Upson County Jail Booking Releases

Upson County booking releases are kept by the Upson County Sheriff's Office in Thomaston. The sheriff runs the county jail and processes all bookings for arrests made in the area. Thomaston is the county seat and the center of county government. The jail holds inmates from local police departments and state agencies working within Upson County. You can request booking release records from the sheriff's office by phone, in person, or through a written open records request under Georgia law. Records go back several years and cover everyone who has been through the jail.

Sheriff's Office and Booking Records

The Upson County Sheriff's Office oversees the county jail and all booking release records. Every person brought into the jail gets a booking record created by staff. The record tracks who they are, what they were charged with, and when they came in. Release information gets added when the person leaves the facility.

State law at O.C.G.A. § 42-4-7 requires the sheriff to keep a log of all people held in the county jail. This is a statewide requirement. Upson County has to record names, booking dates, charges, and release dates for every inmate. The records stay in the system and are available for requests later on.

You can contact the sheriff's office in Thomaston to ask about booking releases. Staff there can tell you if someone is currently in custody or has been released. For copies of records, you may need to file a formal request, especially for older bookings that are not in the current system.

The sheriff's office is the sole custodian of these records in Upson County. There is no separate city jail. All bookings from every part of the county go through the one facility in Thomaston.

How to Search Upson County Bookings

Start by calling the Upson County Sheriff's Office. Tell them the name of the person you are looking for and any other details you have. Staff can check the jail management system for current and recent inmates. They can let you know if someone was booked and when they were released.

If the county has an online jail roster or inmate lookup tool, you can search from home. Check the sheriff's office website to see if this option is available. Online tools typically let you search by name and show basic booking details like charges, booking date, and release status.

The Georgia Sheriffs' Association keeps a directory of all sheriff offices across the state.

This directory can help you find contact details for Upson County and other Georgia sheriff offices.

For older records or ones that are not showing up online, you will need to submit a written request. Put the person's full name, date of birth if you have it, and a date range in your request. Mail it or bring it to the sheriff's office in Thomaston. The office will pull the records and get back to you.

Open Records Process

Georgia's Open Records Act at O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 gives anyone the right to ask for public records from Upson County. Booking releases are public records in most cases. You do not need to say why you want the records when you make your request.

The county must respond within three business days. They will either provide the records, let you know they need more time, or tell you if any part of the request is being denied. Copy costs are $0.10 per page. The first 15 minutes of search time are free, so smaller requests may cost nothing beyond the page fees.

Be specific in your request. Broad requests for "all booking records" will take longer and may cost more because of the search time involved. Name the person, give dates, and include any other identifying details. That gets your records to you faster and keeps costs down.

Booking Release Record Contents

An Upson County booking release record contains the person's full name, date of birth, physical traits, charges, arresting agency, and booking date. The release date and method are added when the person leaves the jail. Bond amounts show up when they apply. The record ties together the arrest, the jail stay, and the release into one document.

Booking photos are handled under O.C.G.A. § 35-1-18, which sets rules for how mugshots can be shared. Upson County follows these rules. If you want a booking photo along with the release record, ask about it when you file your request.

Some records have exemptions under O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72. This part of the law lists the types of records that agencies can withhold. Active investigations and sealed cases are common reasons. The sheriff's office will let you know if an exemption applies to anything you requested.

Statewide Booking Release Resources

For searches beyond Upson County, state-level databases can help. The Georgia Department of Corrections offender search lets you find anyone serving a state prison sentence. If someone was booked in Upson County and moved to state corrections, this tool will show their current status.

The VINE notification system covers all Georgia counties, including Upson. You can register for free alerts when an inmate's status changes. This is useful if you want to know the moment someone is released from custody.

State open records portals for the GDC and GBI handle requests for records that cross county lines or involve state-level agencies.

Cities in Upson County

Upson County does not have any cities with populations above 100,000. Thomaston is the county seat and the main population center. All arrests in Thomaston and the surrounding area are processed at the Upson County jail. Booking release records for every community in the county are kept by the sheriff's office in Thomaston.

Nearby Counties

These counties border Upson and each one keeps its own booking release records. Search the right county based on where the arrest was made.