Find the Codington County Jail Roster — Then Verify What the Record Means
The Codington County Sheriff’s Office operates the Codington County Regional Detention Center in Watertown and publishes a current-inmate list. Start with that official source for local custody, but do not treat it as a complete “daily bookings” log: the Sheriff says the public list is not complete and does not publish juvenile information or mental-health holds.
Official Codington County Custody and Case Source Router
One website cannot answer every jail-related question. Use the custody roster for who is publicly listed now, the warrant system for active warrants, South Dakota courts for hearings and case information, and state or federal locators after a transfer.
Codington County Sheriff
Use the Sheriff’s current-inmate section first when you need to know whether a person is publicly listed at the regional detention center.
County warrant search
The Sheriff uses Zuercher Suite for current warrant listings. A warrant record is not proof that the person is currently in jail.
South Dakota UJS
Use Find Court Date for future public court dates. It can search by party name or case number.
UJS court records
South Dakota UJS offers public court-record routes. PARS is a separate paid search service; it is not needed just to check the county jail roster.
South Dakota SAVIN
SAVIN can search by offender name or court case number and supports custody-status notifications. Its coverage rules mean it should be a cross-check, not a substitute for the county’s current-inmate source.
State or federal custody
If local custody no longer fits, check South Dakota DOC for state correctional custody or the Federal Bureau of Prisons for federal prison custody.
How to Search the Codington County SD Jail Roster
- Start from the official Sheriff page. Use the Current Inmates section instead of a third-party directory. This reduces the chance of following an outdated address, phone number, vendor or copied roster.
- Open the latest current-inmate list and check its printed date. The public file is generated as a PDF. If the printed date is older than the arrest you are researching, do not assume the person is absent from custody.
- Search the legal name carefully. On a PDF, use your browser or PDF viewer’s Find function. Try the legal last name first and check spelling, spacing and hyphenation.
- Read every charge and bond line tied to the name. The list can show multiple charges and more than one bond entry. Do not collapse them into a single case outcome.
- Verify the next action with the correct agency. Use the detention center for current custody and facility rules, the clerk/UJS for court questions, and the warrant search only for warrant status.
What the Codington County Current-Inmate List Shows
| Roster field | What it can tell you | What it does not prove |
|---|---|---|
| Inmate Name | The name used on the public custody list. | That two people with similar names are the same person. |
| Age | A basic identity cross-check. | A complete identity match without other facts. |
| Charges | The offense descriptions or status entries attached to the custody record at that time. | Guilt, conviction or final case disposition. |
| Bond | Published bond wording, amount and sometimes the judge connected to a listed entry. | That payment will cause immediate release or that no other hold exists. |
The roster can contain wording such as cash-only bond, cash/surety bond, no bond, unknown amounts, probation or parole violations, and judge names. Treat each line as a custody-system entry that must be confirmed before money, travel or legal decisions are made.
Does Codington County Publish Daily Bookings?
The Sheriff’s public-facing site prominently provides a Current Inmates list, not a separately labeled day-by-day booking log. That matters when the search intent is “daily bookings”: a current roster answers “who is publicly listed now,” while a booking log would answer “who was processed during a particular period.”
If you are checking a very recent arrest and the name is missing, call the detention center rather than assuming there was no booking. The Sheriff also warns that the public list is not complete and specifically says juvenile information and mental-health holds are not posted.
Use the current roster when…
- You need a public snapshot of current detention listings.
- You want to see the roster’s listed charges and bond information.
- You need to confirm the detention center before arranging a visit or deposit.
Use another source when…
- You need a court date or case history.
- You need warrant status.
- You need a released person’s ongoing case information.
- You suspect state, federal or another county’s custody.
If the Person Is Missing From the Codington County Roster
| Problem | Possible explanation | Next action |
|---|---|---|
| Recent arrest, no name | The public file may not yet reflect the event, or the file you opened may have an older printed date. | Call the detention center at 605-882-6284 and recheck the latest official file. |
| Name still missing | Spelling, hyphenation, former surname or a name variation may differ from what you searched. | Search the last name alone and compare age or other known identity details. |
| Possible juvenile case | The Sheriff says juvenile information is not posted on the public current-inmate list. | Use the appropriate official juvenile/court channel; do not expect the adult public roster to confirm it. |
| Possible mental-health hold | The Sheriff says mental-health holds are not posted on the public list. | Do not infer absence from custody solely from the roster; contact the responsible agency when legally appropriate. |
| Court case but no jail listing | A pending case, warrant, summons, probation matter or released status does not necessarily mean current jail custody. | Check UJS Find Court Date or the official warrant system, depending on the question. |
| Local listing disappeared | Release or transfer may have occurred. | Check South Dakota DOC, SAVIN or BOP when the facts point to state/federal custody. |
Do not randomly search county after county. Codington County Regional Detention Center also houses people for contract jurisdictions, and current county pages are not perfectly consistent about the exact named contract-county list. Confirm the arresting jurisdiction, court and current custodian before switching systems.
Codington County Regional Detention Center
What the county confirms
- The detention center is operated under the Codington County Sheriff’s Office.
- The county describes it as a 96-bed facility.
- It holds sentenced and pretrial adult inmates and is co-located with juvenile care.
- It provides court-ordered work-release functions.
- It serves as a 24/7 sobriety checkpoint for court-ordered sobriety checks.
Why contract housing matters
The facility houses Codington County inmates and people from contract counties. A person can therefore be physically housed in Watertown while the underlying arrest, charge or court matter belongs to another jurisdiction.
When that happens, use the roster for custody and the correct originating court or county for case-specific legal information.
Bond Information and Codington County Court Records
The current-inmate PDF can show bond type and amount, but the Sheriff’s pages reviewed for this guide do not publish a complete public bond-payment procedure covering every payment method, deadline, refund rule or hold. Before paying, call the detention center and verify the person is still in custody, the exact active bond conditions, where payment must be made and whether another hold prevents release.
Codington County Clerk of Court
14 1st Ave SEWatertown, SD 57201
Phone: 605-882-5095
Office hours: Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Codington County is part of South Dakota’s Third Judicial Circuit. For a future court date, use the UJS Find Court Date tool; it searches public criminal, civil and family docket entries by party name or case number. UJS warns that no search result does not necessarily mean no court date exists.
Official Codington County court page · Find Court Date
When PARS is useful
South Dakota’s Public Access Records Search (PARS) provides a summary of public criminal court information and certain protection-order information. UJS currently lists a $20 fee for each PARS search, charged even when no record is returned. Use it when you actually need that record-search service—not simply to check whether someone is in the county jail.
Active Warrants Are Not the Same as Current Jail Custody
The Codington County Sheriff’s Office uses Zuercher Suite for its active-warrant listings. A name on that system indicates a warrant listing, not proof the person is physically housed in the Codington County Detention Center.
Likewise, someone can be in jail for a reason that is not represented by the warrant list. Check the roster for custody and the warrant source for warrant status.
Codington County Detention Center Visitation
The Sheriff publishes separate in-person schedules for pretrial/unsentenced and sentenced inmates. Verify the inmate’s status before traveling because the correct visiting day depends on that distinction.
| Inmate status | Day | Published hours / rule |
|---|---|---|
| Pretrial / unsentenced | Monday | 12:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m. |
| Pretrial / unsentenced | Wednesday | 12:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m.; immediate family only |
| Pretrial / unsentenced | Friday | 12:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m. |
| Sentenced | Tuesday | 7:00 p.m.–9:00 p.m. |
| Sentenced | Thursday | 12:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.–9:00 p.m. |
| Sentenced | Sunday | 12:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.–9:00 p.m.; immediate family only |
- Visitors under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian during the visit.
- The Sheriff says a person may not visit if they were an inmate at this detention center within the previous six months or are currently on probation or parole.
- An inmate may refuse a visit.
- For juvenile visitation, the county says parents, brothers and sisters may visit, while asking visitors to avoid meal times (11:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.) and adult visitation periods.
- The county states visitors receive one 15-minute visit per session, while an inmate may have two 15-minute visits in a session with different visitors.
Prodigy Communication and JailATM Deposits
Phone / video / messaging
The Sheriff’s homepage directs families to Prodigy and describes secure voice, video, text and electronic messaging services. The county page does not publish a complete current rate table, so check the provider before funding an account.
Inmate money
The Sheriff links to JailATM for online deposits. The detention center also has a lobby kiosk that accepts cash or card, and the county states a fee applies.
Commissary timing published by the county
Commissary orders are due Friday by 7:00 a.m. and are scheduled to arrive the following Tuesday, although holidays or weather may delay shipment. The county also says inmates may transfer commissary money for phone time.
Before sending money
- Confirm the person is still housed at Codington County Regional Detention Center.
- Use the inmate’s correct identity information in the vendor account.
- Review the current transaction fee before completing the deposit.
- Do not assume the full deposited amount will be immediately available for every purpose.
Personal Property, Allowed Items and Medication
The detention center publishes specific drop-off/pickup windows for inmate personal property:
| Day | Published property window |
|---|---|
| Tuesday | 6:00 p.m.–10:00 p.m. |
| Wednesday | 12:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m. |
| Friday | 12:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m. |
| Sunday | 12:00 p.m.–10:00 p.m. |
Clothing items listed for males
- 5 pairs of socks
- 5 pairs of underwear
- 3 plain sleeved T-shirts with no printing or pockets
- 1 pair of long underwear
Clothing items listed for females
- 5 pairs of socks
- 5 pairs of underwear
- 5 bras with no wire
- 3 plain sleeved T-shirts with no printing or pockets
- 1 pair of long underwear
Other listed items include up to four personal photographs, legal papers, up to three soft-cover books, up to three magazines, eyeglasses without a case, contact lenses with a contact container and a new/sealed solution bottle, hearing aids and dentures. The county says sexually explicit or pornographic books and magazines are not allowed.
Prescription medication must be current and in the original container. The county says medical staff verify prescriptions before dispensing them and that medication may be dropped off at any time.
Booking Photos and Mugshot Requests
Codington County provides an official Booking Photo Release Request form. The county form asks whether the arrest was within the last six months, whether the crime was a felony, and whether the arrested person was at least 18 at the time of arrest.
South Dakota Codified Law 23-5-7 states that a criminal booking photograph for a felony is a public record under the state public-records chapter, while also stating that a law-enforcement agency is not required to provide or reproduce a booking photograph older than six months and may recover retrieval or reproduction costs.
Use the county request form when
You are seeking a potentially releasable felony booking photo that fits the local form’s requirements.
Do not infer
A booking photo does not show guilt or the final outcome of a criminal case. Use the court record for disposition.
Where to Search After Release or Transfer
South Dakota SAVIN
Search by offender name or court case number and register for eligible status notifications.
South Dakota DOC
Use the state Department of Corrections when the person may have moved from county detention to state correctional custody.
Federal BOP
Use the Bureau of Prisons locator for federal prison custody. A BOP “released” or “not in BOP custody” result does not rule out another justice system.
Codington County Jail, Sheriff and Court Contacts
| Office | Contact | Best use |
|---|---|---|
| Codington County Detention Center | 605-882-6284 14 1st Ave SE, Watertown, SD 57201 | Current custody, visitation confirmation, property/medication, facility-specific questions, bond procedure confirmation. |
| Codington County Sheriff’s Office | 605-882-6280 14 1st Ave SE, Watertown, SD 57201 | Sheriff services, active warrants, booking-photo process and agency routing. |
| Codington County Clerk of Court | 605-882-5095 14 1st Ave SE, Watertown, SD 57201 | Court-file and court-process questions; office hours 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Monday–Friday. |
| Codington County Court Services | 605-882-5110 | Court-services/probation-related routing when applicable. |
Map: primary detention center
Use Jail and Booking Information Responsibly
- An arrest is not a conviction.
- A charge on a roster can be amended, dismissed or resolved differently in court.
- A warrant does not prove current incarceration.
- A current-inmate PDF is a snapshot and can become stale after release, transfer or a new booking.
- Do not use screenshots or copied mugshot pages as the final source for current status.
- Use the court of record for authoritative case disposition.
- Do not use public jail information for harassment, threats, stalking or targeting.
Codington County Jail Roster FAQs
Where is the official Codington County jail roster?
Start on the Codington County Sheriff’s Office website and use its Current Inmates section. The Sheriff publishes a current-inmate PDF and warns that the public list is not complete.
Does Codington County publish a daily booking log?
The public source reviewed for this guide is labeled Current Inmates, not a separate chronological daily-booking log. Its PDF format shows inmate name, age, charges and bond, so check the printed date and use the detention center for very recent booking questions.
Why can someone be in custody but not appear on the public list?
The Sheriff specifically states that juvenile information and mental-health holds are not posted. A very recent booking, a stale PDF snapshot, a name variation, release or transfer can also require a different verification route.
What information is shown on the Codington County current-inmate PDF?
The audited PDF format contains columns for inmate name, age, charges and bond. It may show multiple charges, bond entries and judge names. It should not be read as a final court disposition.
How do I check an active Codington County warrant?
Use the Sheriff’s official Search Warrants page, which directs users to the county’s Zuercher Suite warrant system. A warrant listing is different from current jail custody.
How do I find a Codington County court date?
Use South Dakota UJS Find Court Date and search by party name or case number. UJS notes that a no-result search does not necessarily mean there is no court date, so contact the clerk when the date is critical.
What are Codington County Detention Center visiting hours?
Pretrial/unsentenced visitation is published for Monday, Wednesday and Friday from noon to 4:00 p.m., with Wednesday limited to immediate family. Sentenced visitation is Tuesday 7:00–9:00 p.m., Thursday noon–4:00 p.m. and 7:00–9:00 p.m., and Sunday noon–4:00 p.m. and 7:00–9:00 p.m., with Sunday limited to immediate family. Call before traveling.
How can I send money to a Codington County inmate?
The Sheriff links to JailATM for online deposits and states that a lobby kiosk accepts cash or card with a fee. Confirm the person is still housed at the facility and review current vendor fees before paying.
Can I request a Codington County booking photo?
The Sheriff provides a Booking Photo Release Request form. The local form is designed around felony arrests within the previous six months where the arrested person was at least 18; South Dakota law also addresses felony booking-photo public records and the six-month reproduction rule.
Where should I search if the person is no longer in the Codington County jail?
Use South Dakota SAVIN for eligible offender information/notifications, South Dakota DOC when state correctional custody is likely, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons locator when federal custody is relevant. Use court records separately for an ongoing case after release.
Official Sources Used for This Guide
- Codington County Sheriff’s Office — current inmates, warrants, JailATM, Prodigy and contact information.
- Codington County Detention Center — visitation, property, commissary, allowed items, medication and facility details.
- Booking Photo Release Request — local booking-photo request criteria.
- South Dakota UJS: Codington County — clerk contact, hours and Third Judicial Circuit information.
- South Dakota UJS Court Records Search — PARS and other court-record access options.
- South Dakota SAVIN Offender Search — offender search and notification route.
- South Dakota Codified Law 23-5-7 — booking-photo public-record provisions.
- South Dakota Department of Corrections and Federal Bureau of Prisons — state and federal custody alternatives.
Source review date: October 5, 2026. Changeable jail schedules, vendors, fees, roster snapshots and court information should be rechecked immediately before travel, payment or other action.