Find Appling County Jail Mugshots

Appling County jail mugshots are kept by the Sheriff's Office in Baxley, Georgia. The county processes all local bookings through one jail at 560 Barnes Street. Appling County does not have a public online inmate search tool on its own site, so you need to use other methods to find booking photos and arrest records. Third-party sites pull data from jail rosters across Georgia and may list Appling County inmates. You can also call the jail or file an open records request. This page walks through each way to search for Appling County jail mugshots and what kind of results to expect from each source.

Appling County Sheriff's Office

Sheriff Mark Melton runs the Appling County Sheriff's Office. The office sits at 560 Barnes Street Suite B, Baxley, Georgia 31513. Call (912) 367-8120 for general questions. The fax line is (912) 367-8160. You can also send email to acso@applingcoso.com. Hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Saturdays from 8:00 a.m. to noon. The sheriff's office handles all law enforcement for the county, including jail operations, patrol, and criminal investigations. All bookings in Appling County go through this one facility.

The Appling County Jail is in the same building as the sheriff's office. It holds inmates who are waiting for trial, serving short sentences, or on hold for transfer to state prison. The jail staff processes new bookings, takes mugshots, and logs arrest details. If you want to check on someone in custody, call the jail line at (912) 367-8120 during business hours. Staff can tell you if a person is currently held and what charges they face.

The Georgia Department of Corrections lists the Appling County Jail as a local holding facility in its statewide directory.

This GDC page confirms the jail's role in the state system. It shows basic facility info and can help you figure out if an inmate was moved from Appling County to a state prison after sentencing.

Search Appling County Inmate Records

Appling County does not run its own online inmate search portal. This is common for smaller Georgia counties. The sheriff's office has no public-facing database on its website where you can type in a name and pull up jail mugshots. Instead, you have a few other options to track down booking photos and inmate data for people held in Appling County.

Your first option is to call the jail. Dial (912) 367-8120 and ask about a specific person. Give the staff a full name and date of birth if you have it. They can tell you if the person is in custody and what charges are on file. They may not give out every detail over the phone, but they will confirm whether someone is held at the Appling County Jail. This works best during office hours, Monday through Friday.

Appling County participates in Georgia's VINE notification system. VINE stands for Victim Information and Notification Everyday. You can register at www.vinelink.com or call 1-866-277-7477 to sign up by phone. The service is free. It sends alerts by phone, email, or text when an inmate is released, transferred, or has a custody status change at the Appling County jail.

VINE does not show mugshots. But it confirms whether a person is in custody and tells you when they leave. For crime victims in Appling County, this can be an important safety tool. You can search for any offender in the system by name or offender ID.

For inmates who were convicted in Appling County and transferred to state prison, use the GDC offender search tool. This covers people serving state sentences. It shows mugshots, sentencing data, and facility assignments. The county jail roster only covers current local inmates, while GDC handles state prisoners.

Appling County Mugshot Records Requests

You can file an open records request with the Appling County Sheriff's Office to get jail mugshots and booking documents. Georgia's Open Records Act under O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 gives the public a right to inspect government records. The sheriff's office must respond within three business days. There is no online form for records requests in Appling County, so you need to submit your request by mail, fax, or in person.

Send your request to 560 Barnes Street Suite B, Baxley, Georgia 31513 or fax it to (912) 367-8160. Include the full name of the person, date of birth if you know it, and a rough date range for the booking you are looking for. Be specific. The more detail you give, the faster the staff can find what you need.

Under O.C.G.A. § 50-18-71, copy fees are capped at 10 cents per page. The office may also charge for staff time if the request takes more than 15 minutes to process. Keep your request narrow to avoid extra costs. If you just need a single jail mugshot and booking record, say so clearly in your request letter.

Georgia Law on Appling County Mugshots

Georgia law controls how jail mugshots are shared. Under O.C.G.A. § 35-1-19, law enforcement agencies like the Appling County Sheriff's Office cannot post booking photos on websites except in specific situations. Anyone who asks for a jail mugshot must sign a written statement saying the photo will not go on a site that charges for removal. This rule applies statewide and protects people booked at the Appling County Jail from commercial mugshot exploitation sites.

If your arrest in Appling County was dismissed, you may be able to get your record restricted. O.C.G.A. § 35-3-37 allows record restriction in certain cases. Once restricted, your jail mugshot and booking data are sealed from public view. You will need to apply through the proper channels to start that process.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation maintains criminal history records through the Georgia Crime Information Center. This covers arrest data and court outcomes across all Georgia counties, including Appling. Under O.C.G.A. § 10-1-393.5, mugshot websites that charge fees to remove booking photos may face penalties under Georgia consumer protection law.

Note: Contact the Appling County Sheriff's Office directly for the most current policies on records access.

Visiting Inmates in Appling County

Visitation at the Appling County Jail follows a set schedule. Contact the jail at (912) 367-8120 to get current visitation days and times. Rules can change, so check before you plan a visit. Most county jails in Georgia require visitors to show valid photo ID and go through a brief screening before entry.

Some smaller Georgia jails, including Appling County, have moved to video visitation in recent years. Call ahead to find out if on-site visits are still available or if the jail now uses video only. If video visits are in place, you may need to set up an account with the jail's communications provider first.

Nearby Counties

These counties border Appling County. If you are not sure which county handled a booking, check the arrest location. Jail mugshots are filed by the county where the arrest took place, not where the person lives.