Is there a free way to find out if your friend is in jail?

Call the jail in the city or county where you suspect your friend is being held. Visit the website for the jail if that facility allows an online search, using your friend's name and date of birth. Jail records are part of the public record.

If reaching the local jail isn't effective, The National Victim Notification Network also provides information for inmates in some states through an online service called VINELink. As of 2015, 37 states and the District of Columbia cooperate with this service fully, and eight other states provide limited information. Calling is the best way to find out if your friend was arrested in the past day or so, as online record updating takes place more slowly.