San Benito County Jail

The San Benito County Sheriff's Office Corrections Division operates the San Benito County Jail, which is located in Hollister, California. 

The San Benito County Jail houses:

• Adult males and females who have been arrested by county or municipal law enforcement and are awaiting trial (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.

The 28,000 square-foot facility has a maximum capacity of 124 inmates. It features two maximum-security modules with a capacity for 27 inmates each, and two medium-security modules with a maximum of 25 inmates each. 

The jail also has two separate housing units for female inmates. One can house up to 10 female inmates, and the other can house up to eight females. The average inmate population at the San Benito County Jail is around 100 inmates at any given time.

Inmate Search

To find out if your loved one is being held at San Benito County Jail, call the facility directly 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 San Benito 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

For the latest visiting information and schedule at the San Benito County Jail, please call the jail at 831-636-4060. 

Visiting Rules

Visitors must arrive 15 minutes prior to their scheduled visit to register with the Jail Administrative Officer. If the visitor is not registered 15 minutes prior to the visit, the visit will be canceled. Any cancellation will result in the inmate losing that visit for the week. Any visitor canceling a total of three visits will be removed from the visiting list.

Each visit can include one adult and two children. Adult visitors must present a valid Photo ID. Visitors under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.

All visitors must dress appropriately. Anyone who wears clothing or attire which is revealing, offensive, gang related, or distracting to others will not be allowed in the visiting room. Shoes and shirts are required. 

Visitors are not allowed to bring any property or food into the visiting room. This includes weapons of any kind, cell phones, purses, wallets, keys, sunglasses, etc. Only one key will be allowed. Lockers are available in the lobby for storage.

All visitors are subject to a search and will be run for Wants and Warrants via the Department of Justice system. Anyone who refuses to be searched will be denied the visit and escorted from the facility. Should a want/warrant be found on any visitor, they will immediately be placed into custody.

If you have been incarcerated at the San Benito County Jail within the past year, you are disqualified from visiting. Visitors on formal probation or parole, those who have a restraining order prohibiting contact with the inmate, and those convicted of a felony will not be allowed to visit.

All incoming inmate mail at the San Benito County Jail is opened and checked for contraband. It won't be read unless the staff has reason to believe it contains, "information relating to escape plans, criminal activities (in or out of jail), violation of facility rules, coded language, or racially inflammatory information."

The following items will not be accepted through the county jail mail service:

• Cash
• Cardboard
• Plastics, or anything laminated
• Anything GANG related (Photos, colors, writing, symbols)
• Drugs
• Two-ply cards will be separated (they are discouraged)
• Cards larger than 5×7
• Blank paper, cards, envelopes, stamps
• Staples and paper clips
• Items having suspicious stains or markings
• Letters or envelopes having stickers or labels on them
• Hard bound books
• Padded envelopes
• Artwork done with wax, water colors or heavy crayons
• Flowers
• Envelopes or items with tape
• Instant camera photos (i.e. Polaroid)
• Polaroid’s or photographs that are obscene or sexually suggestive, such as nude or partially nude persons
• Photographs larger than 4×6 (can only receive 5 at a time)
• Food items
• Packages
• Envelopes with stickers, lipstick, perfume etc.

Inmates are allowed to receive paperback books (no hard cover) through the US Postal Service if they are mailed directly from the publisher. They will not be accepted if sent by a bookstore or any other person.

How to Call an Inmate

Inmates at the San Benito County Jail cannot receive incoming phone calls. However, they have access to phones and can make outgoing collect calls from the inmate housing area on a daily basis. All calls from an inmate in the jail are collect.

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.

Friends and family can set up an account to accept collect calls from the County Jail by calling 877-650-4249. This service is provided by Global Tel Link which is a contracted vendor. You may also contact your service provider to set up a collect account.

How to Send Money

Friends and family can deposit into an inmate account for the commissary at the San Benito County Jail via internet, phone, walk-in or mail.

Online: Accesscorrections.com
Phone: 866-345-1884
Kiosk: located at the County Jail at 710 Flynn Rd. Hollister.

By Mail
You can mail a cashier’s check or money order made out to the San Benito County Sheriff (with the inmate's name and booking number) for deposit into the inmate's account. The address is as follows:

Inmates Name and Booking Number
Housing Unit
P.O. Box 920
Hollister, Ca 95024

Care Packages

You can order a care package for your inmate via Cacountypackages.com. Inmates are allowed to receive one 15-pound package per week. For more information call 800-546-6283.

Programs For Inmates

The San Benito County Jail teamed up with Gavilan Community College to provide academic/vocational education to both sentenced and non sentenced inmates. Additional programs are offered via local volunteers.

The following is a list of programs currently being offered at the San Benito County Jail.

• GED/Academic Preparation
• Career & Personal Development
• Writing Workshop
• Anger Management
• Substance Use Disorder groups
• Seeking Safety (Trauma Informed)
• Reentry Planning
• Alcoholics Anonymous
• Narcotics Anonymous
• Department of Child Support Services
• Veteran’s Services
• Medi-Cal Eligibility
• Ministry Services

Custody Alternative Program

Instead of incarceration, the San Benito County Sheriff's Jail Division offers an inmate Work Alternative Program. Known as the Custody Alternative Program (CAP), an inmate can qualify if they've received a jail sentence of 30 days or less. 

Registration for the program is done by appointment only. Please call 831-636-4123 to schedule an appointment and to pay the associated fees. The registration process takes approximately 30 minutes.

Pictures of San Benito County Jail

Careers at San Benito County Jail

If you are interested in a career with the San Benito County Sheriff's Department and would like more information about the job openings at San Benito County Jail, click here.