in Burlington. That call is the fastest way to confirm custody tonight. The online roster may not yet reflect a booking that happened in the last few hours. That’s normal, not a sign something went wrong.

Bond is decided at a first appearance before a magistrate — not over the phone tonight. Calling now gets you custody confirmation and tells you when that hearing is scheduled. Iowa law starts from a presumption of release, so a magistrate will weigh conditions at that appearance. You won’t know the bond amount until after the hearing.

Visitation won’t be available tonight. It’s a hard wait, but the jail sets visiting hours that typically begin the next day. Call the Sheriff’s Office in the morning to ask about the current schedule.

Your next-morning list: call the Clerk of Court at the Des Moines County Courthouse (513 N. Main St., Burlington, open Monday–Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) to ask about the case filing and first-appearance time. Attend the first appearance if you can — that’s when bond conditions are set. If you need legal help, the Iowa State Public Defender has office locations statewide, or search for a private attorney through the Iowa State Bar Association lawyer search.

If the person isn’t on the Des Moines County roster

Why might someone not appear on the Des Moines County roster even after a confirmed arrest?

A new booking can take time to reach the online display — that’s the most common reason. But if the timing gap has passed and the name still doesn’t appear, the person may be held somewhere other than the Des Moines County Jail.

• Iowa DOC transfer: If the person is serving a sentence rather than awaiting trial, they may have been transferred to state prison. Search the Iowa Department of Corrections inmate lookup.
• Statewide custody check: IowaVINE tracks custody status across both county jails and state prisons. Check VINELink for a statewide notification search.
• Federal custody: A federal charge routes to a federal facility. Search the BOP Federal Inmate Locator for anyone who may be in federal custody.
• Neighboring county: An arrest near a county line may have been processed in Henry, Louisa, Lee, or Jefferson County instead.
• Already released: Iowa law allows release on recognizance or an unsecured appearance bond in many cases. The person may have been released before the roster updated.

If you can’t find them in Des Moines County

A nationwide records search may help surface custody records in other Iowa counties, neighboring states, or federal facilities that the Des Moines County roster cannot display. No single database covers every jurisdiction, but a third-party search can help fill gaps that local portals often leave.

Sponsored: Nationwide Records Search (we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you).

This tool is not a consumer reporting agency under the FCRA and may not be used to screen anyone for employment, housing, credit, or any other purpose covered by that law.

Quick-reference: Des Moines County custody resources