New Hanover County Jail Overview
New Hanover County Sheriff's Office Detention Division operates New Hanover County Detention Facility as the county's local confinement facility. The jail sits on the sheriff's Juvenile Center Road campus in Castle Hayne and handles the county custody side of arrests made by sheriff's deputies, Wilmington police, beach-town police departments, state officers, and other agencies that bring adults into New Hanover County custody. It is not a state prison. It holds people who are waiting for booking to finish, waiting for first appearance, held on bond or no-bond orders, serving a local sentence, awaiting transport, or held under another lawful local custody reason.
The sheriff's detention page describes a round-the-clock operation with four detention squads supervising the inmate population and a fifth squad handling transportation, classification, front desk work, logistics, and related duties. Booking and intake are staffed 24 hours a day. Classification is the process staff use to make housing and supervision decisions after intake. The same official source names housing units in visitation instructions and describes appointment-based family and attorney contact. For broader jail population context, the New Hanover County inmate population page separates county jail counts from state prison and federal custody.
New Hanover County Jail Population
The best local population figures in the research come from official sheriff material and the active P2C roster. The sheriff's Detention Division page reports that the jail population varied but averaged 569 inmates daily in 2014, and that the facility booked 10,641 people that year. Of those annual bookings, 8,104 were male and 2,537 were female. The current rated capacity was not located in the captured county source, so no current jail capacity number should be assumed.
P2C showed 476 active inmate records when the official live roster JSON was checked on June 23, 2026. That number is a point-in-time active roster count, not an annual average and not a capacity figure. A person can drop out of P2C after release, transfer, court movement, state prison intake, or correction of a record. That is why a no-result search should be followed with the jail phone line, VINELink, court records, or the right state or federal locator.
Search New Hanover County Jail Roster
Current New Hanover County Detention Facility inmates are searched through the sheriff's P2C Inmate Inquiry. That roster is free and does not require a login. It is the correct channel for local jail custody, including people recently booked into the county facility. It is not the right channel for sentenced state prisoners at New Hanover Correctional Center, federal sentenced prisoners, or ICE detainees.
The Sheriff-to-Citizen home page also links active inmate information, active warrants, and event searches. If a search result is missing, check spelling, try fewer name fields, use the advanced filter, or call the jail. For custody-change alerts, NC SAVAN/VINELink is a separate notification channel that covers county jail inmates, state prisoners, probationers, parolees, and registered sex offenders according to state research.
- Open the P2C Inmate Inquiry and begin with the last name. Add the first name only if the list is too broad.
- Use Filter Inmate List when basic name search is weak. The advanced filter can use race, sex, age, charge, arrest date, and booking agency fields.
- Review the result columns for name, primary charge, arrest date, and booking agency. Observed records used New Hanover So as the booking agency.
- If no record appears, check whether the person was released, has not posted yet, moved to court, transferred to NC DAC, held federally, or listed under a different spelling.
The sheriff's P2C Inmate Inquiry shows the public roster grid and its first-name, last-name, filter, pagination, and result-column controls.
The screenshot fits this facility because P2C is the county jail search tool for New Hanover County Detention Facility, while state prisoners must be searched through NC DAC.
New Hanover Detention Contact
For public-facing custody questions, the detention facility and sheriff's office use the same main phone listed in the official research. Search P2C before calling when possible because the public roster can confirm many current-custody questions without tying up staff. For county-created records that are not available online, the county uses NextRequest, but formal court records, criminal case files, divorce records, traffic matters, and civil disputes are routed to the Clerk or Judicial Branch rather than the county portal.
New Hanover County Detention Facility
3950 Juvenile Center Road
Castle Hayne, NC 28429
910-798-4200
Booking and intake are staffed 24 hours a day; visitation is appointment-based.
Detention Records and Requests
Detention fax: 910-798-4163
County records portal: NextRequest
Clerk for court records: 316 Princess Street, Wilmington, NC 28401
Clerk phone: 910-772-6600
New Hanover Jail Visitation
New Hanover County Detention Facility visitation is by appointment only and must be scheduled by the inmate. The official general rule says visits occur between 1 p.m. and 9 p.m. daily, with each inmate allowed two 45-minute visits per week and up to two adult guests per visit. All visitors must provide approved photo identification. A separate posted in-person visitation section lists more restrictive unit-based rules and time slots, so visitors should confirm the current rule before leaving for Castle Hayne.
| Visitation Item | Official Detail | Practical Note |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduling | Appointment only; scheduled by the inmate | Do not arrive without a confirmed appointment. |
| General hours | 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. daily | Published as a broad window, not a guarantee for each unit. |
| Visit length | 45 minutes | Plan extra time for check-in and ID review. |
| Frequency | General rule says twice per week | A separate posted section listed one per week; confirm first. |
| Photo ID | Required for all visitors | Bring approved government photo identification. |
| Posted time slots | 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, and 9 p.m. | Listed in a separate in-person visitation notice. |
Note: Call 910-798-4200 before travel if a housing unit, child-visitor rule, or appointment time is unclear.
New Hanover Jail Mail Money
Mail rules are detailed and time-sensitive. Beginning December 1, 2025, non-legal inmate mail is routed to a Longview, Texas scanning address under NCIC mail standards. The envelope must include the inmate name, inmate ID number, facility name, and a return address. Only 8.5 by 11 inch paper is accepted, no more than five pages may be sent, and scanning is front-side only. One photo may be included per mailing. Greeting cards, colored paper, copied photos, cash, stamps, stickers, blank envelopes, padded envelopes, books, magazines, newspapers, legal mail, and medical mail are not accepted at the scanning address under the posted rules.
Money is handled separately from bond. The sheriff links McDaniel Supply Company and JailPackStore for sending money to inmates. Money orders mailed to the inmate must be payable to New Hanover County with the inmate's name in the memo. Cash deposits can be made at the automated kiosk in the front lobby. Bond or release-condition questions should be verified through jail, magistrate, court, attorney, or bondsman channels because a commissary deposit does not post bond.
| Service | Provider or Detail |
|---|---|
| Mail Address | Inmate name and ID, New Hanover County Detention Facility, P.O. Box 591, Longview, TX 75606 |
| Mail Limits | Five pages maximum, front side only, one photo maximum, return address required |
| Online Money | McDaniel Supply Company / JailPackStore |
| Money Order | Payable to New Hanover County with inmate name in memo |
| Cash Deposit | Automated kiosk in the facility lobby |
Booking at New Hanover Detention
New Hanover County booking starts when a sheriff's deputy, Wilmington officer, municipal officer, state officer, or other authorized agency brings a person to the detention facility or serves a custody order. Detention staff receive the person and paperwork, process identity and charge information, inventory property under jail rules, and perform screening before housing. North Carolina local jail law requires medical-care planning for prisoners, and the sheriff's page separately confirms that classification is a named detention function. Classification affects housing, movement, and safety inside the jail.
P2C is a custody snapshot after records post to the public interface. It can show the active inmate record, primary charge, arrest date, booking agency, demographics, book ID in public data, and related fields, but it is not the full court case. A booking charge may differ from what the district attorney later files in District or Superior Court. Court dates and formal case status belong in the Judicial Branch or Clerk system, not just the jail roster. If a person is sentenced to prison, the NC DAC locator becomes the main search path.
- Booking
- Jail intake step where the person, charge, property, and custody data are recorded.
- Classification
- Detention staff review used to decide housing, supervision, and safety needs.
- Detainer
- A notice or hold from another agency that may affect release even when a local bond exists.
- Primary charge
- The main charge shown in P2C, which may not be the final prosecuted charge.
About New Hanover County Detention
The Castle Hayne jail is part of a wider New Hanover County custody workflow. The jail and sheriff's office are on Juvenile Center Road, while the courthouse, Clerk, and District Attorney functions are centered downtown on Princess Street in Wilmington. That split matters for families and attorneys. Custody, visiting, mail, and money questions go first to the jail and sheriff's P2C tools. Formal charges, court dates, dispositions, expunction matters, and copies of case records go to the North Carolina Judicial Branch, eCourts Portal, or the Clerk of Superior Court.
Local detail also matters when a person moves out of county jail. New Hanover Correctional Center is nearby in Wilmington, but it is a state prison and not the automatic destination for every New Hanover County defendant. Federal and immigration custody use still other systems. If P2C does not show the person, use the right fallback chain rather than assuming release: call 910-798-4200, check VINELink, search NC DAC, review court records, and use BOP or ICE channels when the case points outside county custody.
Note: Confirm custody, visit approval, and mail rules with the facility before sending money or traveling.