The Boulder County Jail is a large detention facility of 536 beds that primarily houses inmates who have been arrested, are awaiting trial, and are serving misdemeanor sentences in Boulder, Colorado. It is a progressive facility that offers a variety of self-improvement programs to help people in custody thrive in the outside world.
Click here to search for an inmate. Boulder County Jail is located at 3200 Airport Road, Boulder, Colorado 80301. If you wish to contact the jail, you can call (303) 441-4650 or (303) 441-4444. The lobby hours are Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
In this article, our Denver criminal defense attorneys answer frequently-asked-questions about Boulder County Jail in Boulder, Colorado, including bail procedures. Click on a topic to jump to that section:
- 1. How do I locate an inmate?
- 2. How do I bail out an inmate?
- 3. Can I phone an inmate?
- 4. When can I visit an inmate?
- 5. How do I give money to an inmate?
- 6. Can I send mail to an inmate?
- 7. What if an inmate gets sick or needs medicine?
- 8. Does the jail have a commissary?
- 9. Who gets booked at the County Jail?
- 10. Other information
1. How do I find a person in custody at the jail?
Click here for the jail’s “booking report” to search for people incarcerated at the jail. Or call the jail at (303) 441-3600.
Click here for the jail’s daily report, which lists individuals that have been booked at the jail within the last seven days. This may be a quicker inmate search for people who have been recently arrested.
2. How do I bail out a person in custody at the jail?
Call the jail at (303) 441-4650 for the most current bail information and procedures for a particular inmate.
People may post bail either by cash or through a bondsman. The benefit of using a bondsman is that the customer pays only 10% to 15% of the total bail amount, and the bondsman puts up the rest. But once the case resolves and the judge returns the bail money, the bondsman keeps that initial 10% to 15% as their payment.
Note that the Boulder Sheriff’s Office charges a $30 booking fee and a $10.00 bond fee.
3. Can I phone a person in custody?
No, a person in custody is not allowed to receive calls from individuals outside of the jail. But inmates are allowed to make collect calls out.
In order to receive inmate calls, the person needs to set up a prepaid account with Inmate Calling Solutions at (888) 506-8407.
All phone calls are recorded, so make sure not to say anything incriminating.
4. When can I visit a person in custody?
Visiting hours are Monday through Thursday between 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Friday between 7:30 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Note that inmates who have been booked within the last 90 days may not receive visitors.
Visitors must schedule their jail visits 24 hours in advance at (303) 441-4600. Visitors must bring a valid photo I.D. that states their date of birth.
4.1. Video visitation
The jail also offers video visitation, where people may virtually visit with an inmate from their computer or phone. To schedule a video visit, call (303) 441-4600.
Video visits are available during normal business hours, holidays, and weekends. The cost is $12 per 30 minutes or 45 minutes, depending on the inmate’s status.
All visits are recorded, so make sure not to say anything incriminating.
5. How do I put money on a person in custody’s books at Boulder Jail?
To put money on someone’s books, there are five options:
- Phone. Call (303) 441-3600 and pay by credit or debit card.
- Online. Click here for Touch Pay Direct.
- Kiosk. Go to the kiosk in the jail lobby at 3200 Airport Road, Boulder, Colorado 80301. It accepts cash, MasterCard, and Visa Debit.
- In-person. Go the jail at 3200 Airport Road, Boulder, Colorado 80301 and speak with reception.
- Mail. The jail does not accept personal checks. Instead send a money order, government check, or certified check with the inmate’s name on it to:
Boulder County Jail
Inmate’s Name (First, MI, Last)
3200 Airport Road
Boulder, Colorado 80301
6. Can I send mail to a person in custody?
Yes, inmates may receive mail at this address:
Boulder County Jail C/O (inmates name)
3200 Airport Road
Boulder, Colorado 80301
Inmates may not receive return envelopes, nude or explicit photos, bibles, or medallions. Any books must be sent directly from the publisher or Amazon.
Inmates may also send mail out to their friends, family and loved ones. Previously the jail permitted inmates to send only postcards. But the ACLU sued the jail, claiming the postcard-only policy violated the inmates’ privacy. Now inmates may mail letters in sealed envelopes.1
The jail reviews and reads all incoming mail, but be sure not to say anything incriminating.
7. Does the jail have medical care?
Yes, the jail has a medical unit that is staffed by professional nurses 24/7. Nurses assess all new inmates and are available to administer medication at any time. The jail also includes mental health clinics and a dental clinic.
8. Does the jail have a commissary?
Yes. If you wish to put money into an inmate’s commissary account, please reference question 5.
9. Who gets booked at the Boulder Jail?
The jail inmate population includes:
- people serving short sentences (usually for misdemeanor offenses)
- people who have violated probation
- people who are awaiting trial
- people who are awaiting sentencing
- people who are unable to make bail
- people who awaiting transfer to another facility
- people on ICE holds (the vast majority of these inmates are Mexican)2
10. Other information
The jail’s mission statement is that all inmates leave the facility in better condition than when they entered. To implement this vision, the jail offers upwards of 60 self-improvement programs to provide inmates with the opportunity to learn valuable life skills.
One of the unusual but popular programs the jail offers is LEAD with Comics, which teaches literacy through comic books.3
Well-behaved inmates also have opportunities to leave the jail under the supervision of a civilian crew boss to help set up such events as the Boulder County Fair.4
The jail also provides more traditional programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, and Footsteps. There are education classes that teach various occupational skills, parenting skills, and life skills. The jail also maintains a library.
Learn more here.
Arrested? Call a Colorado criminal defense attorney…
If you or a loved one has been arrested in Colorado, contact our Denver criminal defense attorney for a FREE meeting at (303)222-0330. We may be able to get the charges reduced or dropped so your record stays clean. And if necessary, we can fight for you all the way to trial.
Also see our list of Colorado jails.
Legal References:
- ACLU and Boulder County Jail Reach Settlement in Post Card Case, ACLU.org.
- Transfers of ICE Detainees from the Boulder County Jail, TRAC Immigration.
- Kristen Skovira, ‘Pop Culture Classroom’ helping inmates with literacy in the Boulder County Jail using comic books, ABC Denver 7 (December 14, 2015)
- Pierrette Shields, Boulder County Jail inmates work behind the scenes to keep fair moving, Colorado Hometown Weekly (July 31, 2013).