Search the Dakota County Jail Roster

Dakota County recent bookings are available through the Sheriff's Office online inmate search tool, which lets you look up people currently held at the Dakota County Jail in Hastings. The jail processes roughly 9,000 bookings each year and houses both pre-trial inmates and people serving sentences of up to one year. Searching Dakota County booking records is free. You can look up a person by name or browse recent arrests to see who has been booked, what charges they face, and their current custody status. If you need to find someone who was recently arrested in Dakota County, the online search tool is the fastest way to get that information.

Dakota County Jail and Booking Records

The Dakota County Jail sits at 1580 Highway 55 in Hastings. It is a 263-bed direct supervision facility, meaning staff work directly in housing units alongside inmates rather than watching from a control room. This model is used in jails that handle both pre-trial detainees and sentenced inmates. Dakota County holds people who have not yet gone to trial as well as those serving sentences of up to one year. Male and female inmates are housed separately. The average daily population in 2024 was 183 people, and the facility processed around 9,000 bookings that year.

The Dakota County inmate search lets you look up current inmates by name. Results show the person's charges, custody status, and other basic booking information. The main jail page at the county website covers facility rules, inmate services, and links to the inmate search and fee schedule. Under Minnesota Statute 641.05, the public has a right to access jail records, and the county's online search tool is how Dakota County fulfills that obligation.

If you cannot find someone through the online search, call the jail directly at 651-438-4800. Staff can confirm custody status over the phone. For questions about the Sheriff's Office generally, the main line is 651-438-4710. Email goes to emailsheriff@co.dakota.mn.us.

Dakota County Jail Fee Schedule

Dakota County charges fees for several jail-related services. The fee schedule page lists the current amounts. These are set by the county and authorized under state law. The most common fee people encounter is the booking fee, which is charged when someone is processed into the jail. Under Minnesota Statute 641.12, counties are authorized to charge a booking fee as part of the intake process.

Current fees at the Dakota County Jail include:

• Booking Fee: $25
• Daily Jail Booking Report: $35/month subscription
• Fingerprints: $20
• Out-of-County Boarding: $120 per day
• Pay for Stay: $25 per day
• Work Release: $25 per day

The $25 booking fee can be refunded in certain cases. If you were not charged with a crime after being booked, if you were acquitted at trial, or if all charges were dismissed, you may qualify for a refund. To get one, you need to complete the Booking Fee Refund Form available through the jail. If paying the fee is a hardship, a waiver is available. You complete the Jail Fee Waiver Form and submit it with documentation showing your inability to pay. Both forms are available by contacting the jail at 651-438-4800 or by visiting the facility.

Note: Fee waiver requests are reviewed case by case. Simply having a case dismissed is enough for a refund, but inability-to-pay waivers require documentation of your financial situation.

The Dakota County Jail information page covers facility details, inmate search access, the fee schedule, and how to contact the jail for booking-related questions.

The county's Law and Justice section brings together the Sheriff, courts, and detention services under one part of the county website, making it easier to navigate between inmate records and court case information.

Dakota County Court Locations and Contact

Once someone is booked into the Dakota County Jail, their case moves through the court system. Dakota County has three court service locations, which helps residents across the county access court services without always going to the main courthouse in Hastings. Knowing which location handles your case can save time when you are trying to follow up on a booking or find out about a hearing.

The main courthouse is the Judicial Center at 1560 Highway 55 in Hastings, phone 651-438-8100. For the south metro area, the Western Service Center is at 14955 Galaxie Avenue West in Apple Valley, phone 952-891-7256. For the northern part of the county, the Northern Service Center is at 1 West Mendota Road Suite 140 in West St. Paul, phone 651-554-6200. The Apple Valley and West St. Paul locations make it practical for residents in Burnsville, Eagan, Lakeville, and other northern and western cities to handle court business closer to home.

For full case information including hearing dates and attorney assignments, use the Minnesota Courts website. You can search by name or case number. Court records held by the state court system are a separate layer of information from what appears in the jail booking roster. The booking record tells you someone was arrested. The court record tells you what happened next.

State Resources for Dakota County Booking Records

The jail roster covers current bookings, but several state tools fill in the gaps. Under Minnesota Statute 13.82, booking and arrest data is public. That is why Dakota County publishes the inmate search online. For records beyond what the roster shows, the Minnesota BCA criminal history portal charges $8 per search and requires a name plus date of birth. It pulls data from across the state, including arrests that may not appear in a single county's system.

Victims and others monitoring an inmate's custody status can register with VINELink for free notifications. When someone's custody status changes at the Dakota County Jail, registered contacts receive an alert by phone, email, or text. This is especially useful if you need advance notice of a release. Identity in Dakota County can only be confirmed through fingerprint comparison, so if there is any question about whether the right person is in custody, that is the method the jail uses to verify.

Dakota County booking records are kept according to the retention rules set under Minnesota Statute 138.17. Those schedules govern how long the county must hold these files. For people who want to remove an arrest from their record, Minnesota Statute 609A outlines the expungement process. Eligibility depends on how the case ended and how much time has passed. Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid at 612-334-5970 can answer questions about whether a Dakota County arrest record qualifies. The Minnesota State Bar Association lawyer directory is also available if you need a private attorney.

The Dakota County Government page provides an overview of county departments and links to law enforcement, courts, and other services tied to recent bookings and inmate records.

The county's structure keeps law enforcement, jail, and court services organized under a single government umbrella, which makes it easier to track a case from booking through to court proceedings.

Cities in Dakota County

Dakota County includes several large cities in the south metro. Arrests made in any of these cities get processed at the Dakota County Jail in Hastings and appear in the county's booking roster.

Nearby Counties

Dakota County sits south of the Twin Cities core. These neighboring counties each have their own jail facilities and booking record systems.