Auburn Jail Custody Overview
Auburn Jail is the older of the two Placer County jail facilities and remains a core sheriff-run detention site. It is a county jail, not a California state prison. The operator is the Placer County Sheriff's Office Corrections Division, and the custody population includes people booked by Placer County agencies, people waiting for court, sentenced county jail inmates, and people held on local charges or holds.
The building is part of the Richardson Drive government and justice area in Auburn. The official facility history says the current Auburn Jail opened in July 1985. It was funded through Proposition 4 and first rated by the California State Board of Corrections for 108 inmates. The population passed that rating quickly. Within two months, the jail count reached 148, and by 1990 it had grown to 272. A federal court order in 1990 limited daily population to 148, which pushed Placer County toward a major addition.
The 1992 addition added 260 beds. Its layout matters for Auburn Jail inmate custody because it explains the housing mix still tied to this site: two medium-security dorms with 92 beds each, one medium-security dorm with 44 beds, and one maximum-security module with 32 beds. The dorms use direct supervision, meaning a custody officer works inside the housing unit while other supervision also occurs from a booth.
Auburn Jail Capacity History
Auburn Jail capacity must be read with care. The official page gives several historic numbers, but the most important caution is that the old minimum-security barracks are closed. Those barracks were former World War II Army warehouse buildings from 1941, with two male units and one female unit. They held 160 beds before they closed on May 31, 2014, and those inmates moved to South Placer Jail.
The often-cited historical Auburn total was 646 including six infirmary beds, but that figure included the closed barracks. It should not be treated as current Auburn Jail capacity. For current countywide population context, the BSCC Jail Profile Survey and Placer facility pages are better sources than older jail-history summaries. BSCC data inspected for 2025 show Placer Sheriff's Department monthly average daily population ranging from 761 to 826 across the county jail system.
| Auburn Jail Measure | Source Detail |
|---|---|
| Opened | July 1985, official Auburn Jail page. |
| Original rating | 108 inmates, California State Board of Corrections rating. |
| 1992 addition | 260 beds in dormitory and maximum-security housing. |
| Historical total | 646 including six infirmary beds, but only before barracks closure. |
| Barracks closure | Minimum-security barracks closed May 31, 2014. |
Auburn Jail Inmate Lookup
Current Auburn Jail custody is searched through the official Placer Who's In Custody portal. The county Corrections page says that system gives the most recent inmate information. Static research could not confirm every visible search field because the portal renders as an app, so do not rely on a copied third-party form. Use the official roster first and call Auburn Jail if the arrest is too new, the person has been moved, or the name search does not return a match.
- Open the official Who's In Custody portal from the sheriff's Corrections page or direct ATIMS/LE link.
- Search the person by the information the portal requests, using the legal name when possible.
- Confirm the current holding facility before planning a visit, sending legal mail, or asking about bail.
- If no match appears, call Auburn Jail or check whether the person belongs in South Placer Jail, CDCR, BOP, ICE, or court records.
For broader lookup guidance, the countywide Placer County jail inmate records page explains the roster, records request, CDCR, federal, ICE, and VINELink channels in one place. VINELink may be useful for notification, but it is not a substitute for the county roster or a direct jail call.
Auburn Jail Address
Use the facility phone number for custody status, same-day booking questions, bail arrival questions, and practical visitor questions. The sheriff's main office is nearby on Richardson Drive, but jail-specific questions should start with the jail number or the official Corrections page. For booking records, incident records, or a booking photo not shown online, the sheriff uses the PCSO NextRequest public-records portal.
Auburn Jail
2775 Richardson Drive
Auburn, CA 95603
530-745-8500
Call before traveling for lobby, visit, bail, and same-day custody questions.
Auburn Jail Visiting Rules
Placer jail visitation includes on-site and remote video options through the county's listed video visitation system. Personal visitors must check in at least 30 minutes before the visit start time. A valid photo ID is required, such as a driver's license, military ID, passport, immigration card, or state ID. An expired ID may be accepted only if it is not more than two years expired and still looks like the visitor.
Visitors under 18 must be with a responsible adult. A person who has been in custody within the past 120 days, including booked and released the same day, cannot make a personal jail visit, though the research notes that this rule does not apply to video visits. Visitors with felony convictions who served state prison time need written commander consent to be on jail grounds under Penal Code 4571. No-contact orders involving the inmate block visits.
| Visit Rule | Auburn Jail Detail |
|---|---|
| Check-in | At least 30 minutes before the visit start time. |
| Visitor limit | Two adults and one minor child, or one adult and two minor children. |
| Security | Visitors may be searched and must pass a walk-through metal detector. |
| Devices | No cell phones, computers, tablets, or smartphones in visiting areas. |
| Recording | Personal visiting phones are monitored and recorded. |
Auburn Jail Mail and Money
Placer inmate rules changed in 2026. Effective March 24, 2026, personal and business mail for Auburn Jail inmates goes through Smart Communications MailGuard, not the Auburn facility address. MailGuard scans personal mail so inmates can view it electronically through kiosks and tablets. The sender must clearly print the inmate name and booking number. Released people retain SmartInmate access to mail for 30 days.
Legal mail and court documents still use the Auburn Jail facility address. Money deposits and commissary orders have several paths. Money orders or cashier's checks are accepted, but the public page and rulebook differ on whether the per-item cap is $175 or $150, so verify the current limit before mailing funds. Personal checks are not accepted. Online commissary orders go through MyCarePack, while Smart Deposit and Access Corrections handle phone and lobby kiosk deposits.
| Service | Auburn Jail Detail |
|---|---|
| Personal mail | Smart Communications / Placer County (Auburn Jail), Inmate Name (# Inmate Number), PO Box 9229, Seminole, FL 33775-9229. |
| Legal mail | Placer County Sheriff's Office - Auburn Jail, Inmate Name (# Inmate Number), 2775 Richardson Drive, Auburn, CA 95603. |
| Commissary orders | Placed through kiosks or tablets before the Tuesday lockdown cutoff, with Thursday delivery subject to holidays. |
| Online orders | MyCarePack, with an online order maximum documented as $300 per transaction. |
| Phone deposit | Smart Deposit / Access Corrections at 866-394-0490. |
| Gross Deposit | Web | Phone | Lobby Card | Lobby Cash |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $0.01-$19.99 | $3.95 | $4.95 | $4.00 | $4.00 |
| $20.00-$99.99 | $6.95 | $7.95 | $4.00 | $4.00 |
| $100.00-$199.99 | $8.95 | $9.95 | $4.00 | $4.00 |
| $200.00-$300.00 | $10.95 | $11.95 | $4.00 | $4.00 |
Auburn Jail Booking Path
Placer County does not publish a full booking checklist for every arrest, but the research supports the basic local custody path. After arrest, a person is transported to a jail booking or intake unit based on arrest location, capacity, classification, and operational routing. Auburn Jail or South Placer Jail may receive the person. Identification, property intake, booking photograph, fingerprints, medical screening, mental-health screening, and classification can occur before housing is assigned.
The inmate rulebook refers to the Jail Identification Number or P#. The last six digits are used for initial commissary and tablet login, then the inmate creates a PIN. Classification determines housing and privileges based on current behavior, charges, criminal history, and past jail conduct. A person who does not appear in Who's In Custody on the same day may still be in booking, in court transport, released, transferred, or held in a different system.
Note: Confirm custody, visiting status, mail rules, and bail arrival details with Auburn Jail before traveling or sending funds.
About Auburn Jail
Auburn Jail has a local history that affects how Placer County jail records are read. The original 1985 jail, the 1990 federal population cap, the 1992 addition, and the 2014 closure of the old minimum-security barracks all explain why older capacity references do not match current operations. South Placer Jail now carries minimum-security and growth-related capacity that Auburn once handled through older warehouse-style units.
Bail may be processed 24 hours a day at Auburn Jail. The official Placer bail page says that after 7 p.m., anyone arriving with a bail bond should contact the jail first. Licensed bail agents may receive the bail amount, charges, court case number, court date and department, and jail identification number. Holds, warrants, no-bail orders, probation or parole holds, and other agency detainers can still block release after a bond question is answered.