Arrest Records in Union County
The Union County Sheriff's Office is the main local arresting and booking agency. Florida Highway Patrol may create a traffic or crash-related arrest report while UCSO books the person locally. The Florida Department of Corrections Inspector General holds records of prison-facility investigations, and other state or federal agencies retain their own reports. The originating agency owns the report even when the Union County Jail owns the booking entry.
One event can create four related trails: the officer's probable-cause or incident report, the jail intake file, the prosecutor and Clerk's court case, and the fingerprint-supported FDLE cycle. Those records can differ lawfully. Charges may change, be declined, or be dismissed after booking. Each trail answers a distinct records question.
No Union County Booking Roster
The official UCSO site displayed no public inmate-search form, current roster, arrest blotter, or sheriff mobile app when inspected July 17, 2026. Do not replace that absence with a third-party people-search site or a roster from another Union County. Call 386-496-2501 to ask whether a person is currently held and request the booking or case identifier.
The 36-bed Union County Jail stands at 50 NW 1st Street in Lake Butler, just north of the courthouse. It holds convicted and unconvicted felony and misdemeanor detainees. A person who has been released may no longer be reflected in a current-custody answer, so request the nonexempt booking record when historical proof is needed.
Union County Arrest Lookups
Use a full legal name plus date of birth or approximate age when possible. Add the arrest date, location, agency, charge, or known report number. This chain covers every verified local and state channel.
- Call UCSO at 386-496-2501 with the full name and approximate arrest time to ask about present custody and identifiers.
- Contact the arresting agency for its report. For UCSO records, use Room 102, sheriff@unionsheriff.us, telephone, or mail.
- Use Florida VINE for eligible custody and release notifications, but not as a criminal-history search.
- Ask the Union County Clerk at 386-496-3711 whether charges were filed and obtain the docket or final disposition.
- Use the FDLE Florida criminal-history channel for a broader statewide record, or FDLE Personal Review for one's fingerprint-based self-review.
A notice to appear may create a court case without a jail booking or fingerprint cycle. Conversely, an arrest may remain in UCSO files even if the prosecutor files nothing.
Union County Arrest Request Details
The UCSO Records Unit stores, maintains, and releases departmental reports under Florida Public Records Law. A focused request reduces same-name mistakes and helps staff locate the right event.
- Full legal name and date of birth
- Case, arrest, or booking number
- Incident date and approximate time
- Exact location and arresting agency
- Deputy name or known charge
Requests go to Captain Lyn Williams, records custodian, at sheriff@unionsheriff.us, 386-496-2501, or the Room 102 counter. People who do not want their email address captured in another public-record response may use phone, mail, or the counter. Copy charges were not confirmed in the research, so ask for an estimate.
UCSO Records Unit
55 W. Main Street, Room 102
Lake Butler, FL 32054
386-496-2501
Weekdays, 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
Arrest Records: What They Contain
A normal Union County booking file may show the event fields below. UCSO publishes no sample profile, so housing, medical, classification, and similar internal fields should not be assumed public.
| Booking Number | The jail identifier for the custody event. |
|---|---|
| Booking Date & Time | When the jail accepted and processed the person. |
| Arresting Agency | The deputy, trooper, inspector, or other agency that created the arrest report. |
| Charges | Initial alleged offenses and statutes, subject to later prosecutor review. |
| Bond | The recorded bond or hold status at that point in the custody process. |
| Booking Photograph | An agency record when public, but exemptions and redactions may limit release. |
| Release Status | Release date or current custody status when recorded and available. |
Fingerprints, aliases, demographics, warrant information, court, and release data may also appear. A photograph and charge are not proof of guilt.
Union County Bookings Reach FDLE
The jail's automated fingerprint equipment links to FDLE and national criminal-justice systems. A qualifying fingerprint submission can become an arrest cycle in FDLE's Computerized Criminal History repository. Courts later report dispositions so the cycle can show how the case ended.
Gaps still occur. Fingerprints may not have been submitted, identifiers may fail to match, or a disposition may arrive late. A direct-file case or notice to appear can exist without the same fingerprint trail. The FDLE CCH data explanation describes those repository limits.
FDLE Instant Search costs $24 plus a $1 card-processing charge and is name based. It covers Florida information reported to FDLE, not a nationwide FBI record. Only fingerprints establish positive identity.
Note: Compare the UCSO booking, Union Clerk disposition, and FDLE return before deciding that a record is complete.
Recent Union County Bookings
UCSO does not publish a complete daily booking log. News releases may describe selected operations, but they are not an arrest census. For a recent event, call the jail, obtain the booking identifier, and then request the public portion of the record. First appearance occurs within 24 hours for a person kept in jail, according to the local victim-rights brochure.
Florida VINE can send eligible release or custody notices. It is useful because Union County lacks an online roster, yet VINE is not proof of every past arrest and is not a rap sheet. Register for notification only after confirming the person and facility.
The official Union County Jail page describes the local facility and its VINE participation. Its absence of a roster makes direct agency contact the central route.
Union County Arrest Record Routes
Record ownership follows who performed each task. An FHP arrest can yield an FHP report, a UCSO booking, and a Union Clerk case. An FDC Inspector General investigation can remain with FDC while the Eighth Circuit State Attorney prosecutes and the Clerk stores the filed docket.
| Question | Best first office | Record |
|---|---|---|
| Why was the arrest made? | Arresting agency | Incident or probable-cause report |
| Was the person booked locally? | UCSO / Union County Jail | Intake and custody record |
| What charges were filed? | Union County Clerk | Circuit or County Court docket |
| What appears statewide? | FDLE | Florida criminal-history return |
Start with the event question, then choose its custodian. One portal cannot answer all four.
Union County Arrest Access Limits
Chapter 119 generally permits inspection of nonexempt agency records, but UCSO must redact protected information. Juvenile arrest material is ordinarily confidential, with narrow exceptions. Victim information, active-investigation facts, protected addresses, and other statutory fields may also be withheld or obscured.
Crash reports have a special 60-day restricted period under section 316.066. Sealed or expunged material changes public access only after a signed order and agency processing. A custodian may redact exempt parts rather than withhold an otherwise public record in full.
Do not infer guilt from an arrest photo, charge, or jail stay. Do not republish private identifiers. The correct next step for a disputed record is to obtain the arrest report, the final court disposition, and a fingerprint-supported FDLE Personal Review for one's own record.
Arrest Records vs Conviction Records
An arrest documents that an agency took a person into custody or initiated a charge process. A conviction requires a guilty plea or judgment in court. The two records have different creators and can end differently.
| Arrest Record | Conviction Record |
|---|---|
| Created by the arresting agency and jail | Created and maintained through the court |
| Shows an arrest or booking occurred | Shows a finding or plea of guilt |
| Lives with UCSO or the originating agency | Lives with the Clerk and may be reported to FDLE |
| May end in release, no filing, or dismissal | May lead to sentence, appeal, sealing, or expunction proceedings |
Note: An arrest is not proof of guilt; charges may never be filed or may end in dismissal or acquittal.
Union County Custody Tools
The Florida VINE portal provides custody and release notification support.
It helps track custody changes but does not replace the Sheriff's booking file or Clerk's disposition.
The FDC Offender Information Search covers state prison and adult felony supervision.
FDC results should not be confused with current custody in the Union County Jail.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons locator is the official federal custody search.
Use it only for federal custody, not a local Union County booking.