San Luis Obispo Booking Records
San Luis Obispo County 72 hour booking records are posted by the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office through a public booking log on their website. The county jail is located in San Luis Obispo city, and all bookings from across the county are processed there. The sheriff's booking log shows recent arrest activity and provides details about who was booked into custody. You can view this log without creating an account or logging in. The information is free and open to the public. San Luis Obispo is a mid-sized county on the Central Coast with about 280,000 residents, so the booking volume is lower than in major metro areas but still steady throughout the week.
San Luis Obispo County Booking Quick Facts
San Luis Obispo Booking Law
California law makes 72 hour booking records public. Government Code 7923.610 requires the release of specific booking information. This includes the person's full name, date of birth, physical description, charges, bail amount, arrest date and time, booking date and time, arrest location, and the facility where they are held. The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff complies by posting a booking log on their website.
The booking log is different from a searchable database. Instead of typing in a name, you scroll through a list of recent bookings. Each entry shows the key details required by law. This format works well for a smaller county like San Luis Obispo where the daily booking count is manageable. You can look through the entire recent log in a few minutes.
Penal Code 851.5 also protects the rights of people being booked. Every person booked into the San Luis Obispo County Jail gets at least three phone calls within three hours. The calls can go to a lawyer, bail agent, or family. The jail cannot charge for these calls.
SLO County Booking Log
The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff posts a booking log at slosheriff.org/WebLogs/BookingLog. This page shows recent bookings at the county jail. Each entry includes the person's name, age, city of residence, booking date and time, charges, and the arresting agency. You can see whether someone was brought in by the sheriff's office, a city police department, the CHP, or another agency.
The SLO County Sheriff's booking log database at slosheriff.org shows recent jail bookings with charges, arresting agency, and booking times for San Luis Obispo County.
The log format is simple. It lists bookings in order from most recent to oldest. You scroll down to find what you are looking for. There is no name search box on this page. If you are looking for a specific person, you will need to browse through the entries. This is not a problem for most searches since the log only covers recent bookings and the list is not that long on any given day.
The booking log updates as new bookings come in. The jail processes people around the clock, so new entries can appear at any time. If you check the log and do not see someone who was recently arrested, wait a few hours and check again. Processing times vary. The data shown in the log is the same data you would get by calling the jail and asking about recent bookings.
Note: The SLO County booking log shows recent activity and may not include people who have already been released from custody.
San Luis Obispo County Jail
The San Luis Obispo County Jail is at 1585 Kansas Avenue in San Luis Obispo. This is the only county jail and handles all bookings for the county. The jail has a capacity of about 576 beds. Law enforcement from across the county brings arrested people here. That includes the sheriff's deputies, San Luis Obispo Police, Paso Robles Police, Atascadero Police, Pismo Beach Police, Grover Beach Police, Arroyo Grande Police, Morro Bay Police, and CHP officers.
The jail is run by the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office. The booking area is open 24 hours a day. When someone is brought in, staff collect personal information, take fingerprints and a photo, record the charges, and set bail according to the county bail schedule. The whole process can take a few hours depending on how busy the jail is.
You can contact the jail by calling (805) 781-4600. Staff can provide basic information about who is in custody. For detailed booking records, the online booking log is the fastest option. You can also visit in person during posted hours.
SLO Booking Records by Mail
To request a copy of a booking record from San Luis Obispo County by mail, write to the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office, Records Division, at 1585 Kansas Avenue, San Luis Obispo, CA 93405. Include the person's full name, date of birth if you have it, and an approximate booking date. The records unit will process your request and may charge a fee for copies. Under the California Public Records Act, the office has 10 business days to respond.
Phone requests are also an option. Call the jail or records division and ask about a specific booking. They can confirm basic details over the phone. For certified copies needed for court or legal purposes, a written request is usually required. Walk-in requests are handled at the jail during regular business hours.
SLO County Arrest Records
Booking records and arrest records serve different purposes. A booking record is created when the jail processes someone. An arrest record includes the police report with details about the incident. In San Luis Obispo County, the sheriff handles booking records for the county jail. Arrest reports come from whatever agency made the arrest. If someone was arrested by Paso Robles Police, you contact that department for the arrest report. If the arrest was made by a sheriff's deputy, the sheriff's office handles both.
The 72 hour booking data is always public under California law. Arrest reports can have more restrictions, especially if the case involves an ongoing investigation. But the booking record with names, charges, and bail cannot be withheld. San Luis Obispo County makes this data available through the online booking log and by request.
The San Luis Obispo County Superior Court handles cases after charges are filed. Court records are available through the court's website or at the courthouse at 1035 Palm Street in San Luis Obispo. If you want to follow a case after the booking stage, the court system is where to look next.
Note: Cal Poly San Luis Obispo has its own university police. Arrests on campus go through the university PD, but bookings still end up at the county jail.
Cities in San Luis Obispo County
San Luis Obispo County does not have any cities with a population over 100,000. The city of San Luis Obispo itself has about 47,000 residents, and Paso Robles has around 32,000. Other towns in the county include Atascadero, Arroyo Grande, Pismo Beach, Grover Beach, and Morro Bay. All of these cities route jail bookings through the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff at the county jail. The same booking log covers every city in the county.
Even though no cities in this county are large enough for dedicated city pages on this site, you can still find booking records for arrests in any SLO County city by checking the sheriff's booking log. The log shows which agency made each arrest, so you can tell if someone was picked up by a local PD or the sheriff's office.
Nearby County Booking Records
Need to check booking records in a county near San Luis Obispo? These neighboring counties have their own jail data systems.