Minnesota Jail Mugshots
Minnesota jail mugshots are booking photos taken when someone is processed into a county jail after an arrest. These records are public data under state law, so anyone can request them. Each of the 87 counties runs its own jail under the county sheriff. Some counties post inmate photos and rosters online through searchable systems. Others require a written data practices request to get copies. This guide covers where to search for Minnesota jail mugshots, which statewide databases to check first, and how to make a formal request when photos are not posted online.
Minnesota Jail Mugshots Overview
Finding Jail Mugshots in Minnesota
Booking photos are held by the sheriff's office in the county where the arrest took place. When someone is booked into a county jail, the facility photographs them as part of the intake process. That photo stays in the jail's records. If the person is later transferred to a state prison, the Minnesota Department of Corrections takes over custody and keeps separate records. Both levels of the system hold photos, but access works differently at each level. Knowing which system applies to your search saves a lot of time.
At the county level, you contact the sheriff's office in the county where the person was jailed. Many counties now have online rosters that let you search by name. Some of those rosters display the booking photo right in the results. Others show the name, charges, and booking date but not the photo. For counties without online photos, you submit a written data practices request directly to the sheriff's office. Under Minnesota law, booking photos are public data. Agencies must respond within 10 business days.
The state system is separate from county jails. The Minnesota Department of Corrections manages people serving felony sentences in state prisons. Their Offender Locator tool is free and searchable by name or MNDOC ID number. It shows current status, facility, offense history, and sentence details. Mugshots are not shown online through MNDOC, but you can request photos in writing by contacting their Records Unit at 1450 Energy Park Drive, St. Paul, MN 55108, or by emailing doc.datarequests@state.mn.us. Their phone number is 651-361-7200.
The Minnesota Information Policy Division is the state office that oversees data practices compliance. Their site explains your rights under the Government Data Practices Act and provides guides on how to request data from any government agency.
The MNDOC Offender Locator, shown here at coms.doc.state.mn.us/publicviewer, is the state's main portal for locating people in state prison custody.
The locator covers state prison inmates and people on supervised release, but not county jail inmates. For county jail mugshots, you go directly to the sheriff's office in the relevant county.
Minnesota State Databases for Jail Mugshots
Several state-level tools can help you find people in custody or get background information before you dig into county-level records. None of them give direct online access to jail mugshots, but they point you in the right direction. Knowing which database to check first depends on whether the person is in a county jail or a state facility and how much information you already have.
The VINE Inmate Locator covers most Minnesota county jails and is free to use. VINE stands for Victim Information and Notification Everyday. You search by name or offender ID and select Minnesota from the state list. Results show current custody status, which facility the person is held at, and the booking date. VINE does not display booking photos. You can also call their toll-free line at 1-800-664-9475 to check status by phone, or sign up for automatic alerts any time the person's custody status changes. Most major Minnesota counties participate in VINE, including Anoka, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, St. Louis, and Washington.
The Minnesota Predatory Offender Registry is one of the few state-level databases that shows photos. Run by the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, it covers sex offenders who are required to register under state law. You can search by name, address, city, or county at the Department of Public Safety predatory offender registry page. When a photo is on file, it shows in the results along with physical description, offense history, and current address. The registry is free and publicly available.
The BCA also runs a public criminal history search at chs.state.mn.us. That search costs $8 per name and returns conviction data only. It does not include booking photos, arrest records without conviction, juvenile records, or pending charges. It is useful for finding out if someone has a prior conviction history in Minnesota, but it will not get you a mugshot.
VINELink is shown here as it appears when searching for Minnesota custody records.
VINE covers real-time custody status from most Minnesota counties and is available 24 hours a day. It does not display mugshots but helps confirm where someone is held before you contact that facility directly.
Minnesota County Jail Rosters and Booking Photos
Minnesota has 87 counties and each one manages its own jail roster and booking records. Access varies significantly from one county to the next. Some counties run fully searchable online systems that update in real time and display booking photos directly in the results. Others publish daily PDF rosters without photos. A few smaller counties have no public online roster and require a call or written request to get information about who is in custody.
Anoka County uses a JailTracker system on their Inmate Locator page. You search by last name and optionally by first name. Results include the booking photo when one is on file, along with the charges, bail amount, booking date, and projected release date. The Anoka County Jail holds current inmates plus anyone released within the last 10 days. Jail capacity is 238 beds at their main facility at 325 East Jackson Street in Anoka, plus an additional workhouse in Lino Lakes. For custody questions, call 763-324-5100.
Benton County uses a third-party search portal at correctionsrecordssearch.com/bentoncountymn. That site displays mugshots in the results alongside charges, court dates, and bail amounts. You can filter by name, inmate number, age range, or date range. Blue Earth County posts an online custody roster at their Jail Custody Roster page that updates throughout the day. Brown County Sheriff's Office posts its current roster directly at brownso.org. Each county sets up its own system, so the search tools and available data differ. Select any county below to see what's available for that area.
Minnesota's court system also maintains case records through the Trial Court Public Access portal, shown here as it appears online.
Court records show charges, dispositions, and case history but do not include booking photos. Use the county jail roster or a direct records request for mugshots.
How to Request Minnesota Jail Mugshots
If the county jail does not post photos online, you can still get them through a formal data practices request. Minnesota's Government Data Practices Act gives everyone the right to access public government data. Booking photos are classified as public data under Minn. Stat. 13.82, Subd. 26. You do not have to explain why you want the photo. You do not need to show identification for public data requests. The only reason an agency can withhold a booking photo is if releasing it would harm an active criminal investigation, and that hold must be temporary.
To request a mugshot, send a written request to the sheriff's office or jail in the county where the booking took place. Email counts as a written request. Include the full legal name of the person, the approximate booking date, and the booking number if you have it. State that you are requesting the data under Minnesota Statutes Chapter 13, the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act. Specify whether you want to inspect the photo or receive copies. Agencies must respond within 10 business days. If they need more time, they must tell you in writing. Copies are usually $0.25 per page. For written requests to the MNDOC Records Unit, email doc.datarequests@state.mn.us or write to 1450 Energy Park Drive, St. Paul, MN 55108.
If an agency denies your request, they must point to the specific statute that classifies the data as nonpublic. You can appeal through the Minnesota Information Policy Division, which handles complaints about denied data practices requests. Their office also has sample request forms and guides on how to phrase your request correctly.
Minnesota Statute 13.82 is shown as it appears on the official revisor site. This page at revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/13.82 defines booking photographs and classifies them as public data.
The subdivision on booking photographs is explicit: these images are public unless a law enforcement agency determines that release will adversely affect an active investigation.
Minnesota Laws on Jail Mugshots and Booking Photos
The legal framework for accessing Minnesota jail mugshots runs through several parts of state law. The clearest one is Minn. Stat. 13.82, Subd. 26, which defines a booking photograph as a photo or electronically produced image taken by law enforcement for identification purposes in connection with an arrest. The statute says booking photographs are public data with one exception: an agency may temporarily withhold access if it determines that releasing the photo will hurt an active investigation. Once the investigation is no longer at risk, the hold is lifted.
Minn. Stat. 13.85 covers correctional and detention data more broadly. It lists what jail records are public and what stays private. Public data under this statute includes the booking number, height and weight, eye color, the offense someone was booked for, admission and release dates, the bail amount and method, the presiding judge, work release status, scars and tattoos, and the booking mugshot photo itself. Private data covers things like medical records, financial account information, and next-of-kin contact details. These are never public.
Minnesota Statute 13.85 as displayed on the official state revisor site at revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/13.85 outlines which correctional data is public versus private.
Section 13.85 is the primary authority for what data county jails must make available to the public and what they are allowed to keep private.
Sheriffs are required by Minn. Stat. 641.05 to keep a record of everyone committed to the county jail. That record must include the person's name, age, residence, date of commitment, the cause of commitment, the authority who ordered the commitment, a description of the person, and the date and manner of discharge. Minn. Stat. 641.08 requires that those records be accessible to the public. Together, these two statutes create the legal requirement for the rosters and booking records that county sheriffs publish online or make available on request.
The broader framework is Minn. Stat. 13.03, which sets the default rule that all government data is presumed public unless a specific statute classifies it otherwise. Under this law, government agencies cannot simply refuse access without citing the law that makes data nonpublic. This default-public rule is why booking photos and jail rosters are accessible in Minnesota without any special showing of need or purpose.
Note: Booking photos are public data in Minnesota under Minn. Stat. 13.82, but an agency may temporarily withhold a photo if releasing it would harm an active criminal investigation.
Browse Minnesota Jail Mugshots by County
Every Minnesota county has its own sheriff's office and county jail. Select a county below to find local inmate search tools, booking photo request procedures, and direct contact information for that county's facility.
Jail Mugshots in Major Minnesota Cities
Residents of Minnesota's larger cities are booked at the county jail that serves their area. Select a city below to find out where booking photos are held and how to search for jail mugshots in that location.