The Chatham County jail roster is a publicly accessible record of individuals currently held in the Chatham County Jail in Georgia. ChathamCourt.us can help you find publicly available information about current and recent inmates, including booking details and charges. You can also access jail roster information through the Chatham County Sheriff's Office website, by visiting the jail in person, or by calling the facility directly. The roster allows the public to verify whether someone is in custody, view the charges against them, and confirm booking dates. Maintained by the Chatham County Sheriff's Office, the online roster is updated regularly and is hosted on the sheriff's department website, with booking lists available for the past 24 and 72 hours.
Search Current Inmates in Chatham Jail
There are several ways to look up someone currently held in the Chatham County Jail.
Online Search
- Visit ChathamCourt.us to search publicly available court and inmate information.
- Go to the Chatham County Sheriff's Office 24-hour bookings page or the 72-hour bookings page to view recent jail bookings.
- The sheriff's booking pages display a browsable list of inmates. Use your browser's find function (Ctrl+F or Cmd+F) to search for a specific name on the page.
To search effectively, you should have:
- The individual's full legal name (first and last)
- A booking number, if known
Juvenile offenders are not included on the public roster.
By Phone
Call the Chatham County Jail directly to ask whether a specific person is currently in custody. Be prepared to provide the individual's full legal name and date of birth.
In Person
You can visit the jail and inquire at the public information window during regular lobby hours.
Chatham County Jail
For related court case information, you can also use the Chatham County Court System website, which provides public access to view cases and eFiled documents under O.C.G.A. §§ 15-6-11 and 15-7-5.
Find Chatham Jail Booking Records Online
A booking record is created each time an individual is processed into the Chatham County Jail. During booking, jail staff record identifying information and the circumstances of the arrest. A typical booking record includes:
- Full name and physical description
- Booking number
- Date and time of booking
- Charges filed at the time of arrest
- Arresting agency (e.g., Chatham County Police Department, Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police, or another law enforcement agency)
- Bond amount, if set
The most straightforward way to access recent booking records online is through the sheriff's office booking pages. The 72-hour bookings list covers a wider window and is useful if you are unsure exactly when someone was arrested. Note that under Georgia House Bill 845 (effective July 1, 2014), the publication of booking photographs is subject to certain restrictions.
If you need booking records that are no longer displayed on the online roster, you can submit an open records request. The Chatham County Records Request portal allows you to submit requests online in compliance with the Georgia Open Records Act (O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 et seq.). For records held by the City of Savannah rather than Chatham County, contact the City of Savannah's Open Records office separately.
Search the Chatham Jail Roster by Last Name or Booking Number
The Chatham County Sheriff's Office booking pages list inmates in a browsable format. Two primary methods can help you locate a specific person:
Search by Last Name
- Open the 24-hour or 72-hour bookings page.
- Use your browser's built-in search function (Ctrl+F on Windows, Cmd+F on Mac).
- Type the individual's last name. If the name is common, add the first name to narrow results.
Tips:
- Use the correct legal spelling. Nicknames and aliases may not appear.
- Try alternate spellings if the name could be transcribed differently (e.g., "Smyth" vs. "Smith").
- Hyphenated or multi-word last names may be entered differently than expected.
Search by Booking Number
If you already have a booking number, use the same browser search function to locate it on the page. Booking numbers are assigned sequentially at intake and are unique to each booking event.
No Results?
If your search returns nothing:
- The person may not yet have been processed — there can be a delay between arrest and the record appearing online.
- The person may have already been released or transferred.
- The booking may fall outside the 24- or 72-hour window displayed. Try switching between the two timeframes.
- Call the jail at (912) 652-7700 to verify custody status.
- For court-related case information, check the Chatham County Superior Court Clerk's office, where filed documents are scanned and accessible electronically.
Jail Roster Updates and Search Limitations in Chatham
The Chatham County Sheriff's Office updates its online booking pages on a rolling basis. The 24-hour page reflects bookings from the past day, while the 72-hour page covers the past three days. Both pages are refreshed regularly, though exact update intervals are not publicly specified.
Known Limitations
| Limitation | What It Means for Your Search |
|---|---|
| Processing delay | A newly arrested individual may not appear on the roster for several hours after arrest while booking is completed. |
| Short display window | Only bookings from the past 24 or 72 hours are shown. Older records are not available on the public-facing roster. |
| Records removed after release | Once someone is released from custody, their record may be removed from the online roster. |
| Data entry variations | Names may be entered with slight differences in spelling, spacing, or format compared to what you expect. |
| No booking photo guarantee | Georgia HB 845 restricts publication of booking photographs in certain circumstances. |
The online roster reflects current custody status only — it is not a historical archive of all past bookings in Chatham County. If you need older records, submit a formal request through the Chatham County public records request system or contact the Sheriff's Office Criminal History & Fingerprint Unit for background check services through the Georgia Crime Information Center (GCIC). For criminal case records that have moved into the court system, the Criminal Division of the Chatham County Court System maintains official case files.