Franklin County Jail Overview
Franklin County Jail is operated by the Franklin County Sheriff's Office and should be treated as a Texas county jail, not a state prison. The official Franklin County Sheriff page lists Sheriff Ricky Jones at 208 TX Hwy 37, Mt. Vernon, TX 75457, with phone 903-537-4539 and fax 903-537-2632. The Sheriffs' Association of Texas directory also identifies Ricky S. Jones as sheriff at the same public-safety address and phone number.
The facility holds adults arrested in Franklin County, pretrial defendants, people serving short county-jail sentences, warrant and bench-warrant detainees, parole or state-jail related holds, and people waiting for transfer. Mount Vernon Police Department arrests and other local arrests normally move through the county sheriff and jail process unless another agency takes custody. No separate Mount Vernon city jail roster or municipal detention facility was located in official sources.
The official sheriff page is the primary local source for the jail's public contact details.
The page supports the facility facts used here: sheriff, address, phone, and fax are published, while a public online roster is not.
Franklin County Jail Capacity
Texas Commission on Jail Standards incarceration-rate report snippets identify Franklin County Jail as a 112-bed county jail. The located TCJS snapshots show an average daily population of 36 on March 1, 2020, 39 on July 1, 2021, 47 on May 1, 2022, and 45 on August 1, 2022. Those snapshots place the jail below rated capacity in the located years. No official Franklin County source reviewed gave a current daily count, annual bookings total, average length of stay, or jail demographic dashboard.
The TCJS population reports page is the place to check county jail population reports, incarceration-rate reports, immigration-detainer reports, and related statewide jail data. TCJS regulates county jails through state standards, while TDCJ operates the Texas state prison system. That distinction matters because a person sentenced from Franklin County to prison may be counted at a TDCJ unit in another county rather than in the Franklin County Jail population.
TCJS publishes the county jail population report index used to track capacity and population figures.
The TCJS report index is a statewide source, so it should be used for population context instead of assuming a current Franklin County jail count.
Franklin County Jail Lookup
No official online Franklin County, Texas jail roster was located as of June 30, 2026 on the county sheriff page, county navigation, Mount Vernon police page, TCJS page, or official court and clerk pages. For current jail custody, use the sheriff fallback. A Franklin County Jail lookup should start with the sheriff by phone or in person, then move to court dockets, TDCJ, BOP, ICE, or VINELink only when the facts point away from current county jail custody.
- Call the Franklin County Sheriff's Office at 903-537-4539 or go to the sheriff and jail address. Ask whether the person is currently held, released, transferred, or held for another agency.
- Have the full legal name, date of birth or age, arrest date, arresting agency, and any charge or case number. These details help distinguish people with similar names.
- Check the Franklin County District Court dockets if the person has a felony or district-court setting. Dockets show court activity, not live jail housing.
- Use the TDCJ inmate search only after a person is sentenced to state prison. Use BOP or ICE only for federal or immigration custody.
- Use VINELink Texas for custody notifications where available, while remembering that it is not the official custodian of Franklin County booking records.
Lookup distinction: Franklin County Jail is for local custody and short county sentences. TDCJ is for sentenced state prisoners, BOP is for federal inmates, and ICE ODLS is for immigration detainees.
Franklin County Jail Contact
The sheriff's office address is the practical jail address for Franklin County inmate-status, booking, bond, visitation, mail, money, and records questions. The county site does not publish a separate detention division page, jail administrator name, booking desk number, public lobby hours, or records-unit schedule. Because no more specific official jail phone line was located, use the sheriff's main number unless Franklin County later posts a dedicated jail number.
Franklin County Jail
208 TX Hwy 37
Mt. Vernon, TX 75457
903-537-4539
Fax: 903-537-2632
Official public hours for the jail lobby were not located.
For court records after booking, do not use the jail address as a substitute for clerk service. The County Clerk is at 200 North Kaufman Street in Mount Vernon, and the District Clerk physical address is Franklin County Courthouse Annex West, 204 Texas Highway 37. Custody questions belong with the jail and sheriff. Case filings, docket entries, indictments, and clerk copies belong with the appropriate clerk or court.
Franklin County Jail Visitation
Official Franklin County jail visitation rules were not located in the county sources reviewed. No official schedule, remote-video vendor, visitor-approval rule, dress code, child visitor rule, attorney-visit procedure, holiday notice, or lockdown-change notice was found. Before traveling to the jail, call 903-537-4539 and ask whether visits are available, whether the inmate is eligible, what identification is required, whether a visitor must be on an approved list, and whether visits are in person or by video.
| Visitation Item | Official Franklin County Finding | What to Confirm |
|---|---|---|
| In-person schedule | Not located in official county sources | Call before travel and ask for the current day and time rules. |
| Remote or video visits | Not located | Do not assume a vendor or app exists. |
| Visitor approval list | Not located | Ask whether the inmate must add the visitor first. |
| Government photo ID | Not published locally | Confirm ID rules with jail staff. |
| Dress code and prohibited items | Not published locally | Ask before bringing bags, phones, or personal items inside. |
| Attorney visits | Not published locally | Attorneys should coordinate directly with jail or court staff. |
Franklin County Jail Mail
Official jail-specific mail, phone, commissary, and money-deposit rules were not located for Franklin County Jail. That gap matters. No source confirmed a mail scanning vendor, inmate ID format, phone vendor, tablet program, online deposit vendor, lobby kiosk, phone deposit line, weekly commissary limit, or deposit fee. Do not send cash, packages, books, photos, or any item with staples, Polaroids, unknown materials, or suspected contraband without approval from jail staff.
| Service | Published Detail | Action Before Use |
|---|---|---|
| Mail Address Format | Not located | Ask whether to include inmate name, book-in number, and the jail address. |
| Mail Scanning Vendor | Not located | Do not assume scan-and-destroy or postcard-only rules. |
| Books or Publications | Not located | Confirm whether direct publisher shipping is required. |
| Phone or Video Provider | Not located | Ask jail staff for the current phone setup. |
| Money Deposit Vendor | Not located | Do not name or assume any deposit vendor unless Franklin County verifies it. |
| Commissary Fees | Not located | Ask for current fees, limits, ordering days, and accepted payment methods. |
Booking at Franklin County Jail
A Franklin County arrest can involve the sheriff's office, Mount Vernon Police Department, DPS, a constable, or another law-enforcement agency. The person is typically taken through local jail intake unless medical, emergency, or another agency process changes the route. Intake normally includes identity checks, warrant checks, booking paperwork, search and property inventory, fingerprinting, a booking photo, medical and mental-health screening, classification, and bond or hold review.
Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 15.17 requires an arrested person to be taken before a magistrate without unnecessary delay for warnings, rights, and bail issues. Franklin County did not publish a local booking timeline, roster refresh time, release-list schedule, property-release hours, or phone-call vendor. If the goal is to confirm whether someone can bond out, ask whether a bond is set, whether any no-bond hold or detainer exists, where bond is accepted, and what payment forms are allowed.
Franklin County Jail Arrival
Franklin County Jail and the sheriff's office are at 208 TX Hwy 37 in Mount Vernon, the Franklin County seat. The jail address should not be confused with the courthouse and clerk offices near the courthouse square. Use the jail address for custody, booking, bond, inmate-status, and jail-record questions. Use the courthouse or courthouse-annex addresses for clerk records, docket files, and case filings.
- From Interstate 30, use the Mount Vernon exit for TX-37 and route to the public-safety address.
- From downtown Mount Vernon, distinguish the jail on TX-37 from the courthouse address on North Kaufman Street.
- From Scroggins, Purley, Hagansport, or Lake Cypress Springs areas, route toward TX-37 in Mount Vernon and call before traveling for visitation.
- Official visitor parking rules, public transit details, and ADA entrance descriptions were not published in the sheriff source.
- Bring identification and keep phones, bags, weapons, and unnecessary personal items out of secure areas unless staff says they are allowed.
Franklin County Jail Oversight
Franklin County Jail is regulated under the Texas county jail framework. Texas Government Code Chapter 511 creates and governs the Texas Commission on Jail Standards, while Texas Local Government Code Chapter 351 addresses county jail duties and minimum standards. TCJS minimum standards cover jail operations such as records, classification, supervision, health services, inmate services, security, discipline, work assignments, and reporting duties.
No official Franklin County jail construction history, internal pod names, program guide, inmate handbook, accreditation statement, current noncompliance finding, or county-specific consent decree was located in the reviewed sources. Programs and services should be confirmed with the facility. Ask staff about medical requests, medication continuity, mental-health screening, religious visits, attorney visits, grievance forms, commissary, work assignments, and release planning. For sentenced state-prison custody, switch to TDCJ rules and resources after transfer.
Note: Confirm custody, visitation, and mail rules with Franklin County Jail before traveling or sending funds.