San Quentin Prison Overview
San Quentin Rehabilitation Center is operated by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. It is a state prison in Marin County, not a Marin County Jail unit. CDCR describes San Quentin, formerly San Quentin State Prison, as California's oldest correctional institution, dating to 1852. It sits on 432 acres overlooking San Francisco Bay and includes large cell blocks, restricted housing, a Central Health Care Service Building, a medium-security dorm setting, and a minimum-security firehouse.
The facility houses sentenced CDCR incarcerated people, including Level I, II, and III populations. The research notes general population, Enhanced Outpatient, and Correctional Clinical Case Management System populations. This distinction matters for search users. The Marin County Public Booking Log covers current county jail custody and last-48-hours still-in-custody bookings. San Quentin custody is state-prison custody, so the correct search route is CDCR CIRIS.
In 2023, Governor Gavin Newsom announced plans to transform San Quentin into a rehabilitation center. That shift does not change the lookup rule: a person in San Quentin is searched as a CDCR incarcerated person, and visitation, mail, money, phone, parole, and victim-notification information all follow CDCR statewide systems.
San Quentin Population
San Quentin's population should be kept separate from the Marin County Jail population. The state-prison count is much larger and would distort county jail trends if mixed into one local jail table. CDCR lists San Quentin design capacity as 3,084. The CDCR TPOP1 weekly report dated May 27, 2026 reported San Quentin population of 2,346, 76.1 percent occupied, and staffed capacity of 3,207. The April 30, 2026 monthly TPOP1 report listed 2,355 people, 76.4 percent occupied, and staffed capacity of 3,403.
Those figures come from CDCR population reports rather than the sheriff's booking log or BSCC local jail data. Statewide CDCR totals also show why San Quentin belongs in a separate facility category: the May 27, 2026 report listed 88,050 people in CDCR institutions and camps and 129,462 total CDCR population when parole and other groups are included.
Search San Quentin Inmates
The correct locator for San Quentin Rehabilitation Center is CDCR CIRIS. CIRIS covers current CDCR incarcerated-person custody. It can be searched by CDCR number or by name, and the commitment county filter can include Marin County. Current location is the key field for San Quentin custody. CIRIS is informational and may contain errors or omissions, so it is not the same as a certified court or prison record. If a person cannot be found, CDCR points users to the Identification Unit at (916) 445-6713.
- Open CDCR CIRIS, not the Marin County Public Booking Log.
- Search by CDCR number when known, because that is the most precise state-prison identifier.
- For a name search, enter the last name and use first name, middle name, age range, or commitment county to narrow results.
- Review the current location field to confirm San Quentin Rehabilitation Center.
- Use parole, Board of Parole Hearings, and victim-notification information only as informational status clues unless an official record is needed.
The image below shows the official CDCR CIRIS locator used for San Quentin and other California state-prison searches.
San Quentin Contact
San Quentin's public facility contact is through CDCR. The physical address and main phone are useful for facility identity and family contact, while mail should include the incarcerated person's full legal name, CDCR number, and last known housing or bed number when known. The mailing ZIP in the research file differs from the street ZIP, so mail should follow CDCR's facility instructions.
San Quentin Rehabilitation Center
100 Main Street
San Quentin, CA 94964
(415) 454-1460
Mailing address: San Quentin Rehabilitation Center, San Quentin, CA 94974
Visit San Quentin
San Quentin visitation is governed by CDCR statewide approval and scheduling rules, not by Marin County Jail's GTL VisitMe schedule. The CDCR visiting status page listed San Quentin as open for in-person visiting in the April 17, 2026 status captured in the research file, but visiting status can change. A visitor must be approved by CDCR and by the incarcerated person before scheduling. Most institutions use CDCR's Visitation Scheduling Application for in-person and video visits.
The practical order is approval first, status check second, scheduling third, and preparation last. Visitors should check CDCR visiting status, follow the CDCR visitation process, and use the CDCR scheduling instructions before travel. State-prison visits can be affected by housing, health, discipline, staffing, lockdown, or facility status.
| Step | Detail | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Approval | Visitor must be approved by CDCR and the incarcerated person. | Required before scheduling |
| Status check | Review current CDCR visiting status for San Quentin close to the visit date. | In-person status control |
| Scheduling | Use CDCR's VSA where available for in-person or video scheduling. | State-prison scheduling |
| Preparation | Follow CDCR identification, dress, property, and arrival rules. | Visitor compliance |
San Quentin Mail Money
CDCR mail should include the incarcerated person's full legal name, CDCR number, institution name, and housing or bed number if known. Incoming letters are opened and inspected for contraband. CDCR states that most incarcerated people have access to outgoing phone calls, and state-prison audio calls became free to incarcerated people and friends or family on January 1, 2023. Calls are limited to 15 minutes. Tablet and e-message availability may depend on current CDCR and facility rollout status.
Money can be sent through paid electronic vendors, a no-fee JPay lockbox, or checks and money orders mailed to the institution. CDCR restitution deductions can apply, including up to 50 percent plus a 10 percent administrative fee from trust deposits when restitution applies. The CDCR send-money page is the source for these deposit options.
| Service | Provider / Detail |
|---|---|
| Mail Address | Full legal name, CDCR number, San Quentin Rehabilitation Center, housing/bed if known, San Quentin, CA 94974 |
| Phone | State-prison audio calls are free, with calls limited to 15 minutes. |
| Paid EFT | GTL/ConnectNetwork, JPay, and Access Corrections, usually posting in 1-3 days. |
| Lockbox | No-fee JPay lockbox, maximum $999.99 per coupon, no notes or letters. |
| Institution mail money | Checks or money orders payable to CDCR, with a 30-day hold. |
San Quentin Intake
San Quentin intake is not street-arrest booking. After conviction and sentence to CDCR, a person leaves local jail custody and moves through state intake and classification. The county booking log may stop showing the person after transfer. CDCR systems then control the location record, prison classification, mail format, visiting approval, phone rules, trust account, parole dates, and victim-notification data.
- CDCR
- California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the state agency that operates San Quentin.
- CIRIS
- CDCR's public incarcerated-person locator for current state-prison custody.
- Commitment county
- The county connected to the state-prison commitment. It can help narrow a CIRIS search but does not prove current location.
- Parole eligible date
- A date field that may change because of credits, rules violations, court orders, law changes, or audits.
San Quentin History
San Quentin is one of Marin County's most visible correctional landmarks, but it serves a statewide role. Its history begins in 1852, and CDCR now describes it as San Quentin Rehabilitation Center rather than San Quentin State Prison. Facility areas include West, South, North, and East cell blocks, restricted housing, health care space, a medium-security dorm setting, and a minimum-security firehouse. Those operational areas explain why a public locator result may identify San Quentin without exposing the full internal housing picture.
Release and parole questions should be handled through CDCR channels. CIRIS may show parole-eligible information or Board of Parole Hearings actions when applicable, but CDCR warns that locator data is informational and not an official record. Victim notification can involve CDCR victim services and California VINELink. County jail pages may still help when a Marin case is new, but state-prison custody belongs in CDCR systems after transfer.
Note: Recheck CDCR custody location and visiting status before traveling to San Quentin.