Hillsborough County Jail Inquiry

In Hillsborough County, FL, the Department of Detention Services includes two major facilities, the Orient Road Jail and the Falkenburg Road Jail, and a work-release center.

Each year, more than 72,000 men and women are processed through the booking section at the Orient Road Jail located at 1201 Orient Rd, Tampa, FL 33619. The main phone number for the Orient Road Jail is (813) 247-8300.

From the website of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, you can search for an inmate recently arrest on the jail inquiry database.

During the booking process at the Orient Road Jail, each inmate goes through property intake, medical screening, fingerprinting, photographing, and a classification interview.

After the intake process, some inmates from the Orient Road jail are then transported to the Faulkenburg Road Jail.

The current sheriff in Hillsborough County is Chad Chronister. Sheriff Chronister was appointed by Florida Governor Rick Scott on September 30, 2017, to fill the position after the retirement of the former sheriff, David Gee.

Attorney on Visiting Inmates at the Hillsborough County Jail

If someone you know was arrested in Hillsborough County, FL, you should act quickly to help them find an experienced criminal defense attorney in Tampa, FL.

An attorney can give you advice about whether to immediately post the bond or ask the court to lower the bond amount at the first appearance hearing (PP court) the next morning.

An attorney can also visit the person at the jail any day of the week or file a bond motion to be heard on an emergency basis.

Although the public does not have face-to-face contact during visitations, a criminal defense attorney can meet in private with the accused to discuss their case in a confidential setting.

Many criminal defense attorneys, including the five attorneys at Sammis Law Firm, provide a free consultation at the jail to discuss the case. We can schedule a visit with a potential client in the jail within a few hours of the request.

If the person contacts you, remind them not to talk about the facts of the case over the phone. Prosecutors can order those jail calls and play them in court to show that a person is guilty.

Anyone incarcerated at the jail should avoid talking about the acts of the case except with their attorney during a confidential visitation at the jail until they are released from custody.

Call us at 813-250-0500 today.

Finding an Inmate in the Hillsborough County Jail

After an arrest, the person will be taken to the Orient Road jail or the Falkenberg Road jail. You can search for anyone in custody on the website of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.

From the website, you can find booking information including the inmate’s full name, date of birth, booking number, pending charges, and the bond amount, if any.

You can also look up information on the clerk of court website to find upcoming court dates, information about the judge and attorneys on the case, and documents that have been filed in the case.

Capacity at the Jails in Hillsborough County, FL

The Orient Road Jail has a rated capacity of 1,711. The jail has a receiving area for new admissions, Intake Housing, and the Central Breath Testing Unit. In 1998, the Falkenburg Road Jail opened with 768 beds. The facility was expanded in 2003 in order to add 1,536 more beds.

County detention facilities in Hillsborough County, FL, house inmates who have been arrested and are awaiting trial. Additionally, the facilities house inmates who have been convicted and sentenced to a felony or misdemeanor for less than one year of incarceration.

Visiting an Inmate at the Jail in Hillsborough County

After the inmate is booked into the jail, they can add your name to a visitation list. After your name is added to the list, you can schedule a visitation.

For visitations at the Falkenburg Road Jail and the Orient Road Jail, the jail only allows visitation through video without any possibility of having face-to-face contact.

Attorneys are allowed face-to-face contact with their clients, although, during the COVID-19 pandemic, attorneys are encouraged to meet with clients through non-recorded video conferences.

After you schedule the internet visit at the jail, your meeting will be confirmed for a certain date and time. Before you begin your internet visit with an inmate at the jail in Hillsborough County, you should verify you have the most up-to-date version of Adobe Flash Player.

Ensure that the webcam and microphone are connected to the computer and that the device drivers have been installed. Check that your internet speed is at least 400kbps download. Close all other programs that might use your webcam (Skype, Windows Live Messenger, etc.).

Then log in to your account and run the Internet Visit Tester. This will allow you to test your camera, microphone, audio output, and internet connection to the servers. For best results, use headphones to remove sound echo issues.

To join the internet visit with an inmate at the Orient Road Jail or the Faulkenburg Road jail, go to https://HCSOvisit.com/ and log in to your account. On the home page, you will see the Next Internet Visit.

Your account will show a timer counting down. When it reaches zero it means there are 15 minutes left before your visit is scheduled to begin, and it is time to check-in. Click on the Start Visit button.

This will take you to the Internet Visit Tester. Proceed through the tester. On the final page of the tester, you will see two video streams from your webcam.

Click on the Start Visit button in the bottom right corner of the screen to join the visit.

Professional Visits for Inmates in Jail in Hillsborough County, FL

How do attorneys schedule remote visits with their clients at the jail in Hillsborough County, FL. We prefer face to face visits to discuss the legal strategy, but sometimes a remove visit is helpful if we are giving the client an update.

For any inmate being held at Hillsborough Department of Detention Services, the facility requires approval for visitation through Smart Communications, although the approval is usually granted within a few minutes for a privately retained attorney.

To schedule the visit, you have to agree to the terms of use of Smart Communications which require you to”

“…release HCSO from any and all liability, claims, demands, or litigation arising from any injury or loss that occur to me, to any other person, or to any property, arising out of my sending content to an HCSO inmate. I understand that Smart Communications and HCSO monitors communications strictly for the purpose of ensuring compliance with their internal policies and does not monitor communications for the purpose of protecting users or other third partes from fraud or other damages. I agree to protect, indemnify and hold harmless, HCSO from any and all claims, demands, or litigation brought by any person, firm, or corporation, from any liability arising out of my sending content to an HCSO inmate. I understand and agree that, to the extent that they are applicable, HCSO does not waive and hereby invoke all limitations of liability, including but not limited to those found in Florida Statute §768.28 or the Federal Tort Claims Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2671 et seq.

I understand and agree that HCSO does not maintain and will not provide myself nor the recipient with copies (digital or physical) of this content. I understand and agree that any content that I transmit is and will remain the property of Smart Communications, and the recipient’s access to such content will terminate upon his/her release from custody and that any customer service concerns or questions should be directed to Smart Communications at www.SmartInmate.com.

If your device or computer has a camera attached you can use it to capture the required documents. If your device does not have an attached camera you will need to upload your files.”

This information was last updated on Thursday, January 29, 2026.