Madison County Jail Overview
Madison County Sheriff's Office operates Madison County Detention Facility, also called Madison County Jail in local records and police pages. It is a county jail, not a state prison, federal prison, or juvenile detention center. People held there may be awaiting a first court event, serving a short local sentence, waiting for a bond decision, held on a probation or parole matter, or waiting for transfer after a state sentence.
The public adult facility map for Madison County centers on this one jail. Huntsville Police says Madison County Jail processes all inmates in Madison County, including City of Huntsville arrests. City of Madison arrest and warrant matters also feed into county custody when a person is booked and held. The roster includes arresting-agency abbreviations such as MCSO, HPD, MPD, ALEA, CRT, PRB, and BAIL, so a roster match can involve a sheriff case, a city case, a court hold, or another agency hold.
Juvenile custody is outside the adult roster path. The Neaves-Davis Center for Children is a secure juvenile facility in Huntsville, but juvenile detention and juvenile court records do not work like the public adult Madison County jail roster. Nearby Limestone Correctional Facility is also not treated as a Madison County adult jail because the Alabama Department of Corrections lists it in Limestone County, even though it has a Harvest address and serves as nearby state-prison context.
Madison County Jail Population
The strongest official population figure located for Madison County Detention Facility is the live count published in the sheriff's current inmate roster. On May 27, 2026, the roster heading displayed 1,202 current inmates. That number is a point-in-time roster count. It should not be described as rated capacity, average daily population, annual admissions, or a jail bed count.
Rated capacity was not located on the official sheriff or county pages reviewed for Madison County Detention Facility. Older summaries and local news have described the jail as near the 1,200 range, but those items were not treated as official capacity sources. For public use, the more precise statement is that Madison County's live roster showed 1,202 people in current jail custody on May 27, 2026, while the official rated capacity was not found in the sheriff's published jail information.
Roster counts can change after arrests, releases, bond postings, court hearings, state-prison transfers, and administrative holds. Madison County is a large North Alabama county anchored by Huntsville, Madison, Redstone Arsenal, and suburban and rural communities, so the detention facility serves a broad set of arrest sources rather than a single police department.
Look Up Madison County Inmates
For a person believed to be in Madison County Detention Facility, the correct first lookup tool is the sheriff's public roster, not the Alabama Department of Corrections locator. The roster is free, public, and has current and released tabs. It shows roster cards with mugshots, names, booking numbers, booking times, demographics, charge summaries, bond amounts, holds, and profile links. For a broader walkthrough of county roster records, see the Madison County jail inmate records page.
- Open the official Madison County inmate roster from the sheriff's site.
- Use the Current tab for someone still in jail custody, or Released for a recent release. The site does not state how long released records remain online.
- Search by first or last name. If the match fails, try only the last name, a shorter spelling, or the date sort.
- Open the profile link to review the booking number, charge table, arresting agency, court type, disposition, bond type, bond amount, and holds.
- Call 256-519-4800 when the exact bond amount, charge list, case number, or current custody status matters.
Sentenced state-prison custody is different. After transfer to state prison, use the Alabama Department of Corrections inmate search, which searches current ADOC prisoners by AIS number or name. Federal sentenced prisoners are searched through the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator. Immigration detention is searched through ICE's Online Detainee Locator System when the person is in ICE custody or in CBP custody long enough to appear there.
Madison County Jail Contact
The jail booking information line is the practical fallback when the online roster is unclear or a bond amount must be confirmed before payment. The sheriff's jail information page also lists a separate administration phone and fax. The sheriff administrative office is downtown at Northside Square, but the detention facility contact card below is the jail-specific route for custody, booking, and approved property interactions.
Madison County Detention Facility
815 Wheeler Ave NW
Huntsville, AL 35801
256-519-4800
Jail booking information: 24 hours
Administration: 256-519-4839
Fax: 256-519-4840
Mail should not be sent to the physical street address. The sheriff's jail information page gives the inmate mail route as P.O. Box 2047 in Huntsville, with the inmate's first and last name and booking number. The booking number is visible on roster cards and full profiles, so it should be confirmed before mailing.
Madison County Jail Visitation
Madison County Detention Facility uses remote inmate visitation through NCIC. The sheriff's jail information page says inmates must be incarcerated for 30 days before visitation is allowed. Visitors create an NCIC account, upload a clear government-issued ID image for approval, and schedule appointments online up to 48 hours before the visit. The inmate may have up to three visits per day, and late visitors receive only the time left in the scheduled session.
| Visit Type | Schedule or Rule | Cost or Provider |
|---|---|---|
| Remote visits, Monday-Friday | 8:00-10:00 a.m.; 12:00-3:30 p.m.; 5:00-6:00 p.m.; 8:00-10:00 p.m.; no Wednesday visits listed | NCIC, $0.30 per minute plus tax |
| Remote visits, Saturday-Sunday | 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.; 8:00-10:00 p.m. | NCIC, $0.30 per minute plus tax |
| Account approval | Required before the first visit | Government-issued ID image required |
| Attorney visits | Face-to-face or video when authorized | Government ID and valid bar card required |
The facility may cancel or suspend visits for safety or security reasons. The sheriff page notes facial detection during video visits and says a gray screen appears when no face is detected. Visits while driving are suspended. Attorney accommodations are handled by jail administration rather than the ordinary family remote-visit process.
Madison County Jail Mail and Money
Personal mail for Madison County Detention Facility is digitized and delivered through housing-area kiosks. The original personal mail is retained for seven days, and the inmate may designate a person to retrieve it. If no approved pickup occurs during that period, the original is discarded. Reading materials must come directly from a publisher or bookstore, and only softback books are accepted.
The sheriff's jail information page is the source for mail, visitation, phone, messaging, commissary, and medical-item rules. A captured view from the Madison County Sheriff's Office jail information page shows the official route for those facility rules.
The jail-information page matters because it gives the operating rules that do not appear on every roster profile, including the mail format, remote visitation limits, phone rates, and approved item procedures.
| Service | Provider or Detail | Cost or Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Mail address | Inmate first and last name, booking number, Madison County Jail, P.O. Box 2047, Huntsville, AL 35804 | Return address required |
| Remote visitation | NCIC account and approved ID image | $0.30 per minute plus tax |
| Inmate phone calls | NCIC Inmate Communications | Local, in-state, and out-of-state calls $0.16 per minute |
| Mexico calls | NCIC Inmate Communications | $0.25 per minute |
| International calls | NCIC Inmate Communications | $0.35 per minute |
| Voicemail | NCIC prepaid account | $1.50 for a three-minute message |
| Secure message | NCIC approved messaging account | $0.25 per message plus tax; no photos or attachments |
| Fund release | Pistol Permit Office, 603 Fiber Street, after approved inmate request | No public release fee located; one request within first 60 days |
| Commissary pickup | Kimble's Commissary Office, Room 120, main facility | No refunds; held five business days after release |
Commissary and fund release rules are more limited in the public material. The current jail page says an inmate may request release of funds once within the first 60 days of detention, with pickup at the Pistol Permit Office at 603 Fiber Street from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. Commissary orders placed before release are held five business days and may be picked up at Kimble's Commissary Office, Room 120, in the main facility during posted pickup windows.
Madison County Booking Intake
Booking begins when a person arrested by the sheriff, Huntsville Police, Madison Police, ALEA, probation/parole, a court, or another local authority is taken to Madison County Detention Facility. The booking record creates the booking number and time that later appear on the roster. The jail also inventories personal property at intake. Most property is stored for only 30 days, with exceptions for items such as wallet contents, keys, cell phone, jewelry, identification, legal documents, and a purse.
For felony-warrant and district-court matters, the jail information page says the arresting agency may need to obtain warrants through the Madison County Magistrate Office, a process that may take up to 48 hours. Once the warrant or contract is received, a district-court inmate may receive a 72-hour hearing to be told the charges and bond. City of Huntsville inmates use the City Magistrate for bonding information, while City of Madison inmates use Madison Municipal Court for municipal bond questions.
State-sentenced transfer has its own property limit. The jail rules say inmates ordered to the Department of Corrections and transported to Kilby Correctional may take legal mail, white commissary shoes, ten pictures, five stamps, and five envelopes. Other property must be picked up within 14 days from departure.
Madison County Jail Programs
Madison County's public jail pages describe several service areas rather than a broad public program catalog. Food service is provided by Summit, and healthcare is provided by Southern Health Partners under county approval. The sheriff page says HIPAA prevents the facility, staff, and healthcare contractor from discussing inmate healthcare with family or friends.
Medication, eyeglasses, contacts, and approved medical items may be dropped off or picked up daily from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., subject to medical personnel and jail administration approval. Religious materials are limited along with books, magazines, and newspapers. The jail also publishes a detailed funeral-viewing policy for eligible inmates, with local Madison County limits and review factors such as charge type, bond amount, classification, criminal history, and disciplinary history.
Note: Confirm custody, visit approval, mail format, and property rules with Madison County Detention Facility before travel or payment.