Search Nobles County Jail Bookings
Nobles County recent bookings are processed through the Nobles County Sheriff's Office in Worthington, which serves as the county's primary law enforcement and jail authority for the southwest corner of Minnesota. The booking records the office maintains are public under state law and cover everyone arrested and brought into the county jail, from minor misdemeanor arrests to serious felony charges. This page explains how to find those records, what information they contain, and what Minnesota statutes say about access, retention, and expungement. If you need information about a specific person in custody or a past booking, the Sheriff's Office and state online tools are your best resources.
Nobles County Jail Overview
Nobles County Jail Roster and Booking Records
The Nobles County Sheriff's Office runs the county jail in Worthington and is responsible for booking anyone arrested within the county. That includes arrests made by the Sheriff's deputies as well as those brought in by city police departments, state patrol, or other agencies working in the area. Every person who goes through the booking process generates a record that captures the key details of their arrest.
Nobles County sits in Minnesota's southwest corner, bordering Iowa to the south and South Dakota to the west. That geography means the county occasionally handles cross-border enforcement situations, and the jail can hold individuals on both state and federal charges. Regardless of the type of case, the same booking process applies, and the same public access rules govern what information the Sheriff's Office must make available. The Nobles County website is the best starting point for finding current contact details and any online roster the county provides.
For anyone not found in the Nobles County jail, nearby jails in Murray, Jackson, and Cottonwood counties may have the record you need, depending on where the arrest occurred.
What Nobles County Booking Data Shows
Minnesota law is clear about what booking data is public. Under Minnesota Statute 13.82, arrest and booking records kept by law enforcement are classified as public government data. The Nobles County Sheriff's Office must make this information available. This requirement comes from the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act, which sets rules for how state and local agencies handle records. It is not a local policy choice. It is state law, and every county follows it.
A standard Nobles County booking record includes the full name of the arrested person, the date and time they were brought into the jail, the charges described at intake, bail or bond information when the court has set it, and the person's current custody status. The arresting agency is often noted as well. Some identifying details, like home address or date of birth, are treated as private under other parts of the Data Practices Act and do not appear in the public-facing version of the record. The charge descriptions, though, are fully public and give a clear picture of what the person was arrested for at the time.
It is worth knowing that booking records reflect the situation at the time of arrest. Charges listed at intake can change once the case gets to court. Some cases are dismissed before they ever reach a judge. A booking record is not a conviction record. If you want to see what happened after someone was arrested in Nobles County, the Minnesota Courts public case search lets you look up case filings and dispositions by name.
How to Look Up Nobles County Bookings
The most direct way to get current booking information for Nobles County is to call the Sheriff's Office at 507-372-8412. Staff can confirm whether someone is in custody and share the basic booking information that is public under state law. If the county maintains an online roster or inmate search tool, you will find a link to it on the Nobles County website. Smaller counties do not always have real-time online tools, so calling is often faster and more reliable than searching online.
When you need records that go beyond a single county's jail roster, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension criminal history portal is the state's main resource for broader searches. It pulls from agencies across all 87 counties and covers arrests, charges, and case outcomes that have been reported to the state. A name and date of birth are required, and the BCA charges a per-search fee. This can be useful when you are looking for someone who may have a history in more than one county or when the Nobles County roster does not show the full picture.
The Minnesota Department of Corrections offender search shows people currently in state prison or under DOC supervision. This is a different system from the county jail. If someone was sentenced to state time rather than local jail time, their current status will be in the DOC database, not the Nobles County roster.
For victim notification, VINELink covers county jails and state facilities statewide. It is free to register and you get alerts when custody status changes.
Nobles County Sheriff's Office Contact
The Nobles County Sheriff's Office is the central authority for all jail operations and booking records in the county. Questions about current inmates, recent bookings, or jail procedures should be directed to the office in Worthington. The Nobles County website lists current hours and any additional contact options the office provides.
| Office | Nobles County Sheriff's Office |
|---|---|
| Address | 315 10th St. Worthington, MN 56187 |
| Phone | 507-372-8412 |
| County Website | co.nobles.mn.us |
| Judicial District | 5th Judicial District |
| MN Courts | mncourts.gov |
Note: The Nobles County Sheriff's Office does not call people to demand bail or fine payments by phone. If you receive a suspicious call claiming to be from the office, contact them directly to verify.
Record Retention, Booking Fees, and Expungement
Once a person is booked into the Nobles County jail, that record does not simply go away when they are released. Minnesota Statute 138.17 governs how long government records including law enforcement booking files must be kept. The state sets the retention schedule, and the Nobles County Sheriff's Office must follow it. These records remain accessible for the period the schedule requires, regardless of how the case ends. Even a dismissed charge does not erase the booking record from the retention system.
At the time of booking, a fee is charged under Minnesota Statute 641.12. This fee is part of the intake process and applies to anyone brought into the county jail. It covers the cost of processing the person into the facility and is not refunded if charges are later dropped. The county jail's authority to collect this fee comes directly from the statute.
Minnesota Statute 641.08 sets the broader rules for how county jails operate, including who may be held and under what legal authority. This shapes how the Nobles County Sheriff manages its facility and the people who pass through booking.
Expungement is the legal tool for sealing a record after a case is resolved. Minnesota Statute 609A defines who qualifies and how the process works. A successful petition seals the court record and may also affect the law enforcement record, depending on the charges and how the case was resolved. Not all cases qualify. The type of charge, the outcome, and the time that has passed all matter. LawHelpMN has free guides that walk through expungement step by step for Minnesota residents.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension provides a statewide criminal records database that covers Nobles County bookings alongside records from all other Minnesota counties.
When the Nobles County jail roster is not enough, the BCA's online search portal lets you search by name across the full state criminal history system for a more complete picture.
Nearby Counties
These counties share borders with Nobles County. If a booking is not showing up in the Nobles County system, the arrest may have been processed at one of these neighboring jails.