Montgomery County Booking Reports
Montgomery County booking reports are kept by the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office in Mount Vernon, Georgia. These records document each person taken into the county jail, listing their name, charges, and booking date. The sheriff's office does not have a public online inmate search at this time. You will need to contact the office directly or file an Open Records request to get booking data. This page covers the key steps and points you to the state tools that can help fill the gap.
Montgomery County Quick Facts
Booking Records at the Montgomery County Jail
The Montgomery County Sheriff in Mount Vernon runs the county's detention facility. Under O.C.G.A. § 42-4-7, every sheriff in Georgia must keep a booking register for all persons placed into county custody. The register must include each person's name, age, sex, race, charges at booking, and the dates of intake and release. Montgomery County follows this requirement. The records are public.
There is no online booking roster for Montgomery County. To check on a current inmate, call the sheriff's office during business hours. For records going back further, a written Open Records request is the standard path. Georgia law, specifically O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 et seq., requires a response within three business days. The first 15 minutes of search time is free. Time beyond that may carry a cost.
When you submit your request, be as specific as possible. Include the person's full name, any alternative spellings, and the date or rough time frame of the booking. A vague request takes more time and may result in a partial response or additional fees for extended search time.
Georgia Bureau of Investigation GCIC program page for statewide arrest and criminal history records
The GBI GCIC database is a statewide resource that includes arrest data from Montgomery County and all other Georgia counties.
Reading a Montgomery County Booking Report
A booking report is a record of the arrest, not the trial. The charges listed are the ones that existed when the person came in. Those charges can change later. A prosecutor may add charges, drop some, or reduce them based on the evidence. The court handles all of that after the booking is done. If you want to know what happened in court, you need to contact the Montgomery County Superior Court Clerk in Mount Vernon separately. That office has case numbers, hearing dates, and case outcomes.
Georgia law under O.C.G.A. § 35-1-19 limits what sheriffs can do with booking photos. They may not share them with commercial mugshot sites. This is a statewide rule. If you need a photo for a legitimate reason, you can request it through the Open Records process and explain your need. Certain exemptions under O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72 may apply, so the sheriff's office has some discretion in what it releases.
Note: Being listed in the Montgomery County booking records does not mean the person was convicted. The Georgia Sheriffs' Association reports that nearly 68% of Georgia county jail inmates statewide are awaiting trial rather than serving sentences.
Tracking Inmates with VINE
VINE is a free service that monitors inmate status in Georgia county jails. If you want alerts when someone held at the Montgomery County Jail is released or moved, sign up at VINELink.com. You pick your alert method: phone, text, or email. VINE checks the jail system continuously and sends you a notification as soon as the person's status changes.
The service is available to anyone. It does not require a fee or a reason. Many families use it to track release dates without having to call the jail. Attorneys and legal staff use it too. VINE does not share charge details. It focuses solely on custody status changes.
When Someone Leaves Montgomery County Jail
Not everyone who goes through the Montgomery County booking process stays in the county jail. Some people are transferred to other facilities while awaiting trial. Others are convicted and sent to a Georgia state prison. Once a person transfers to state custody, the GDC database is where you will find them, not the county jail system. Use the GDC offender search or the direct GDC query form to check state prisons.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation's GCIC database is a broader resource that covers all Georgia arrests and case outcomes. It is not the same as the county jail booking log or the GDC prison database. GCIC ties together data from law enforcement and courts statewide. Access requires a scheduled appointment. Call 404-244-2639 or go to the GCIC program page. You can also review the GBI FAQ first.
Record Restriction and Sealed Records
Georgia law provides two main ways to limit public access to arrest records. Under O.C.G.A. § 35-3-37, people whose charges were dismissed or who were acquitted can petition to have those records restricted from public GCIC reports. This does not affect the county jail's booking register, which is a separate system.
The First Offender Act, O.C.G.A. § 42-8-60, allows first-time offenders to complete their sentence without a formal conviction on their record. Once they finish, the conviction is sealed at the GCIC level. The original Montgomery County booking record still exists at the jail level. Both systems are independent. Making a change to one does not automatically update the other.
Nearby Counties
Montgomery County is in central-east Georgia, bordered by several counties that each maintain their own jail booking systems.