The Union County Sheriff’s Office jail page publishes daily booked-in reports and arrest logs for the county jail in Creston. Search by name to confirm whether someone is currently in custody at the Union County jail. The Sheriff’s Office runs the jail at 300 N Pine Street; the Union County District Court portal covers case filings once charges are filed.
Looking for someone booked tonight? See Union booking contacts for phone-first contact info.
Searching the Union County jail roster
Does the person you’re looking for have a federal charge? Federal detainees are held in federal facilities and do not appear on the Union County jail roster. For federal custody, use the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator instead. The county roster covers only people held by the Union County Sheriff’s Office in Creston.
To check the county roster:
- Go to the Union County Sheriff’s Office jail page.
- Look for the booked-in reports or daily arrest logs section.
- Search or browse by last name to locate the person.
- Note the booking date and charges listed. If the person was arrested by Creston city police, the Sheriff still holds the jail — city police make arrests, but the county jail is the holding facility.
Phone inquiries go to the Union County Sheriff’s Office at (641) 782-7322. Sheriff’s Office phone lines are available Monday through Friday, 7:00 AM to 3:00 PM for general inquiries, though custody questions can be handled outside those hours.
What the roster does (and doesn’t) show
Juvenile records do not appear on the Union County jail roster. Sealed records, expunged cases, and federal detainees are also absent. The roster reflects people held in the county jail under the Sheriff’s custody — it does not include individuals serving Iowa Department of Corrections sentences at a state prison, nor anyone held in a neighboring county’s facility.
The roster shows the booking date, charges as entered at intake, and current custody status. It does not display court case numbers, bond amounts set by a magistrate, or case outcomes. A name on the roster means the person was booked into the Union County jail; a name absent from the roster does not confirm the person was never arrested — a new booking can take time to appear online, and records that have been expunged or sealed will not show at all.
Someone booked in the last few hours may not yet be visible on the online logs — calling the Sheriff directly is the faster path when timing matters.
If someone was just booked tonight
Tonight is hard. Call the Union County Sheriff’s Office at (641) 782-7322 to confirm whether your family member is in custody. The jail handles custody questions around the clock, not just during regular business hours. That one call tells you whether they’re there and what the booking charges show.
Bond is not set at booking. It’s decided at a first appearance before a magistrate — calling the Sheriff now confirms when that appearance is scheduled, not what the bond amount will be. Iowa law starts from a presumption of release; a magistrate determines conditions at that hearing. That part is the waiting part, and there’s no shortcut around it.
Visitation won’t be available tonight. That’s normal for a new booking. The Union County jail page lists visitation hours once the person is processed into the general population. Plan to call the Sheriff’s Office the next morning to confirm when visits can begin.
Tomorrow morning, your next actions are: call the Union County Clerk of Court at (641) 782-7315 to ask whether a case number has been assigned; check the Union County clerk’s court records page for any filed charges; and attend the first appearance if you can. If you need an attorney, the Iowa State Bar Association lawyer search and the Iowa State Public Defender office locator are the official referral tools. The Union County Sheriff’s Office page also lists licensed bail bondsmen if a surety bond becomes relevant after the magistrate’s decision.
If someone isn’t on the Union County roster
Why might a name not appear on the Union County jail roster right now?
A booking entered overnight or during a shift change may not yet be reflected in the online logs. That gap is the most common explanation for a missing name when you know an arrest occurred recently.
- Iowa DOC transfer: If the person is serving a state prison sentence rather than awaiting trial, they will be in Iowa Department of Corrections custody. Search the Iowa DOC inmate and family services lookup.
- IowaVINE notification check: VINELink tracks custody status across Iowa county jails and state prisons in one search — useful when you’re not certain which facility holds the person.
- Released before roster update: The person may have been released on their own recognizance or on a bond schedule before the online log was updated.
- Neighboring county: If the arrest occurred near a county line, the person may be held in Adams, Adair, Montgomery, Ringgold, or Clarke County rather than Union County.
- Federal custody: Federal charges result in federal detention, which never appears on a county roster. Use the Federal Bureau of Prisons locator for those cases.
Call the Union County Sheriff’s Office at (641) 782-7322 if none of the above searches resolve the question.
Nationwide inmate lookup
The Union County roster covers only the local jail. A third-party nationwide search may help surface records from other Iowa counties, out-of-state facilities, or federal detention that local portals often leave gaps on — though per-jurisdiction coverage varies and results should be treated as one source among several.
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.
Union County inmate lookup — resource comparison
| Resource | What it confirms | What it won’t show | Next step |
|---|---|---|---|
| Union County Sheriff’s Office jail page | Current county jail bookings; daily arrest logs; charges at intake | Federal detainees; state prison inmates; sealed or expunged records; bond amounts | Search by last name; call (641) 782-7322 if name is missing |
| Union County Sheriff’s Office — (641) 782-7322 | Live custody status; booking confirmation; first appearance scheduling | Bond amount (set by magistrate, not Sheriff); case outcome | Call for same-day custody confirmation; phone lines staffed for custody questions around the clock |
| Union County Clerk of Court records page — (641) 782-7315 | Filed charges; case numbers; court dates; bond conditions set by magistrate | Pre-filing custody; expunged cases; federal charges | Call or visit the courthouse at 300 N Pine Street, Creston; office hours Monday–Friday 8:30 AM–4:30 PM |
| Iowa Courts Online case search | Statewide criminal, civil, and traffic case filings across all 99 Iowa counties | Confidential cases; expunged records; documents themselves (index only) | Search by name; view documents on a public terminal at the courthouse where the case was filed |
| Iowa DOC inmate and family services lookup | People serving Iowa state prison sentences | County jail detainees; federal inmates; people not yet sentenced | Search by name at the Iowa DOC site; contact the specific facility for visitation and commissary |
| VINELink custody notification | Custody status across Iowa county jails and state prisons; release notifications | Federal custody; records not yet entered into VINE system | Register for automated alerts; use as a cross-check when facility is uncertain |
Related Union County resources
Nearby counties
- Adair County inmate search
- Adams County inmate search
- Clarke County inmate search
- Ringgold County inmate search
Sources
Sources verified 2026-10-28:
- Union County Sheriff’s Office jail page — booked-in reports and daily arrest logs
- Union County Clerk of Court records page — court records and case filings
- Union County Sheriff’s Office — bail bond board and licensed bondsmen
- Union County District Court — Judicial District 5 — district court information
- Iowa Courts Online case search — statewide docket index
- Iowa Department of Corrections inmate and family services — state prison lookup
- VINELink — statewide custody notification service
- Union County departments directory
Errors or outdated information? Report a correction. We review flagged entries within 48 hours.
Frequently asked questions
Why doesn’t the name I’m searching appear on the Union County jail roster?
A name missing from the Union County roster has several possible explanations. A new booking may not yet be reflected in the online logs — the roster is updated periodically, not in real time. The person may have been released before the log was updated, or may be held in a neighboring county such as Adair, Adams, Clarke, Montgomery, or Ringgold. If the charges are state-level and a sentence is being served, search the Iowa DOC inmate lookup. For federal charges, use the Federal Bureau of Prisons locator. VINELink searches across Iowa county jails and state prisons in a single query. Call the Union County Sheriff’s Office at (641) 782-7322 to confirm custody status directly.
Where can I find statewide Iowa inmate records if the person isn’t in Union County?
Iowa has two main statewide custody tools. The Iowa Department of Corrections inmate and family services lookup covers people serving sentences in Iowa state prisons — including facilities such as the Clarinda Correctional Facility, which is the closest state prison to Union County. VINELink covers both county jails and state prisons and lets you register for custody-change notifications. For court case filings across all 99 Iowa counties, the Iowa Courts Online case search is the statewide docket index — no registration required.
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