Under the Oklahoma Open Records Act (51 O.S. § 24A.1–24A.30), arrest records are classified as public information. That includes booking photographs. In a landmark 2012 opinion, the Oklahoma Attorney General confirmed that mugshots qualify as a “physical description of an arrestee” under Section 24A.8 and must be released upon request—including in electronic format if that is how the agency stores them.

Oklahoma currently holds the fourth-highest imprisonment rate among all U.S. states, with roughly 550 prisoners per 100,000 residents in state-run facilities. When jails, immigration detention, and juvenile facilities are included, that number climbs to approximately 905 per 100,000—one of the highest rates of any democracy in the world. This means Oklahoma's county jails process a disproportionately large volume of bookings relative to its population.

Where Bookings Happen

Each of Oklahoma's 77 counties operates its own detention facility. The busiest are concentrated around the Oklahoma City and Tulsa metropolitan areas:

• Oklahoma County Detention Center (Oklahoma City) — Capacity for nearly 3,000 inmates. The facility averaged a daily population of 1,757 in mid-2025 and processes the highest volume of bookings in the state.
• David L. Moss Criminal Justice Center (Tulsa) — Tulsa County's primary booking facility. When someone is arrested on misdemeanor or felony charges in Tulsa County, they are processed here through a multi-step intake that includes identity verification, medical screening, and record entry.
• F. Dewayne Beggs Detention Center (Norman) — Handles bookings for Cleveland County, including arrests by the Norman Police Department and Moore Police Department.
• Comanche County Detention Center (Lawton) — Built in 2003, this facility serves the Lawton metropolitan area. Ongoing capacity challenges led the Oklahoma Legislature to reduce its legal limit from 283 to 240 in 2025.

How to Search Oklahoma Arrest Records

There are several ways to look up booking records in Oklahoma:

• County jail rosters — Sixteen Oklahoma counties maintain online inmate rosters that show booking photos, charges, bond amounts, and arrest dates. These are free and updated frequently.
• OSBI CHIRP portal — The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation runs the Criminal History Information Request Portal at chirp.osbi.ok.gov. A name-based criminal history search costs $15 and returns results within days.
• OSCN Court Records — The Oklahoma State Courts Network (oscn.net) provides free access to court case records across all 77 counties.
• In-person requests — Any person can visit a county sheriff's office or clerk's office to request arrest records under the Open Records Act.

Mugshot Removal Efforts in Oklahoma

Oklahoma has been grappling with the issue of for-profit mugshot publication websites. Senate Bill 379, introduced during the 2025 legislative session by Sen. Jo Anna Dossett (D-Tulsa), would prohibit businesses that exclusively publish booking photographs from charging fees to remove images. Violations would carry civil penalties of up to $1,000 per day. As of early 2026, the bill had been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Population and Growth

Oklahoma's population centers are shifting. While Oklahoma County (806,199) and Tulsa County (680,794) remain the most populous, suburban counties are growing rapidly. Canadian County—home to Mustang, Yukon, and parts of Edmond—has grown over 17% since 2020, making it the fastest-growing county in the state. Meanwhile, rural counties in the western panhandle continue to decline, with Cimarron County's population falling below 2,300.