Knoxville 24 Hour Booking Records
Knoxville 24 hour booking records are held by the Knox County Sheriff's Office, which runs the jail and handles all intake for the city. The Knoxville Police Department makes arrests inside city limits, but once a person is brought to the detention center, the sheriff's office takes over booking. You can search Knoxville booking records through the sheriff's online portal, which lists people booked in the last 24 hours. This page covers how to find and use Knoxville 24 hour booking data, what records are public, and where to go for more detail.
Knoxville Quick Facts
Knoxville Booking Search Online
The Knox County Sheriff's Office runs an online portal that shows all recent bookings at the jail. The 24 Hours In Custody page lists people who were brought in during the past day. Each entry shows the person's name, charges, bond amount, and booking time. You do not need to sign up or pay to use it. Just visit the site and look through the list or search by name.
Updates come in about once an hour. If someone was just arrested in Knoxville, it can take a few hours for them to show up. Officers have to drive to the jail, go through intake, and wait for staff to log the data. Simple cases move fast. Felony arrests in Knoxville tend to take more time because of extra steps in the booking process.
The portal also shows the housing unit and court date for each person held at the Knox County Detention Facility. This can help if you need to plan a visit or track a court hearing. For more on how the jail works, call Inmate Services at 865-281-6700.
How Knoxville 24 Hour Booking Works
When the Knoxville Police Department arrests someone, the officer takes the person to the Knox County Detention Facility at 400 W Main St. That is the main intake site for the city and county. Staff there run a background check, take a photo, and log the charges into the system. This creates the booking record that later shows up on the 24 hour list.
Knox County also has a Work Release Center for people serving short sentences who still hold jobs. Inmates at that facility get visitation seven days a week from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. The main jail uses video visitation instead. These are two different buildings with different rules, so check which one applies before you try to visit.
The jail can hold over 1,000 people across all sites. It is one of the larger detention systems in East Tennessee. The Knox County Sheriff's Office Corrections Division manages day-to-day operations, while the Investigations Division handles follow-up work on cases that start with a Knoxville arrest.
Note: Very recent Knoxville arrests may not appear online for up to four hours while staff finish the intake process.
Public Access to Knoxville Arrest Records
Booking records in Knoxville are public under Tenn. Code Ann. 10-7-503, which says state, county, and city records must be open for inspection by any Tennessee citizen during normal business hours. This covers arrest reports, booking logs, and charge sheets from the Knox County Sheriff's Office. Anyone can ask to see them.
To get copies of Knoxville booking records on paper, visit KCSO Support Services at 400 W Main St, Knoxville, TN 37902. Call 865-215-2243 with questions. You will need to fill out a request form and show a valid ID. Copy fees follow the Tennessee Public Records Act, which caps charges at the real cost of making the copies. Most requests get a response within 7 business days.
Some records are off limits. Juvenile arrests stay sealed. Medical files from the jail are not public. And records tied to an active investigation can be held back until the case closes. But standard adult booking data in Knoxville is open to view.
Knoxville Booking Resources
The Knoxville Police Department website has contact info for all divisions, news updates, and crime prevention resources. KPD handles patrol, criminal investigations, traffic, and special operations across the city.
You can reach the Knoxville Police Department at 865-215-4010 for non-emergency calls. The department is at 1650 Huron Street, with a mailing address at 1617 Saint Mary Street, Knoxville, TN 37917. For tips on fugitives in the Knoxville area, call the sheriff's Fugitive Tip Line at 865-215-2442. Tips can be left without giving your name.
The Knox County Sheriff's Office main site links to the 24 hour booking list, inmate services, and records request info. If you need Knoxville booking records older than what the daily list shows, you can submit a formal public records request at the Support Services office. The Felony Offender Information Lookup (FOIL) system covers people in state prison but does not include Knox County jail inmates.
Knoxville Record Fees and Wait Times
Searching the online 24 hour booking list is free. No cost at all. But paper copies of Knoxville booking records come with fees. The Knox County Sheriff's Office charges based on the real cost of making copies, as allowed under state law. Certification costs extra on top of that.
Response time for a records request is typically 7 business days. Some requests take longer if they involve many files or need review before release. You can pay with cash, check, or money order at the records office.
- Online booking search: free
- Paper copies: actual cost per page
- Certified copies: extra certification fee
- Standard response time: 7 business days
- Payment: cash, check, or money order
For a statewide criminal history check, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation TORIS portal charges $29 per name. That pulls records from across Tennessee, not just Knoxville.
Knoxville Booking Record Retention
Arrest and booking records in Knoxville are kept on file for good. Felony records are permanent. Misdemeanor booking records also stay in the system long term. Incident reports are held for at least 7 years, and crash reports stay on file for a minimum of 3 years. These retention rules follow Tennessee state standards and Knox County policy.
If someone wants an old arrest record removed, they may be able to get an expungement through the Knox County courts. Not all charges qualify. The process takes time and usually requires a lawyer. But the basic fact is that Knoxville booking records do not just go away on their own. They sit in the system unless a judge orders them removed.
Knox County Booking Records
Knoxville sits in Knox County. All booking and jail operations run through the Knox County Sheriff's Office. The county page has more detail on the court system, full fee schedules, and other record types beyond just 24 hour bookings.
Nearby Tennessee Cities
Several cities near Knoxville have their own booking records through their county jails. Pick a city below to see booking information for that area.
Oak Ridge and Maryville are also near Knoxville but do not have dedicated pages on this site. Contact their local sheriff's offices for booking details.