Transfers & Finding Someone in Illinois (IDOC)

In Illinois, the Department of Corrections (IDOC) decides where a person is held through reception, classification, and transfer. A newly committed person is first sent to a reception center for assessment, then assigned to a permanent prison. The person’s facility can change over time, so the IDOC Individual in Custody Search is the way to confirm where someone is currently held.

Reception and classification

A person entering IDOC custody is first sent to a reception and classification center, where staff conduct intake assessments — medical, mental-health, security, and program evaluations — before assigning the person to a permanent prison.

• Men are processed at the Northern Reception and Classification Center (NRC) near Joliet, on the Stateville campus. Some men’s reception also occurs in units at Graham Correctional Center and Menard Correctional Center.
• Women are processed at Logan Correctional Center in Lincoln.

Visiting is limited during the reception period. The person’s current facility should be confirmed on the Individual in Custody Search before any visit is scheduled.

How to find someone

IDOC provides the Individual in Custody Search, an online locator searchable by name or IDOC number. The result lists the person’s current facility, along with identifying details and projected dates.

The search covers people in IDOC custody only. People held in county jails — including those awaiting trial or sentencing, or held on local charges — do not appear in the IDOC search; county jail custody is separate (see below). A person who has an IDOC number but is not yet transferred from a county jail, or who has been released, may show a status other than a current prison assignment.

Why a location changes

A person’s facility is not fixed. Several routine processes move people between prisons:

• Classification. After reception, a person is assigned to a prison that matches the assessed security level and program needs. A later change in classification can prompt a transfer.
• Transfers. IDOC moves people between facilities for security, medical, mental-health, program, capacity, or disciplinary reasons. Transfers can happen with little notice.
• Facility changes. The historic Stateville Correctional Center maximum-security prison was emptied in early 2025 (a rebuild on the same site has been announced); the reception center (NRC) on that campus still operates. Logan Correctional Center has been slated to relocate to a new facility in the years ahead. Both are in progress, and a person formerly at one of these sites may now be held elsewhere.

Because of these processes, the facility where a person was first held may not be the current one. The Individual in Custody Search reflects the current assignment.

County jails are separate

People held in county jails are in the custody of the county sheriff, not IDOC, and do not appear in the IDOC Individual in Custody Search. This includes people awaiting trial or sentencing and people serving short local sentences. To locate someone who may be in a county jail, contact the county sheriff’s office or use that county’s own inmate-lookup system. A person typically appears in the IDOC search only after being transferred into IDOC custody.

Verify Before Acting

For the general, nationwide overview of this topic, see the national guide: Visiting Basics.