Grand Traverse County Jail Overview
The Grand Traverse County Corrections Division operates the Grand Traverse County Jail at 320 Washington Street in Traverse City. The facility is also described as the Grand Traverse County Correctional Facility. It is run by the Grand Traverse County Sheriff's Office and holds the county's local jail population: people arrested by local law enforcement, people held on court orders or warrants, pretrial detainees, sentenced local jail inmates, and people awaiting transfer to MDOC or pickup by another agency.
The jail is not just a housing unit. The Corrections Division provides custody, care, security, supervision of inmate-population activity, bailiffs and security for Grand Traverse County courts, long-distance state transports to MDOC, and pickup of people arrested on local warrants or court orders. This makes the jail closely tied to the downtown court campus. A person may have jail custody records, bond information, and a court case in separate offices within a few blocks.
Grand Traverse Jail Population
Official Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee material gives the jail's documented capacity as 168 beds. A March 2021 county CJCC agenda packet noted 148 inmates in custody and about 70 unsentenced people. Earlier official minutes from November 2018 said inmate movement becomes difficult at 80% capacity. Those figures show why a jail can be crowded in daily use before every rated bed is filled.
Recent local reporting in 2026 described a practical operating range of about 140 to 145 inmates and said the jail reached nearly 200 people on several occasions in 2025. Those recent numbers are useful context, but the official county materials remain the stronger source for the rated capacity and the 2021 point-in-time population.
Lookup Grand Traverse County Jail Custody
Grand Traverse County's research does not support claiming that a complete public roster profile is available online. The county's documented public route is MI-VINE for custody status, the jail phone for confirmation, and sheriff FOIA for booking records that are not posted. Sentenced state prisoners move to MDOC OTIS and should not be searched as county-jail inmates.
- Use Michigan VINE to search custody status and register for release, transfer, or escape notifications.
- Call the jail at 231-922-4532 during business hours or 231-922-4530 after hours if VINE does not answer the custody question.
- Have the person's full legal name, approximate age or date of birth, arrest date, and arresting agency ready.
- Use the sheriff online FOIA form for booking records, release records, charge sheets, or booking photographs that are releasable.
- Search MDOC OTIS, BOP, or ICE only if the person is no longer in local jail custody.
Custody rule: VINE and the jail answer custody status. Clerk and court databases answer filed court charges after arrest.
Grand Traverse Jail Address
The Corrections Division lists weekday business hours for corrections questions, while the county facility listing separately shows lobby hours. Use the jail numbers for custody and inmate-service questions. Use the sheriff administrative office on Woodmere Avenue for broader sheriff records or public-service contacts.
Grand Traverse County Jail
320 Washington Street
Traverse City, MI 49684
231-922-4532 business hours
After hours / jail: 231-922-4530
Corrections business hours: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
Grand Traverse County Sheriff's Office
851 Woodmere Avenue
Traverse City, MI 49686
231-995-5000
Non-emergency dispatch: 231-922-4550
Grand Traverse Jail Visitation
Grand Traverse County uses video visitation through Combined Public Communication and InmateSales. Onsite video visits use jail lobby kiosks and are free. Remote video visits can be scheduled from a computer, tablet, or mobile device, but they carry a per-minute cost. The county says visitation is a privilege and may be denied, limited, suspended, or terminated when rules are not followed.
The Grand Traverse County inmate visitation page shows the CPC schedule, visitor access steps, and remote rate.
The schedule should be checked before travel because onsite visits are lobby-kiosk video visits, not a traditional face-to-face jail visit.
| Visit Type | Schedule | Duration / Cost | Access Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Onsite video | 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday-Saturday, excluding holidays | 30 minutes, once per week, no cost | Uses jail lobby kiosks. |
| Remote video | 8 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday-Saturday | $0.20 per minute, 20-minute session limit | Schedule through CPC / InmateSales. |
| First-time access | Before the visit | Account setup required | Request access, select facility, select inmate, and agree to terms. |
Mail Phone and Money
Mail rules at Grand Traverse County Jail are narrow. General mail must be a pre-stamped white USPS postcard measuring 3.5 by 5.5 inches with a handwritten or typed return address. Legal mail is accepted if clearly marked. Letters, clippings, inmate-to-inmate mail, blank stationery, books, magazines, newspapers, stamped envelopes, and decorated postcards are not accepted.
Phone and video service use Combined Public Communication and InmateSales. New admissions receive three free five-minute calls. After that, calls can be accepted by the recipient or funded through prepaid accounts. Express Account handles inmate funds, care packages, and some bond web deposits, while the jail lobby kiosk handles cash and credit card deposits.
| Service | Provider or Rule | Grand Traverse Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Mail address | Inmate Name, Grand Traverse County Jail, 320 Washington Street, Traverse City, MI 49684 | Use only accepted postcard format unless legal mail. |
| Phone | CPC / InmateSales | Three free five-minute intake calls, then paid or prepaid calling. |
| Remote video | CPC / InmateSales | $0.20 per minute, 20-minute session limit. |
| Funds | Express Account, phone, lobby kiosk, or money order | Fees apply except no published transaction fee for money orders. |
Grand Traverse Jail Bond Fees
Grand Traverse County publishes detailed bond and fee instructions. Bonds may be paid through the jail using Express Account online, by phone, or through the jail lobby kiosk. Court bonds may also be paid directly to the relevant court when the court directs payment there. The county warns that vendor transaction fees apply to credit card transactions and cash kiosk transactions, and that court bond payments must be paid in full.
| Item | Amount or Rule | Source Context |
|---|---|---|
| Booking fee | $12 | Charged to each person booked into the facility; deducted first from deposits if outstanding. |
| Warrant processing fee | $10 | Collected in addition to bond money for arrests pursuant to warrant. |
| Room and board | $40 first day, $20 each additional day for served time after sentence | County cites Michigan's Prisoner Reimbursement Act. |
| Medical treatment | Partial reimbursement may be billed | County says no inmate is denied medical care because of inability to pay. |
Grand Traverse Jail Booking
Booking at Grand Traverse County Jail begins after arrest, warrant pickup, or court order. Intake can include identity confirmation, warrant or charge verification, property handling, medical and mental-health screening, booking fee assessment, biometric capture, classification, and housing or release processing. Bond or hold information may come from the court, warrant, probation, parole, federal, immigration, or another agency source.
- Booking
- Administrative intake into jail after arrest.
- Arraignment
- The first court hearing where rights, charges, and bond are addressed.
- Detainer
- A notice or hold from another agency that may prevent release.
- Classification
- The jail decision about housing and security needs.
The booking record and court record should be read together. The booking record explains jail custody. The court record explains filed charges and the case path after arrest.
Directions to Grand Traverse Jail
The jail is in downtown Traverse City near the county court and government complex. Visitors coming from US-31 or Front Street should route toward downtown Traverse City and turn toward Washington Street near the Hall of Justice and county campus. Visitors coming from M-37 or Division Street should enter the downtown street grid and continue toward Washington Street. Visitors coming from Garfield Avenue should cross toward downtown and use local streets to reach Washington Street.
Parking, court events, Cherry Festival closures, winter weather, and downtown construction can affect travel near the jail. Confirm live routing before leaving. The county's facility listing shows the jail lobby schedule separately from corrections business hours, so check whether the trip is for lobby access, bond, visitation, court, or records before traveling.
Note: Confirm custody, visitation access, and the right counter before traveling to the downtown jail or court campus.