Central Detention Center Bail Bonds
Central is two jail systems in one building — the county's east valley booking facility, and a federal holding site run under contract for the U.S. Marshals. Which of the two is holding your person decides whether a bail bond can release them at all, so that is the first thing we establish.
Central Detention Center information
The east valley's booking facility on Rialto Avenue in downtown San Bernardino — the oldest of the county's four jails, and the only one that also holds federal inmates.
Central Detention Center
- Jail main line
- (909) 386-0969This is the facility, not our office.
- Visiting hours
- Wednesday–Saturday by appointment. Book at least a day ahead on (909) 887-0364.
- County
- San Bernardino County
Facility details verified from: San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, Central Detention Center page (wp.sbcounty.gov), retrieved 2026-09-09; San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, Corrections / Jails index and Inmate General Information pages (wp.sbcounty.gov), retrieved 2026-09-09. Jail policies change — call us and we will confirm current booking and release procedure.
The county's oldest jail, and its busiest booking door
What Central is, which arrests end up in it, and the thing about this building that catches families out: part of it is federal.
One address, two jail systems
Two populations share the building on Rialto Avenue, and only one of them belongs to the county. Central has served as San Bernardino County’s booking facility for the east valley police and sheriff stations since 1971 — the oldest of the four jails still doing that job — and its staff process more than twenty thousand inmates a year.
The other population is federal. The U.S. Marshals Service uses the building as a west coast hub for moving and housing federal prisoners, and the Sheriff’s figures put it at more than two hundred federal inmates alongside more than six hundred county inmates. Two systems, one street address.
Why that distinction is the first thing we check
A county bail bond releases someone held on a county charge. It does not release a federal hold, and no bail agent in California can tell you otherwise honestly. Because Central carries both populations, “which system is holding them” is a question worth answering in the first minute of a phone call rather than after paperwork has been signed.
It is a quick check. We pull the booking, read what the hold actually is, and tell you either how a bond works from here or that a bond is not the instrument you need. The second answer is free and we would rather give it early.
Where the arrest happened decides the building
The single most common wasted trip we see is a family driving to West Valley when their person is on Rialto Avenue, or the reverse. Nobody at the counter of the wrong jail can help, and it costs an hour in the middle of the night.
The rule is simple enough: the arresting agency’s territory decides where someone is booked, so an arrest in the east valley lands at Central regardless of what city anyone lives in. If you are unsure, the other jails we serve are listed with their addresses, or you can just ask us and skip the guessing.
Bail, court, and what the bond is actually promising
Most people in a county jail have not been convicted of anything. They are held because a bail figure has been set and not yet paid, and closing that gap is the whole function of a bond. How bail works in California covers what the court decides before a bail agent is involved, and what a bond costs covers the regulated premium.
What the bond guarantees is the court appearance. That is worth holding onto, because the consequence of skipping one is severe and lands on whoever signed: the bond is forfeited, a warrant issues, and a solved night becomes a much worse month. It is the part families forget once the immediate crisis passes.
Where to start
Two questions decide your next hour: which system is holding them, and what the record says the bail is. Neither is answerable from the jail’s switchboard, and neither costs you anything to ask us. Bail Bond Central works both the county and the federal side of this building and someone picks up whatever time it is. A full name and an approximate date is enough to start — by phone, or send us the details.
Posting a bond at Central Detention Center
Central staff process more than twenty thousand people a year. Here is what happens on our side of that, from your first call to someone walking out onto Rialto Avenue.
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First we confirm they are in this building
Central books the east valley; West Valley books the West End. Families drive to the wrong one often enough that we check it before anything else. Give us a name and a rough date and we will tell you which address to put in the phone.
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Then whether the hold is county or federal
Central houses inmates for the U.S. Marshals Service alongside county inmates, and a federal hold is not something a county bail bond can release. It is a two-minute check, and it decides everything that comes after it.
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The bail comes off the record, not off a phone call
The figure that reaches a family has usually passed through someone who was frightened when they heard it. We take it from the county's own booking record, because a bond written against a remembered number gets written twice.
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You sign from wherever you happen to be
Nobody drives to downtown San Bernardino to sign paperwork, and nobody comes to our office either. The agreement and the premium go through on a phone — which is the entire point at two in the morning.
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Rialto Avenue is our drive, not yours
We post the bond in person and tell you the moment it is accepted. Release out of a facility this busy runs on the jail's clock, so we will describe what tonight looks like rather than quote you a number nobody has given us.
Someone booked into Central Detention Center tonight?
Give us the name and we will confirm the booking and read the bail off the county record while you are on the line. No charge, no obligation, and no waiting on a jail switchboard.
Cities we serve near Central Detention Center
Questions about Central Detention
Five answers specific to this facility — telling Central from West Valley, the federal wing, visiting, how long release takes, and what a bond costs.
Is my family member at Central or at West Valley?
It depends on where the arrest happened, not where anyone lives. The Sheriff's Department runs Central as the primary booking facility for the east valley police and sheriff stations, while West Valley takes the West End — Rancho Cucamonga, Ontario, Fontana, Chino, Montclair. If you are not sure, call us with a full name and a rough date. We will look it up and tell you which building — no charge, and quicker than a wasted trip across the valley.
Why does Central Detention Center hold federal inmates?
The Sheriff's Department houses federal prisoners under contract with the U.S. Marshals Service, which uses Central as a west coast hub for transporting and holding them. The Sheriff's own figures put it at more than two hundred federal inmates alongside more than six hundred county inmates. It matters to you for one reason: a federal hold is not released by a county bail bond, so establishing which kind of hold your person is on is the first thing we do rather than the last.
How do I arrange a visit at Central Detention Center?
San Bernardino County runs visiting Wednesday through Saturday and requires an appointment made at least a day in advance, booked on (909) 887-0364. Bring government-issued photo identification. Availability and procedure do change, so confirm before you make the drive. One thing worth saying plainly: visiting and bail are unrelated. A bond can be posted without anyone having set foot in the building, so do not hold off on the bail question until you have secured an appointment.
How long does release from Central take once a bond is posted?
Plan for a few hours and treat anything more precise as a sales pitch. Central is a booking facility first, which is the relevant fact: intake and release compete for the same staff, so a night when the east valley stations are busy bringing people in is a night when people go out more slowly. We will keep you updated as it unfolds and stay on the phone until your person is out. The jail owns the clock, and we will not pretend otherwise.
What does a bail bond cost for someone held at Central?
Ask which hold they are on first, because at Central the two questions are connected. On a county hold the premium is a regulated percentage of the bail the court ordered rather than a figure the agent picks; our bail bond cost page carries the rate and the payment options. On a federal hold there is no county bond and nothing for us to quote — we will point you at the right process instead of selling you one that cannot work.