The Lackawanna County Jail inmate registry in Pennsylvania is a public resource that allows anyone to check who is currently in custody at the county facility. On the LackawannaCourt.us website, you can find publicly available information about current and recently released inmates. Additionally, data is available through official state Department of Corrections resources, personal inquiries to the jail, and phone requests. Searching the registry allows you to find out a person's custody status, charges filed, and date of detention. The registry is maintained by the county jail in Scranton; the data is regularly updated and posted on state portals.
Search Current Inmates in Lackawanna Jail
There are several ways to find out if a specific person is held in the county jail.
Online Search
- Go to LackawannaCourt.us — enter the person's first or last name to obtain publicly available court and penitentiary information.
- Use the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections inmate locator. This tool covers Lackawanna County Jail and is updated daily. Note: the locator only shows individuals under state jurisdiction or in a participating county facility.
- To check court cases, open the UJS Case Search portal — it allows free viewing of case information, including docket sheets.
By Phone
Call the jail's main line and provide the person's full legal name. The operator can confirm if they are in custody. If you know the date of birth or booking number, it will speed up the process.
In Person
Visit the jail's reception window during business hours. An ID is not required, but staff may ask for details to clarify the request.
Lackawanna County Prison
You will need:
- Full legal name and surname
- Booking number, if known
- Date of birth — helps distinguish individuals with the same names
Records of juvenile offenders are not displayed in the public registry. If the person has been transferred to a state-level facility, try the state inmate and parolee locator.
Find Lackawanna Jail Booking Records Online
A booking record is created at the moment a person is officially registered in the jail. It is not a court document — it is an internal administrative record of the facility.
During booking, the following data is recorded:
- Unique booking number
- Date and time of admission
- List of charges filed
- Arresting agency (Scranton police, county sheriff's office, etc.)
- Mugshot and physical description
You can obtain these records online through the state locator or by contacting the jail directly. The judicial part of the case — indictment, court decision, protocols — is maintained by the Lackawanna County Clerk of Judicial Records, which has been the custodian of Court of Common Pleas documents since 1878.
If you need an official copy of the booking record, submit a written request to the jail administration. For court documents, contact the Clerk of Courts at:
Search the Lackawanna Jail Roster by Last Name or Booking Number
The registry supports two main search methods.
By Last Name
Enter the last name in Latin script. Add the first name if the last name is common — for example, "Smith" will return dozens of results, while "Smith, David" will significantly narrow the list. Some systems accept partial matches: if you're unsure of the spelling, try the first few letters of the last name.
By Booking Number
The booking number is the most accurate identifier. It is unique for each booking case, so the result is always one record.
Practical tips:
- Check the spelling — one incorrect letter can hide the result
- Use the legal name, not a nickname or abbreviation
- If the search yields no results, it may mean the person has been released, transferred to another facility, or the registration process is not yet complete
If no method works, call the jail directly at 570-963-6718. Sometimes a record appears in the system with a delay of several hours after actual arrival.
Jail Roster Updates and Search Limitations in Lackawanna
The Pennsylvania inmate locator is updated daily. The internal jail database usually reflects changes faster — within a few hours after booking or release — but the exact frequency depends on staff workload.
Limitations to be aware of:
- Delay between arrest and appearance in the registry. The booking procedure takes time: fingerprinting, photographing, medical examination. A record may appear 2–8 hours after delivery to the facility.
- Disappearance of records after release. The registry reflects the current composition of inmates. After release or transfer, the record is generally removed from the public list.
- The registry is not an archive. It does not store the history of all past bookings. To obtain archival data, you need to contact the jail administration or the county public records section.
- Data entry errors. Name spellings sometimes contain inaccuracies, especially for foreign surnames. If the search yields no results, try an alternative spelling.
For checking individuals convicted of sex offenses, there is a separate resource — the Megan's Law registry, maintained by the Pennsylvania State Police. It is not connected with the county inmate registry and contains information about registered offenders regardless of whether they are in custody.