Access Valdosta Booking Releases
Valdosta booking releases are managed by the Lowndes County Sheriff's Office. Valdosta is the county seat of Lowndes County and the largest city in south Georgia, with a population near 55,700. The city has its own police force that handles local arrests. After an arrest, the person is taken to the Lowndes County Jail for booking. All booking and release records are kept by the county, and you can request them through the Sheriff's Office or search online through the county's inmate lookup system.
Valdosta Quick Facts
Lowndes County Manages Valdosta Booking Releases
Valdosta sits in the center of Lowndes County, and the county jail handles every booking that comes out of the city. The Lowndes County Jail is located in Valdosta, which makes sense since Valdosta is the county seat. The Sheriff's Office runs the jail and creates a record each time someone is booked in. These records stay on file and are available to the public under Georgia's open records laws.
The Lowndes County Sheriff's Office phone number is (229) 671-2950. You can call to ask about current inmates, recent bookings, or how to file a records request. Their office also handles questions about bond amounts and court dates for people booked from Valdosta arrests. Since the jail and the courthouse are both in Valdosta, people looking for records have easy access to both the Sheriff's Office and the Clerk of Court.
Georgia law at O.C.G.A. § 42-4-7 requires the jail to keep a record for every inmate. The record must include the person's name, charges, booking date, and release date. Lowndes County follows this law and stores all booking data in a digital system.
Visit the county page for more on how Lowndes County handles booking releases.
Valdosta Police Department
The Valdosta Police Department is at 500 N. Toombs Street, Valdosta GA 31601. The main number is (229) 293-3097. The department handles law enforcement throughout the city and its officers make arrests that feed into the Lowndes County booking system.
The Valdosta Police Department website shows department information, contact details, and resources for the public.
Valdosta police maintain their own records of arrests and incidents. These police reports are separate from the booking release records at the county jail. A police report covers the events of the arrest. A booking record covers what happens at the jail. If you need the arrest report, call the Valdosta Police Department. If you need the booking release record, go through the Lowndes County Sheriff's Office.
The police department also responds to calls from Valdosta State University, which brings a large population of students to the city. Arrests near campus are handled like any other Valdosta arrest. The booking goes through Lowndes County, and the record is stored by the sheriff.
How to Look Up Booking Records
Start with the Lowndes County online inmate search if you are looking for someone booked recently. Many Georgia counties, including Lowndes, offer a web-based search tool that lets you look up current and recent inmates by name. The results show charges, bond amounts, and booking dates. This search is free and runs day and night.
If the online tool does not have what you need, submit an open records request. Under O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70, you can request any public record from a Georgia government agency. Write a request that describes the booking record you want. Include the person's name, date of birth if you know it, and the approximate date of the arrest. The county must respond within three business days.
Copies cost $0.10 per page. The county can charge for staff time on big requests under O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71. You can visit the jail during office hours and ask for records in person. Bring a photo ID. Staff will pull up the records and can print copies while you wait if the request is small.
Contents of Booking Releases
Booking release records for Valdosta arrests contain the inmate's full name, date of birth, and physical description. The charges from the arrest are listed, along with the arresting agency and the booking date. A unique booking number is assigned. When the person is released, the date and method get added. Common release types include bond, recognizance, time served, and transfer.
Booking photos are often part of the record. Georgia addresses the use of these photos in O.C.G.A. § 35-1-18. The law puts limits on commercial use of booking images. If you need a photo from a Valdosta booking, contact the Lowndes County Sheriff's Office and ask what they can release.
Not every piece of a booking record is always available. Under O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72, records related to active investigations, juvenile cases, or sealed court orders may be off limits. The sheriff's staff will tell you if anything falls under an exemption.
Statewide Booking Resources
Georgia offers several databases beyond county records. These are helpful when someone arrested in Valdosta has moved through the state corrections system or when you need to track an inmate across county lines.
The Georgia Department of Corrections offender search shows anyone serving time in a state facility. Use this if a Valdosta case ended in a state prison sentence. The tool is free and shows the inmate's current location, sentence length, and possible release date.
The VINE system lets you track inmates in Lowndes County or any other Georgia county. Sign up for alerts and get notified when someone's status changes. It runs around the clock and costs nothing. For records at the state level, the GDC Open Records portal and the GBI Open Records portal take requests online. Both follow the same three-business-day response rule.
Nearby Cities
Valdosta is in south Georgia, close to the Florida state line. The nearest large Georgia cities with booking release pages are listed below. If the arrest you are looking for happened in a different area, check these pages.