Search Ouray County Booking Reports

Ouray County booking reports are kept by the sheriff's office in the town of Ouray, a small mountain community in southwestern Colorado. With fewer than 5,000 residents, Ouray County is one of the smallest in the state. Bookings are infrequent compared to larger counties, but they still produce public records when they occur. The sheriff handles all law enforcement and maintains booking data for the county. If you need to find a booking report from Ouray County, the sheriff's office is the direct source, though statewide databases also pull records from this area.

Ouray County Sheriff's Office

The Ouray County Sheriff's Office is the law enforcement agency for the entire county. There are no municipal police departments here. The sheriff and a small number of deputies patrol the area and handle all arrests. The office phone number is 970-325-7272. When an arrest happens, the booking takes place at the county jail. The report created during that process includes the arrest details, the charges, and personal information about the person who was booked.

Ouray County does not have an online inmate search. Given the very small population and low booking volume, there is no web portal to check. You call the sheriff's office directly. Have the name of the person ready. Staff can look them up and tell you if there is a booking on file. For a written copy, submit a records request. The sheriff can walk you through the steps over the phone.

Statewide Booking Record Tools

Colorado's statewide tools work just as well for tiny Ouray County as they do for Denver. The VINE inmate notification system is free. Search by name after selecting Colorado. VINE shows the custody status of inmates across the state, including anyone held in the Ouray County jail. You can register for alerts by phone, email, or text. The toll-free VINE number is 1-888-263-8463.

The CBI Internet Criminal History Check costs $6.85 and searches arrest records statewide. Enter a name and date of birth. The system returns any matching records from all 64 Colorado counties. If someone was booked in Ouray County, it will be in the CBI database (unless the record has been sealed). The CBI check also shows records from other counties, so you get a full picture of the person's arrest history in Colorado.

The VINE search page below works for Ouray County inmates and inmates in every other Colorado jail.

For someone who ended up in state prison, the CDOC offender search is free and shows current state inmates, their sentence, and facility.

Note: These statewide tools are your best option for Ouray County since there is no local online search.

Booking Record Access Laws

The CCJRA at C.R.S. § 24-72-301 governs access to booking reports in Ouray County. This state law says records of official actions by law enforcement must be open to the public. That includes bookings. Under § 24-72-302, an arrest record has to include the person's name, charges, and the arresting agency. The Ouray County Sheriff is bound by these requirements.

You can request records in person, by mail, or by phone (ask how they prefer it). The sheriff's office has 3 business days to respond. An extension of up to 7 more days is allowed for large or complex requests. The first hour of research time is free. Additional time costs up to $41.37 per hour. Copies are $0.25 per page. In a small county like Ouray, a typical request is quick and should not cost anything beyond basic copy fees.

Colorado law at § 24-72-305.5 addresses booking photos. Mugshots are public, but posting them online and demanding payment for removal is a class 3 misdemeanor. Fines can go up to $1,000. You can get a mugshot from the Ouray County Sheriff through a normal records request.

When Records Are Sealed

Not every booking record stays public forever. Colorado courts can seal arrest records under certain conditions. If charges were dropped, dismissed, or never filed, the person can petition to have the record sealed. Once sealed, the Ouray County Sheriff will not release the record. It will not show up in a CBI search either. The CBI automatically removes sealed records from the statewide database. VINE will not show them. For all practical purposes, a sealed record ceases to exist in the public eye.

Juvenile booking records have their own rules and are generally not accessible to the public in Colorado. If you are looking for a juvenile record from Ouray County, access is much more limited than for adult records.

Nearby Counties

Ouray County is surrounded by other mountain counties on the Western Slope. Each one keeps its own booking records through the local sheriff.