Nevada County Jail

The Nevada County Jail (aka the Wayne Brown Correctional Facility) is operated by the Nevada County Sheriff's Office, and it is located in Nevada City, California. The other correctional facility operated by the sheriff's department is the temporary housing facility located at the Joseph Center in Truckee, California.

The Wayne Brown Correctional Facility can house a maximum of 250 inmates. It houses adult males and females who have been arrested by county or municipal law enforcement and are awaiting trial and have not made bail, inmates who have been sentenced to the county jail, and inmates being held for transport to the California Department of Corrections.

Inmate Search

To find out if your loved one is being held in the Nevada County Jail, click here or use VINE (see below). 

VINE (Victim Information and Notification Everyday)

Victim Information and Notification Everyday (VINE) is a free and anonymous telephone service that provides victims of crime both information and notification. VINE monitors the custody status of offenders in the Nevada County Jail and receives updated information every 15 minutes.

The Toll Free Number for California VINE is 1.877.411.5588. Anyone can call the California State VINE line to determine an inmate's custody status. To search for offender information, callers will need one of the following items:

• Offender name or alias
• Secondary search option (if there is more than one offender with the same name), such as:
  • Arrest date
  • Date of birth
  • Middle initial
  • Offender identification number

VINE will let callers know about the offender's current custody status, the location of the inmate, and their offender number.

Prison Insights

Visiting Hours and Rules

Public visiting hours at the Nevada County Jail are Tuesday through Friday, from 9:00 am to 7:00 pm. There is no public visiting allowed with inmates who are housed at the Truckee location.

Visiting is BY APPOINTMENT ONLY and all visits are non-contact.  Arrangements must be made with the inmate you want to visit, as jail staff will not schedule visits. Inmates are allowed one 30 minute visit per week.  New visitors must complete a Public Visitors Request (PDF) located in the visitation lobby. Personal visits are subject to being recorded and/or monitored. 

Morning session:         9:00 am to 11:15 am
Afternoon session:      12:30 pm to 4:00 pm
Evening session:           5:15 pm to 7:00 pm

There is no visitation during lunch (11:00 AM - 12:30 PM) or during dinner (4:00 PM - 5:15 PM). The last morning visit must start before 10:45 AM and the last evening visit must start before 3:45 PM.

For specific inmate visiting hours, please call the Wayne Brown Correctional Facility directly at (530)265-1291. To see if your inmate is eligible for visitation, and to see the days and times they are available to visit, click here.

Tuesday:          A Section and N Section Females
Wednesday:    B section, Medical, D section, E section, F section, G section, N section Females
Thursday:        N section Males and N section Females

Friday is left open for a “make-up” day, N section Females.Only 1 visitation “spot” is open for females in N section during each 30-minute session for social distancing purposes

Please be advised that inmate visitation may be cancelled due to construction. This construction project is temporary and delays may happen without warning. You may call The Wayne Brown Correctional Facility at 530-265-1291 in advance of your visit to check for any cancellations/delays.

Visiting Rules

• Visitation is limited to two persons (1 adult and 1 child or 2 adults) per visit. 
• All visitors must be 18 years of age or older. Visiting minor children of an incarcerated parent must be accompanied by an adult. 
• Visitors must provide their current government-issued ID at the time of check-in. There are no exceptions to this rule. No ID, no visit. 
• Appropriate attire is required. 
• No cell phones or cameras are allowed. 
• Inmates under quarantine will not be allowed to visit until they have been cleared by medical staff. 
• A mask, face-covering, or face shield is mandatory. All visitors are required to have their temperature checked.

Inmates are permitted to receive an unlimited amount of mail per day. The following is prohibited in inmate mail:

• Books or magazines (except those sent directly from a publisher or reputable retailer)
• Hardcover books
• Blank paper, envelopes, or stamps
• Stickers, glue, glitter, glitter pen, paint, foam cutouts or other removable items
• Money (cash, money orders, personal checks, cashier checks)
• Polaroids or photos bigger than 8" x 11"
• Laminated items
• Gang writings or symbols
• Hate group writings or articles
• Anything involving drugs including pictures, books, magazines or written material
• Pornographic materials
• Violence
• Packages of any kind

How to Call an Inmate

Inmates at the Nevada County Jail cannot receive incoming phone calls. However, they have access to phones and can make outgoing collect calls from the inmate housing area. 

California law has established the right of an arrested person to make at least three free local telephone calls upon being booked: one call to an attorney, one to a bail bond agent, and one to a relative or other personal contact. Phone calls are recorded and may be monitored at any time.

How to Send Money

The Wayne Brown Correctional Facility has contracted with TouchPay for electronic funding of inmate trust accounts. Deposits can be made to an inmate trust account via credit card, debit card, or electronic check. 

TouchPay will need the facility locator number and the booking number for the inmate. The facility locator number is 295901 and the booking number can be found on the Current Inmates in Nevada County Corrections Facilities website. 

You will need to enter the numerical portion of the booking number. Do not include letters in TouchPay's system.

Programs For Inmates

The Nevada County Jail has not made this information publicly available.

Pictures of Nevada County Jail

Careers at Nevada County Jail

If you are interested in a career with the Nevada County Sheriff's Department and would like more information about the job openings at the Wayne Brown Correctional Facility or the temporary housing facility in Truckee, California, click here.