San Benito County Booking Records
San Benito County 72 hour booking records are managed by the San Benito County Sheriff's Office, which runs the county jail in Hollister. San Benito is a small county on the Central Coast with a population of around 65,000. Booking volume is low compared to larger California counties. The sheriff's office does not have a dedicated online inmate search tool, but the county does offer a public records request portal through NextRequest. You can submit a formal request for booking data through that system. San Benito County uses Securus for some jail services. For quick info about a recent booking, calling the jail directly is often the fastest route.
San Benito County Booking Quick Facts
San Benito Booking Records Law
California law requires all booking records to be public, and San Benito County is no exception. Government Code 7923.610 lays out what must be released. The sheriff must provide the full name of the person booked, their date of birth, charges, bail amount, booking date and time, arrest location, and the name of the holding facility. This applies every time someone is booked into the San Benito County Jail.
Penal Code 851.5 protects people during the booking process. Everyone booked into a California jail gets three free phone calls within three hours. The calls can go to a lawyer, bail bond company, or family member. The San Benito County Jail must honor this right. No fee can be charged for these calls.
The Public Records Act covers booking data across the state. If the San Benito County Sheriff denies a records request, you have the right to push back. Small counties tend to be responsive, though, and denials for booking records are uncommon.
San Benito County Records Request
San Benito County has a public records request portal through NextRequest. You can submit your request online at sanbenitocounty-ca.nextrequest.com. This portal is used for all types of county records, including jail booking data. You fill out a form with details about what records you want, and the county responds within the time frame set by the Public Records Act.
The San Benito County NextRequest portal handles public records requests for booking records, arrest data, and other county documents.
The system tracks your request and sends updates by email. You can check the status at any time. This is one of the more organized ways to get records in a small county. Most requests are handled within 10 business days, though some may take longer if the records need to be pulled from archives.
For quicker results on a recent booking, call the San Benito County Jail directly. Staff can often tell you over the phone if someone is in custody and what charges they face. The jail phone number is (831) 636-4080. But for a written record or formal copy, the NextRequest portal is the right tool.
Note: San Benito County does not have a dedicated online inmate search database. The NextRequest portal and phone calls are the main access methods.
San Benito County Jail
The San Benito County Jail is at 2301 Technology Parkway in Hollister. It is a relatively small facility that serves the whole county. All bookings in San Benito County go through this jail, whether the arrest happened in Hollister, San Juan Bautista, or an unincorporated part of the county. During booking, staff record the person's name, date of birth, physical details, charges, and bail amount. A photo and fingerprints are taken.
The jail's capacity is limited because the county is small. It does not hold the same volume as a place like Sacramento or Los Angeles. But the booking process is the same. California law sets the same requirements for every jail in the state, from the smallest rural facility to the largest urban one. The San Benito County Sheriff's Office oversees the jail and all detention operations.
Visiting hours at the San Benito County Jail vary by day. Call (831) 636-4080 before visiting to check the current schedule. Mail and phone services for inmates are handled through Securus. You can set up an account through Securus to send money or arrange phone calls with someone in custody.
San Benito Booking Records by Mail
If you prefer to request a San Benito County booking record by mail, send a letter to the San Benito County Sheriff's Office at 2301 Technology Parkway, Hollister, CA 95023. Include the person's full name, date of birth, and the approximate date of booking or arrest. Add any case or booking numbers you have. The sheriff's office may charge a small fee for copies.
Written requests are good for when you need a formal record. A phone call can get you quick answers, but it does not give you a document. For court purposes or legal matters, a written request through either the mail or the NextRequest portal is the better choice. The Public Records Act requires a response within 10 business days.
San Benito Arrest Records
In San Benito County, the sheriff's office handles most law enforcement. Hollister has a small police department, but the sheriff covers the rest of the county. The booking record created at the jail is separate from the full arrest report. The booking record shows the basic intake data: name, charges, bail, and booking time. The arrest report includes the officer's account of what happened, witness statements, and other investigation details.
Both types of records are public under California law, though arrest reports may be partially redacted if an investigation is still going on. For 72 hour booking data specifically, the booking record from the jail is what you want. It covers the key facts without the full narrative of the police report. You can get it through the NextRequest portal or by calling the jail.
San Benito County Records Access
Getting booking records from a smaller county like San Benito is a bit different from larger counties. There is no inmate search page to visit. You cannot just type in a name and get instant results. Instead, you work through the public records process or make a phone call. The trade-off is that smaller offices often respond faster and are easier to reach. You are not competing with thousands of other requests.
San Benito County has been growing. Hollister has added population as people move from the San Jose area looking for lower housing costs. As the county grows, the jail system may expand its online tools. For now, the NextRequest portal and direct contact with the jail are the primary options for 72 hour booking records.
Cities in San Benito County
San Benito County has no cities with a population over 100,000. Hollister is the county seat and the largest city, with around 42,000 residents. San Juan Bautista is the only other incorporated city, and it is very small. All bookings from both cities and the unincorporated areas go through the San Benito County Jail in Hollister.
Nearby County Booking Records
These counties border San Benito and have their own jail records and search tools.