The Erie County jail roster is a publicly available record of individuals currently held at the Erie County Correctional Facility in New York. ErieCourt.us can help you find publicly available information about current and recent inmates in Erie County. You can also access jail roster information through the Erie County Sheriff's Office website, by calling the jail directly, or by visiting in person. A jail roster search lets the public confirm whether someone is in custody, view booking details, and identify the facility where an individual is held. The Erie County Sheriff's Office maintains the roster through its Jail Management Division, and it is published online as a downloadable PDF that is updated periodically.
Search Current Inmates in Erie Jail
There are several ways to search for a current inmate in Erie County custody:
Online Through the Sheriff's Office
The Erie County Sheriff's Office publishes an inmate roster as a PDF document. This file lists all individuals currently held at the Erie County Correctional Facility (ECCF). The roster is not a searchable database with a search field — it is a browsable list in PDF format.
To find a specific person:
- Open the inmate roster PDF linked from the Sheriff's Office website.
- Use your browser's built-in find function (Ctrl+F on Windows or Cmd+F on Mac).
- Type the person's last name to jump to their entry.
Each entry on the roster typically includes:
- Inmate name (last name, first name)
- Date of birth
- Facility designation (e.g., ECCF)
- Booking date
- Booking number
To begin a search, you should have the individual's full legal name. A booking number, if known, can help confirm you have the correct person. Juvenile offenders are not included on the public roster.
Online Through ErieCourt.us
You can also use ErieCourt.us to search for publicly available court and inmate information related to Erie County.
By Phone
Call the Erie County Correctional Facility to ask whether a specific individual is currently in custody. Be prepared to provide the person's full legal name and date of birth.
In Person
You may visit the facility in person to inquire about an inmate's custody status.
Erie County Correctional Facility
The Jail Management Division of the Erie County Sheriff's Office oversees operations at this facility.
Victim Notification
Crime victims can also track an inmate's custody status through the New York VINE (Victim Information and Notification Everyday) system, which provides telephone and internet-based notifications when an offender's custody status changes.
Find Erie Jail Booking Records Online
A booking record is created each time an individual is processed into the Erie County Correctional Facility. This happens after an arrest, when the person is formally received into jail custody. During booking, jail staff collect identifying information and create a record that becomes part of the facility's administrative files.
Information generated at booking typically includes:
- Booking number — a unique identifier assigned to each intake
- Booking date and time
- Charges — the offenses the individual was booked on
- Arresting agency — the law enforcement agency that made the arrest
- Personal identifiers — name, date of birth, and physical descriptors
The publicly available inmate roster PDF from the Erie County Sheriff's Office displays a subset of this booking data — primarily the inmate's name, date of birth, facility, booking date, and booking number.
For more detailed booking records or records beyond what appears on the current roster, you may need to submit a records request. The Erie County Clerk's Office outlines general rules for requesting information, including procedures for closed criminal record requests. Court records related to criminal cases filed in Erie County can also be accessed through the Erie County Clerk's court records portal.
If an individual has been transferred to a New York State prison after sentencing, their records will no longer appear on the county jail roster. Use the DOCCS Incarcerated Lookup tool to search for individuals in state custody.
Search the Erie Jail Roster by Last Name or Booking Number
The Erie County inmate roster supports two practical approaches to locating someone:
Search by Last Name
- Open the inmate roster PDF.
- Press Ctrl+F (or Cmd+F on Mac) to open your browser's search bar.
- Type the person's last name exactly as it would appear on official records.
- If the last name is common, add the first name to narrow results.
Search by Booking Number
If you already have a booking number — from a bail document, court filing, or prior inquiry — you can type that number into the browser search bar while viewing the PDF. This is the most precise way to locate a specific record.
Tips for Effective Searches
- Spelling matters. The roster uses legal names as recorded at booking. Nicknames and aliases may not appear.
- Partial searches work. Because the PDF find function matches any text string, typing the first several letters of a last name can help if you are unsure of the exact spelling.
- Hyphenated or compound names may be listed under either part of the name. Try both variations.
- No results? The person may have been released, transferred to state custody, or booked under a different name. Call the facility at (716) 937-3694 to verify.
Jail Roster Updates and Search Limitations in Erie
The Erie County Sheriff's Office updates the inmate roster PDF periodically, but it is not a real-time feed. There can be a delay between when someone is booked into or released from the facility and when the PDF reflects that change.
Key Limitations to Be Aware Of
| Limitation | What It Means for Your Search |
|---|---|
| Update frequency | The roster PDF may not reflect bookings or releases that occurred within the last several hours. It is not updated in real time. |
| Recently booked individuals | Someone arrested and brought to the facility may not appear on the roster until processing is complete and the PDF is regenerated. |
| Released individuals | Once a person is released from custody — whether on bail, by court order, or after serving their sentence — their name is removed from the roster. |
| Current custody only | The roster reflects who is in custody now. It is not a historical archive of all past bookings in Erie County. |
| State transfers | Individuals sentenced to state prison are transferred to DOCCS facilities and removed from the county roster. Search the DOCCS Incarcerated Lookup instead. |
| Sealed or restricted records | Under New York State law, certain records — including youthful offender adjudications and sealed cases — are confidential and will not appear on any public roster. |
If you cannot find someone on the roster and believe they should be in Erie County custody, contact the correctional facility directly at (716) 937-3694. Staff can confirm whether an individual is currently held, though they may not disclose additional details beyond custody status over the phone.
For broader criminal justice records in New York, the Division of Criminal Justice Services maintains statewide criminal history data, though access to individual records is restricted and generally requires fingerprint-based requests.