King County Booking Reports

King County booking reports cover every adult booked into the King County Correctional Facility in Seattle, the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent, and SCORE Jail in Des Moines. You can search the King County jail roster online by name, find a booking number, check current custody status, and look up charges. The county runs the busiest jail system in Washington, so the booking reports update many times each day. Use the tools and links on this page to find a person, get a record, or file a public disclosure request with the King County Sheriff.

King County Jail Booking Reports

The King County Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention runs two jails. The King County Correctional Facility sits at 500 Fifth Avenue in downtown Seattle. The Maleng Regional Justice Center is at 401 Fourth Avenue North in Kent. Both feed into the same booking system. Anyone arrested by the King County Sheriff, Seattle Police, or one of the suburban agencies that uses King County jails will show up on the same roster.

You can run a search using the official King County subject lookup tool. The lead-in is simple. Pull up a name, view the booking date, see the charges, and check the booking number. The tool is the main public face of the King County booking reports system. To start a search, go to the King County Subject Lookup page and enter a last name.

The official King County subject lookup tool gives you the core inmate booking data for both King County jails.

Each result lists the inmate name, booking number, the facility holding the person, and the charges on file. The booking number is the key. King County jail staff use it on every form, so write it down when you find it. The system updates as new bookings come in and as inmates are released.

SCORE Jail Booking Records for King County

Many of the cities in south King County do not use the main King County jail. They use SCORE Jail, the South Correctional Entity, located at 20817 17th Avenue South in Des Moines. SCORE handles bookings for Auburn, Burien, Des Moines, Federal Way, Renton, SeaTac, and Tukwila. If a person was arrested in any of those cities, the booking reports will be in the SCORE system, not the main King County jail roster.

SCORE has its own online lookup. The system shows current inmates, past bookings, scheduled court dates, and bail info. To search, head over to the SCORE Jail Inmate Lookup System. You can also call SCORE at 206-257-6200 if you cannot find a record online. Note: SCORE is a separate jail from the King County jail, but it still serves King County cities and shows up in any complete King County booking reports search.

The SCORE Jail Inmate Lookup System covers booking reports for the south King County cities that contract with SCORE.

SCORE updates the lookup tool on a set schedule. Release dates can change at any time when new charges are filed or sentences shift. The site also has VINE Direct links so victims of crime can sign up for custody change alerts. RCW 70.48.100 is the state jail roster law that requires both King County and SCORE to keep certain booking information open to the public.

Public Records Requests for King County Booking Reports

Some King County booking reports go beyond what the online lookup shows. Things like booking photos, full incident reports, body cam video, and dispatch logs are not on the public roster. To get those records, you have to file a public records request with the King County Sheriff's Office. Send your request to the Records Unit, King County Courthouse, 516 Third Avenue, Room W-150, Seattle, WA 98104. The phone is (206) 263-2626.

Washington's Public Records Act, RCW 42.56, gives anyone the right to ask for these records. You do not have to say why you want them. The agency has five business days to respond. They may give you the records, ask for more info, deny the request with a reason, or give you a date when records will be ready. Some items get redacted under RCW 10.97, the Washington Criminal Records Privacy Act. Juvenile booking records, sealed cases, and certain witness data are not open.

Note: Most King County jail booking reports are open under RCW 70.48.100, but mug shots and detailed incident files often need a formal public records request.

How to Find Someone in a King County Jail

Start with the name. If you know the full legal name, the King County subject lookup or SCORE lookup will find a recent booking right away. If you are not sure which jail holds the person, check both. King County and SCORE share some agencies but not all. The lookup tools show the facility name next to each booking. That tells you where to call or go.

Here are the main steps to find a King County booking record:

• Search the King County subject lookup by last name
• Check SCORE Jail if the arrest was in south King County
• Write down the booking number (BA#) when you find it
• Call the jail to confirm visitation and bail info
• File a public records request for older booking files

If the person you are looking for is not in either online tool, the booking may not be in the system yet. New arrests can take a few hours to show up. Call the King County jail booking line if the person was just arrested. For older records, the public disclosure unit can pull archived booking reports for you.

King County Booking Reports and Court Records

Booking reports tie into the larger King County court system. Every booking that leads to charges shows up on the King County Superior Court or District Court docket. You can cross-check a booking number against court records on the Washington Courts public case search. That will give you the case number, hearing dates, and the judge assigned to the matter.

King County also has a robust set of municipal courts in Seattle, Bellevue, Kent, and other cities. A municipal arrest may show up in a city court record but still tie back to a King County jail booking. The King County booking reports work as the bridge between the arrest and the court file. Cross-reference the booking number to make sure you have the right person and the right case.

Cities in King County with Booking Reports

King County has dozens of cities, but most route bookings to either the King County jail or SCORE Jail. Seattle Police book at the King County Correctional Facility downtown. Bellevue, Kirkland, and Redmond use the King County jail or the Maleng Regional Justice Center. Auburn, Federal Way, and Renton book at SCORE in Des Moines. Each city police department keeps its own arrest reports too, but for jail booking records you go to the county or SCORE system.

Note: King County booking reports cover all cities served by the King County jails and SCORE, not just Seattle.