Iosco County Jail Overview
Iosco County Jail is operated by the Iosco County Sheriff's Office as a county jail and local detention facility. The official jail page places the jail in Tawas City and states that it has served the community for more than 50 years. Sheriff Scott D. Frank leads the Sheriff's Office, and Captain Brian Golden is listed as jail administrator. The facility is not a state prison, federal prison, or immigration detention center.
The jail holds pretrial detainees, people sentenced to local jail terms, people held on local or in-state charges, and people approved for court and sheriff-authorized work release. The county's bond page also references Friend of the Court bonds. A person sentenced to MDOC custody after an Iosco County case should be searched through OTIS after state intake, not through the county jail. Federal and immigration custody use separate national locator systems.
Iosco County Jail Contact
The jail, sheriff's office, district court, circuit court, and prosecutor are all in the W. Lake Street county-government area in Tawas City. For custody questions, visitation, bond information, mail, phone accounts, and jail records routing, use the jail address rather than the courthouse address. The official jail subpages list a fax number and identify Captain Brian Golden as the jail administrator.
Iosco County Jail
428 W. Lake Street
Tawas City, MI 48763
(989) 362-6164
Fax: (989) 984-1103
Operator: Iosco County Sheriff's Office
Jail administrator: Captain Brian Golden
Use the jail phone number before traveling for a visit or a payment. Official pages do not publish a visitor parking map, jail-specific public transit stop, or dedicated ADA entrance note. Visitors who need accessibility instructions should call the jail before arrival.
Lookup Iosco County Jail Custody
No official online public Iosco jail roster was found. The county's inmate-information rule says staff can tell family members and friends whether a person is lodged and the amount of bond or fines necessary for release. No other information can be provided by staff under that page's privacy statement. Written booking and release records, reports, or booking-photo requests should go through the county FOIA process or the Sheriff's Office FOIA request packet.
- Call Iosco County Jail at (989) 362-6164 with the person's full legal name, date of birth if known, and approximate arrest date.
- Ask whether the person is lodged and whether a bond or fines amount is available for release.
- If staff cannot provide more detail, ask the inmate to contact family or use a formal records request for public records.
- Register with Michigan VINE for custody-status notifications where available.
- Search MDOC OTIS if the person has moved to state prison, parole, probation, absconder, or recent-discharge status.
- Use the BOP inmate locator for federal custody and ICE ODLS for immigration detention.
County jail custody is different from a court case. Jail staff can report the narrow release-related facts the county allows. Court charges, hearings, and case outcomes should be checked through MiCOURT and the Iosco County courts.
Iosco County Jail Capacity
The official jail page gives Iosco County Jail a rated capacity of 63 beds and lists Captain Brian Golden with four corporals and nine correction officers providing safety and security for the facility. The county did not publish a current daily public inmate count, an annual booking total, or a live jail population dashboard in the official jail pages reviewed. The most defensible current facility statistic is therefore the county-published rated capacity.
The jail page emphasizes safe and healthy conditions, respect, dignity, and inmate welfare. It also states that harassment of inmates is not tolerated. Out-of-cell activities may occur once a week, and the program list includes church and bible study, GED classes, AA programs, the sheriff's work program, and future programs when requirements are met.
Medical care is also handled inside the jail system. Except in emergencies, inmates must submit a Medical Request. The medical department is on call 24/7, a nurse is in-house three days each week, and a doctor visits one day per week. Advanced Correctional Healthcare is listed as the medical contractor.
Iosco County Jail Visitation
Iosco County Jail visitation has a 72-hour custody wait for sentenced and non-sentenced inmates before personal visits. Attorney and clergy visits are not part of that personal-visit waiting period. The inmate is responsible for contacting family and friends, and each eligible inmate gets one 30-minute on-site visit per week. Remote visits are available through CIDNET and must be set up and paid for by family or friends.
| Visit type | Rule / schedule | Vendor / contact |
|---|---|---|
| On-site personal visit | One 30-minute visit per week after the 72-hour eligibility wait. Hours are 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. daily. | Iosco County Jail, (989) 362-6164 |
| Remote visit | Family or friends must set up and pay for the visit. | CIDNET |
| Attorney/clergy | Not included in the 72-hour personal-visit wait. | Coordinate with the jail |
| Minor visitors | Visitors must be 17 or accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. | Parent or guardian supervision required |
| Misconduct | Misconduct by a visitor or inmate terminates the visit and can restrict future visits. | Jail discretion |
Iosco Jail Mail and Money
Jail mail, phone, and money services are practical parts of an inmate lookup because custody must be confirmed before family or friends spend money. Mail must be received through the U.S. Postal Service. The jail opens and searches mail for contraband before it is uploaded to inmate kiosks. The address format is the inmate's name followed by the jail street address. The jail says it no longer accepts mail at P.O. Box 59 and that mail sent there will be returned.
| Service | Provider / Detail |
|---|---|
| Mail address | Inmate Name, 428 W. Lake Street, Tawas City, MI 48763. Return name and address required. |
| Mail limits | U.S. Postal Service only. Polaroid pictures, pornographic pictures, and drawings are not accepted. |
| Phone calls | Outgoing calls only from cell phones in the jail cells. Calls are recorded for security and officer safety. |
| Phone provider | Combined Public Communications / InmateSales, or 1-877-998-5678 for talk time. |
| Phone hours | Phones are on from 7:00 a.m. to midnight. |
| Money and care packs | Inmate trust account deposits, care packs, bond, and booking-fee payments may route through JailATM. |
| Allowed drop-offs | Eyeglasses and prescription medicine in original pill containers, subject to approval. |
No outside items are allowed in the facility except approved items such as eyeglasses or prescription medicine. Personal property is documented and placed in a locked locker assigned to the inmate. Money held at lodging is deposited into the Inmate Trust Fund.
Iosco County Jail Fees
Iosco County publishes several specific jail and release-related costs. These amounts should be confirmed with the jail or court before payment because a court order, hold, or release condition can change what is due. Staff cannot make change for cash bond payments, so exact cash is required when cash is accepted.
| Fee / Cost | Documented Amount | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Booking fee | $12 | Required by law according to the county bond page. |
| Sentenced inmate reimbursement | $20 per day | Charged while lodged under prisoner reimbursement, with hardship plans possible. |
| Work release | $20 per day | Payments must be made in advance daily or weekly. |
| Indigent pack | $2.21 | Deducted from the trust fund for basic hygiene and correspondence items. |
| Tether cost | Not specified | Work-release participants must pay tether cost, but the amount was not published in the research source. |
Iosco Jail Booking Intake
Iosco County Jail intake starts after a person is brought to the facility on a local arrest, warrant, court order, or local sentence. The county does not publish every booking step, so standard jail intake details should be treated as general context: identity checks, warrant or case checks, property inventory, health screening, classification, and housing assignment. Classification means the jail's internal process for safety, housing, and program placement.
The county does publish a specific contraband statement rule. Incoming inmates are read the statement, and after it is read, possession of illegal drugs, cell phones, or weapons can result in a five-year felony charge in addition to the original charge. That makes contraband screening more than a routine intake note. It is a local legal-risk point for people entering the jail.
Iosco Jail Programs
Programs at Iosco County Jail include church and bible study, GED classes, AA programs, the sheriff's work program, and future programs where eligibility or program requirements are met. Work release is a privilege, not an automatic right. It can be granted by the court and authorized by the sheriff, and some inmates may be denied based on charges or past criminal history.
The work-release page states that an inmate sentenced on a drug-related crime will not be allowed out on work release. Participants must read and sign work-release rules, pass a drug test, and remain subject to random testing while on work release. Rule violations can end the privilege. Work-release participants pay the documented daily fee and must also pay tether costs, although the tether amount was not specified in the research file.
Note: Confirm custody, visit eligibility, and payment instructions with Iosco County Jail before travel or sending funds.