What TDCJ Runs
TDCJ means the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, the statewide adult correctional agency for Texas. It operates the adult felony prison system through the Correctional Institutions Division, supervises parole and mandatory supervision through the Parole Division, publishes public inmate information, and maintains a unit directory for state prisons and related facilities. A person appears in TDCJ records after transfer to state custody or another covered state correctional placement.
The TDCJ inmate population does not replace county jail rosters. A newly arrested person usually starts in a sheriff-run county jail or a city holding facility. County records track booking, bond, first appearance, and short-term custody. TDCJ records track state custody after conviction, state jail placement, parole-revocation custody, transfer, treatment, or a related state correctional status.
The TDCJ unit directory shows why a statewide locator matters. Texas units are listed by unit name, code, operator, gender, type, region, city, and county. The directory includes prisons, state jail and prison units, intermediate sanction facilities, substance abuse felony punishment facilities, pre-release units, geriatric facilities, medical units, developmental-disability program units, and private or multi-use treatment facilities.
The TDCJ home page is the agency starting point for statewide prison material.
That agency-level source is the right statewide anchor before narrowing a search to a unit, county, court, or release channel.
TDCJ Inmate Population
TDCJ's Fiscal Year 2025 Statistical Report is the main statewide source for the prison population snapshot. TDCJ reported 132,230 incarcerated inmates on hand as of August 31, 2025. The comparable FY 2024 total was 127,822 on August 31, 2024. That means the published one-year change was an increase of 4,408 incarcerated cases, about 3.4 percent. These figures are fiscal-year snapshots, not a live daily count.
Release totals show the scale of movement through state custody. In FY 2025, TDCJ reported 50,612 releases, or 52,750 releases and departures when departures were added. Prison releases totaled 37,587, including 6,774 discharges, 122 releases to community supervision, and 30,691 releases to parole, discretionary mandatory supervision, or mandatory supervision. State jail releases totaled 8,212, and SAFP releases totaled 4,813.
| Measure | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| TDCJ incarcerated inmates | 132,230 | TDCJ FY 2025 Statistical Report, August 31, 2025 |
| Prior-year comparison | 127,822 | TDCJ FY 2024 Statistical Report, August 31, 2024 |
| One-year change | 4,408 upward, about 3.4 percent | Comparison of TDCJ FY 2025 and FY 2024 reports |
| FY 2025 releases | 50,612 | TDCJ FY 2025 Statistical Report |
Use the TDCJ Inmate Locator
The official TDCJ Inmate Information Search is the primary public locator for state custody. TDCJ's inmate information page says location, offenses, and projected release date may be obtained online, by email, or by telephone. The online TDCJ inmate locator should be tried first when the person is already sentenced to state custody or has a known TDCJ number.
- Open the TDCJ inmate locator and search by the TDCJ number if it is known.
- If the number is not known, search by exact name and use date of birth, approximate age, county of conviction, or SID number to separate similar names.
- Review the record for current unit, offense of conviction, projected release date, parole-related fields, and identifying details.
- If no record appears, check whether the person is still in county jail, federal custody, ICE custody, juvenile custody, or a contract bed.
- Use the TDCJ email route for general inmate information when the online record is not enough.
The official TDCJ search form is the direct entry point for state-prison lookup.
That locator is for the TDCJ inmate population, not for every Texas jail booking made by county sheriffs.
TDCJ Inmate Record Fields
A TDCJ record is built around state custody, conviction, and release data. TDCJ's public inmate information materials list categories that can be requested without charge by email, including TDCJ number, location, offense of conviction, incarceration history, current incarceration offense, county and court of conviction, and projected release date. The same categories explain what users should expect from the locator and from written general-information requests.
| Field | What It Means |
|---|---|
| TDCJ number | The seven-digit state identifier used for direct TDCJ lookup and email requests. |
| Current location | The unit, facility, or placement tied to the inmate's current state custody record. |
| Offense of conviction | The offense information tied to the current incarceration record, not a county booking allegation. |
| County and court of conviction | The Texas county and court connected to the sentence that sent the person to TDCJ custody. |
| Projected release date | A calculated date affected by offense date, offense type, credits, parole review, and eligibility rules. |
| Incarceration history | Prior or current state custody history available through TDCJ's public information channels. |
TDCJ states that photos and Social Security numbers are not provided to the public through the general email information route. That point is important for mugshot searches. County jail booking photos, when public, are a county roster or local records issue rather than a TDCJ email service.
The TDCJ inmate information hub summarizes the online, email, and phone routes for state custody.
The hub helps separate a quick online locator search from a more formal request for general inmate information.
TDCJ Prisons and Units
TDCJ's institutional map is not one type of prison repeated statewide. The unit directory lists correctional institutions, state jails, intermediate sanction facilities, SAFPF facilities, medical and geriatric units, pre-release units, developmental-disability program units, and private or contract treatment facilities. It also identifies the operator, city, county, region, gender, and unit type.
Security should be described as classification-driven rather than as a single public label for each unit. TDCJ uses custody classifications and security precaution designators tied to time served, disciplinary history, offense history, escape risk, staff-assault concerns, and other factors. A person can move as classification changes, medical needs change, program placement changes, or release processing begins.
| Directory Element | How It Helps a Search |
|---|---|
| Unit name and code | Confirms the state facility shown on an inmate record. |
| City and county | Places the unit in the Texas locality where mail, visitation, or travel questions arise. |
| Operator | Shows whether the unit is TDCJ Correctional Institutions Division or another listed operator. |
| Facility type | Distinguishes prisons, state jails, treatment facilities, medical units, and sanctions facilities. |
The TDCJ unit directory is the statewide source for facility type, region, city, and county.
The statewide facility directory rolls those TDCJ units together with county jails, BOP institutions, ICE facilities, and regional detention entries from the locality research.
TDCJ Release and Parole
A projected release date is not a simple promise. TDCJ explains that the date depends on offense date and nature of offense. For some offenses before September 1, 1996 that are eligible for mandatory supervision, release occurs on the projected date if the person is not paroled. For eligible offenses on or after September 1, 1996, release to mandatory supervision is discretionary with the Board of Pardons and Paroles. If the person is not approved or is not eligible, the projected date may function as the discharge date.
Good conduct time also needs careful wording. TDCJ family and orientation materials explain that good time may affect eligibility for parole or mandatory supervision, but rules vary by offense date and offense type. Some assaultive offenses do not use good conduct time to calculate parole eligibility. State jail offenders have a different framework, because good conduct time, parole, and mandatory supervision do not work the same way for state jail sentences.
State jail diligent participation credit is a separate rule set. TDCJ's diligent participation material says that, for certain state jail felony offenders with offenses on or after September 1, 2011, TDCJ reports days of diligent participation to the sentencing judge before the offender completes 80 percent of the sentence. A judge may credit up to 20 percent of the sentence for qualifying participation. Refusal to work, attend school, complete assignments, or participate in required treatment can affect eligibility.
Important: Parole eligibility starts review in many cases, but release depends on the parole panel, sentence law, credits, detainers, and custody status.
TDCJ vs County Jail
Texas inmate search often fails when county jail and TDCJ custody are mixed together. A person arrested today is usually listed by the county or city that booked the person. A sentenced state prisoner is searched through TDCJ. A federal defendant or federal prisoner is searched through the Bureau of Prisons. A person in immigration detention is searched through ICE ODLS. The same person may move from one system to another as a case develops.
| Custody Question | Use This Channel | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Just arrested or waiting for court | Texas county directory | County jail rosters track local booking and pretrial custody. |
| Serving a Texas state sentence | TDCJ inmate locator | TDCJ controls the sentenced state-prison record. |
| Federal criminal custody | BOP inmate locator | BOP covers federal inmates from 1982 to present. |
| Immigration detention | ICE ODLS | ICE requires biographical or A-number search details. |
Texas IVSS-Counties adds notification rather than replacing those custody locators. The Attorney General's victim-notification material says Texas transitioned from legacy VINE to IVSS-Counties effective September 1, 2025, with notifications for booking, release, court events, death, escape, and transfer to TDCJ custody.
TDCJ Records Requests
For general inmate information, TDCJ instructs requesters to email the inmate's full name and seven-digit TDCJ number to the agency's listed email route. If the number is not known, the request should include exact date of birth or approximate age and county of conviction, with the inmate name in the subject line. TDCJ lists available no-charge categories, including location, offense of conviction, incarceration history, current incarceration offense, county and court of conviction, and projected release date.
For records beyond ordinary inmate-location information, use the TDCJ Public Information Act request form. Texas Government Code Chapter 552 is the statewide Public Information Act source for executive and local government records. The TDCJ form asks for requester contact details, redaction preference, delivery method, request text, and date range. TDCJ notes that inmate phone and visitation records are not releasable under the Public Information Act.
The TDCJ email request page lists the details needed for a written inmate-information request.
Use that route when the locator result needs context, but use the formal Public Information Act form for broader TDCJ records.
The TDCJ public-information form handles records requests that go beyond basic locator information.
That form is the statewide agency path, while county jail record requests still go to the sheriff or local agency that holds the booking record.
TDCJ Inmate Population FAQ
How large is the TDCJ inmate population? TDCJ reported 132,230 incarcerated inmates on hand as of August 31, 2025 in the FY 2025 Statistical Report. The figure changes as admissions, releases, transfers, paroles, and discharges occur.
Does TDCJ show county jail inmates? No. TDCJ is the state-prison and state correctional system. A recent arrest or pretrial jail stay is usually listed by the county sheriff or city holding agency.
Does TDCJ provide inmate photos by email? TDCJ's email information page states that photos and Social Security numbers are not provided to the public. Booking photos, when available, are a local jail roster or public-records issue.
Is a projected release date guaranteed? No. TDCJ explains that projected release dates depend on offense date, offense type, eligibility, parole or mandatory-supervision rules, credits, and related decisions.