Jailhouse Booking

Learn about the booking process after an arrest.

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The booking process involves taking information and personal effects from arrestees; it includes fingerprints, mug shots, and a search of the person.

What Happens During Booking?

Booking officers have the right to question and search people headed for the jail.

What Happens During Booking?
Here are the steps involved in a typical booking session.
Your Rights During Booking
Are suspects entitled to have a lawyer present during booking?
Getting Information About and Helping Booked Arrestees
Sometimes a bail bondsman is your best bet.

Questions About the Booking Process

Learn about an alternative to being booked, strip searches, and immigration checks.

Why are some arrestees taken to jail, while others remain free?
Police officers have a wide degree of discretion when deciding to cite rather than bring the arrestee to jail.
Is everyone who enters jail subject to a strip search, even when the charged offense is minor?
The U.S. Supreme Court will soon tell us whether it's legal to strip search every booked person, regardless of the circumstances of the arrest or the behavior of the individual.
Do booking officers check immigration status?
Depending on where the booking takes place, an immigration check could take place.