Search Carter County 72 Hour Booking

Carter County 72 hour booking records show every person booked into the Carter County Detention Center in the past three days. The county seat is Elizabethton, and about 56,000 people live in this part of East Tennessee. The Carter County Sheriff's Office runs the detention center at 900 E. Elk Avenue, which can hold up to 202 inmates. The facility averages around 2,550 bookings per year. You can look up current inmates through the sheriff's website, the detention center's inmate list, or by calling the jail directly. All local arrests from Elizabethton Police, sheriff's deputies, and other agencies in the county go through this one facility for processing.

Carter County Sheriff's Office

The Carter County Sheriff's Office is at 900 E. Elk Avenue in Elizabethton. The phone number is 423-542-1845, and the fax is 423-542-5801. This office handles all 72 hour booking records for the county. The detention center sits at the same address and has capacity for 202 inmates. Josh Hartsell serves as the Chief of Corrections. The roster updates every 24 hours.

The facility processes an average of 2,550 bookings each year. That is roughly 49 bookings per week, making it one of the busier jails in the region for a county of this size. All local law enforcement agencies send their arrests here. Elizabethton Police, the sheriff's patrol, and any task force operations in Carter County all result in bookings at this one location. Under Tenn. Code Ann. § 10-7-503, booking records are public and open for inspection by any Tennessee citizen during business hours.

Below is a screenshot of the Carter County Sheriff's Office website, which links to booking tools and inmate search options.

The site provides direct access to the inmate roster, detention center information, and records request details for Carter County.

Carter County 72 Hour Booking Portal

Carter County gives you two main ways to check bookings online. The first is the inmate roster on the sheriff's website. This tool lets you select a gender, pick a date range, and search for specific inmates. It shows first name, middle name, last name, gender, ID numbers, and booking and release dates. You can export the results to PDF if you need a copy for your records.

The screenshot below shows the Carter County inmate roster search page.

This tool on the sheriff's site lets you filter by gender and date range to find recent bookings in Carter County.

The second option is the Carter County Detention Center inmate list. This is a separate site run by the detention center that shows current inmates. It is a straightforward list with basic booking details. The screenshot below shows what this page looks like.

The detention center's inmate list page is a quick way to see who is currently in custody at the Carter County jail in Elizabethton.

Note: The roster updates every 24 hours, so very recent bookings may not appear right away.

How to Search Carter County Bookings

Start online. The sheriff's inmate roster and the detention center's inmate list are both free and do not need a login. If the person you are looking for does not show up online, call the jail at 423-542-1845. Staff can check custody status at any hour.

For formal records requests, you have a few options. You can submit an electronic request through the Carter County Sheriff's Office website, which takes up to 48 hours to process. You can also visit the office in person at 900 E. Elk Avenue in Elizabethton during business hours with a valid ID. Mail requests go to the same address. Include your name, contact information, the person's full name, and the dates you need. The Tennessee Public Records Act allows 7 business days for a response, though electronic requests often come back faster.

Carter County Booking Charges

With about 2,550 bookings a year, Carter County sees a wide range of charges in its 72 hour booking records. Drug offenses, DUI, domestic assault, theft, violation of probation, and failure to appear are the most frequent. Bond amounts depend on the charge and the person's history. Minor misdemeanors may carry bonds of a few hundred dollars, while serious drug or assault charges can run into the tens of thousands.

Under Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-7-103, warrantless arrests are lawful when an officer has probable cause. Those show up in the booking records the same way warrant-based arrests do. The detention center logs every charge for each person booked, and bond amounts are set at the initial appearance. If you need the most current bond information, call the jail directly because amounts can change after a hearing.

Carter County Arrest Records Request

Online inmate searches are free. No cost to browse the roster or the detention center list.

For copies, contact the sheriff's office. Certified and standard copies each have their own fee schedule. For a statewide criminal check, the TBI TORIS portal costs $29 per name and covers all adult criminal history in Tennessee. The Felony Offender Information Lookup is free and shows anyone who is or has been in state prison. Under Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-7-118, officers can issue a citation instead of making a full arrest for certain misdemeanors. When that happens, there is no booking record. Contact the arresting agency if you think someone was cited and released rather than booked into the Carter County jail.

The screenshot below shows the Carter County Detention Center main page, which has links to booking tools and jail policies.

From this page you can reach the inmate list, visitation schedule, mail policies, and commissary information for the Carter County Detention Center.

72 Hour Booking Alerts in Carter County

VINELink is a free notification service that covers Carter County. Sign up to receive alerts by phone, text, or email when someone's custody status changes. Search by name or inmate ID, and you will be notified if the person is released, transferred, or moved. The system runs 24 hours and covers every jail and prison in Tennessee.

Carter County also offers video visitation through Securus Technologies. That is not the same as a booking search, but it can help you confirm someone is in custody. Scheduling for video visits is done through the Securus website or by calling 423-542-5801. On-site visits are limited to one hour per weekend, while online visits can be done more often.

Cities in Carter County

Carter County includes Elizabethton, Watauga, and several smaller communities. All arrests in the county are processed at the Carter County Detention Center on E. Elk Avenue in Elizabethton.

Nearby Counties

Carter County is in the northeast corner of Tennessee, near the North Carolina border. If you need to check on an arrest in a neighboring county, each one has its own jail and booking system.

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