How to Find Someone Incarcerated in North Carolina (Use the Offender Public Information Search)

North Carolina's Offender Public Information Search (also called the Offender Locator) is the statewide tool for looking up people in the state system. Search by name or offender ID to find current information on state prison inmates, plus anyone on probation or parole.

One of the most useful filters is Offender Status. You can choose All, Active Inmate, Active Probationer/Parolee, or Inactive to narrow your results. If you have an offender number (ID), use it. That's usually the fastest way to find the right person, especially with common names.

• ✓ Start with the person’s last name and first name, then adjust if you get too many results.
• ✓ If you know the offender number (offender ID), use that for the most direct match.
• ✓ Use Offender Status to narrow your results: try Active Inmate if you believe they are in state prison now, or Active Probationer/Parolee if they are supervised in the community.
• ✓ If you have it, add a birth date or an age range to help separate people with the same name.

The biggest limitation: this search does not include county jails. If someone was recently arrested, is being held pretrial, or is in a local jail on a short-term hold, you'll need to check that county's jail or sheriff's office website instead.