Vernon County Detention Center Overview
The Vernon County Detention Center, also described by the county as the Sheriff's Office Jail Division, is operated by the Vernon County Sheriff's Office. It is the primary detention point for people arrested in Vernon County or committed by a court. The official Jail Division page says the jail is staffed 24 hours per day, 365 days per year by male and female correctional officers who are responsible for the care and maintenance of incarcerated individuals after arrest or court commitment.
The facility handles pretrial detainees, county jail commitments, Huber or work-release eligible inmates, and state prisoners under contract when Vernon County has an active Wisconsin DOC housing agreement. No separate city jail, regional jail, state prison, BOP facility, or ICE detention center was found in Vernon County official sources. Local jail information, visitation, funds, commissary, bonds, warrant payments, PREA reports, and records requests all route through the Sheriff's Office and Detention Center.
Vernon County Detention Center Capacity
The county jail pages do not publish one current rated-capacity figure. The research identifies a design source stating that the Vernon County Sheriff's Office and Detention Center project accommodates 86 inmates in Huber and secure housing, with double-bunking of secure cells increasing capacity to 125. A Wisconsin DOC weekly population report dated April 3, 2026 lists Vernon County Jail in the DOC county-jail contract-bed section with design/capacity 55 and population 55. That contract-bed figure is not the same thing as total jail population.
The modern jail was approved after the older jail reached capacity limits and Vernon County was transporting and housing inmates in other counties at high cost. The official history says outside-county housing and transportation began to exceed $500,000 annually before the new project was approved.
Look Up Vernon County Detention Center Inmates
No official public online roster for Vernon County Detention Center was located in the county sources reviewed. The correct local lookup process is therefore the jail contact and records fallback chain. Use the jail for current custody and visit scheduling, WI VINE for custody notification, Sheriff's Office Records for booking or jail records, WCCA for filed court charges, and DOC, BOP, or ICE only when a person has moved into another custody system.
- Call Vernon County Detention Center at 608-638-5780 for current local custody questions.
- Use VINELink Wisconsin for custody status or notification enrollment.
- Request booking or jail records from Sheriff's Office Records at 608-638-5710 or vcsorecords@vernoncountywi.gov.
- Search WCCA after the District Attorney files charges in court.
- Use Wisconsin DOC Offender Locator only for sentenced state offenders under DOC authority.
The Vernon County inmate records page covers these lookup channels in more detail.
Vernon County Detention Center Contact
The Sheriff's Office and Detention Center share the Bad Axe Court campus in Viroqua. The official Sheriff's Office contact page lists Sheriff Roy Torgerson, the main sheriff phone, jail phone, records phone, general sheriff email, jail email, fax, and regular business hours for the public office. The Jail Division itself is staffed around the clock.
Vernon County Detention Center
1320 Bad Axe Court
Viroqua, WI 54665
Jail: 608-638-5780
Jail email: vcdc@vernoncountywi.gov
Vernon County Sheriff's Office Records
1320 Bad Axe Court
Viroqua, WI 54665
Records: 608-638-5710
Office hours: Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Vernon County Detention Center Visits
Visits must be scheduled by calling the jail. The jail information page lists 608-638-5780 ext. 3 for scheduling, and the visiting rules page says to call Master Control at 608-638-5780. Calls to schedule are not accepted earlier than 8:00 a.m. on the Monday of the visit week. If all spots are filled, the caller may schedule for the next week.
| Inmate group | Days | Times | Length / limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Female inmates | Monday and Wednesday | 7:00 p.m.-8:30 p.m. | One 30-minute non-contact visit per weekday |
| Female inmates | Sunday | 12:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m. | One 60-minute weekend visit |
| Male inmates | Tuesday and Thursday | 7:00 p.m.-8:30 p.m. | One 30-minute non-contact visit per weekday |
| Male inmates | Saturday | 8:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m.; 12:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m. | One 60-minute weekend visit |
Visitors must register on the visitor sheet, and staff enter names in the computer visitation log. People under 18 must be with a parent or guardian. Visitors appearing under the influence, visitors with a contraband-smuggling conviction, visitors under a domestic abuse injunction involving the inmate, and disruptive visitors may be denied or removed. Metal detector screening may apply.
Mail Money Commissary at Vernon Jail
The jail information page gives the mailing address as 1320 Bad Axe Court, Viroqua, WI 54665, but no detailed inmate-mail format, book-vendor rule, photo limit, legal-mail instruction, or banned-items list was located in the official pages reviewed. Confirm current mail rules with the jail before sending books, photos, checks, money orders, or legal mail.
| Service | Provider / Detail |
|---|---|
| Mail address | 1320 Bad Axe Court, Viroqua, WI 54665; confirm format before mailing. |
| Video visitation setup | CIDNET link provided by the county visiting-hours page. |
| Money deposit | Stellar Teller kiosk at the Sheriff's Office or JailATM online/mobile. |
| Commissary | JailATM commissary packs for inmates in good standing. |
| Weekly commissary limit | $100 total, including inmate and outside purchases. |
Released-inmate commissary orders are handled under a local rule. The county says orders may be held while staff attempt pickup contact, but if not picked up after two weeks or no contact can be made, the order is disposed of. The jail states it does not have purchaser contact information and cannot contact purchasers to pick up items.
Vernon Detention Center Bond Payments
Bond handling depends on time of day. During regular business hours, the county routes bond payments to the Clerk of Courts at 400 Courthouse Square, Suite 115. Accepted in-person payment forms are cash, money order, or cashier's check made out to Vernon County Clerk of Courts. Personal checks are not accepted. Allpaid online or phone payment is listed with facility code 3086 and a transaction fee.
After regular business hours and on weekends, bonds can be paid in person at the Vernon County Sheriff's Office at 1320 Bad Axe Court. Accepted forms are exact cash, money order, or cashier's check. Allpaid is also listed for after-hours and weekend payment, with facility code 1827. A person may remain in custody despite payment if another hold, warrant, court order, DOC hold, federal hold, or ICE issue applies.
Vernon Detention Center Records Requests
Sheriff's Office Records handles jail and law-enforcement records that are not posted online. Requests may be submitted by email to vcsorecords@vernoncountywi.gov, by mail to Attn: Records at the Sheriff's Office address, in person at the lobby window during regular office hours, or by telephone at 608-638-5710. Accident reports are routed through CrashDocs when the requester has the report number, party name, and accident date.
| Request channel | Vernon County detail |
|---|---|
| vcsorecords@vernoncountywi.gov | |
| Vernon County Sheriff's Office, Attn: Records, 1320 Bad Axe Court, Viroqua, WI 54665 | |
| In person | Sheriff's Office lobby during regular office hours |
| Phone | 608-638-5710 |
| Copy fees | $0.02 black-and-white, $0.25 color, electronic records no cost, $25.40/hour for certain location or redaction time |
Vernon County Jail History
The Sheriff's Office history page gives unusually detailed jail history. Before Vernon County had a jail, major offenders were taken by horseback to Prairie du Chien while awaiting trial, and minor offenders were supervised in a room at the Buckeye House near the courthouse. The third jail was approved after space needs were reviewed in 1909, built in 1910 on the courthouse campus, and designed with cells for men, women, juveniles, and hospital use.
Over time, the third jail received additions and a 1990 remodel, but capacity pressure continued. In 2000, a committee began studying the jail-housing problem. After four years of study and expert testimony, the County Board voted 28-1 to approve a fourth jail on county farm property in northern Viroqua. The new facility opened in December 2006, four months ahead of schedule and more than $650,000 under the $10.3 million budget.
PREA and Jail Conditions Reporting
The Sheriff's Office publishes annual PREA reports for 2017 through 2025 and a 2022 PREA audit report index. PREA materials are the strongest official local condition-reporting source found in the research, along with visitation rules, money and commissary rules, the jail history, and Wisconsin jail standards under DOC 350.
The public pages reviewed did not publish a sick-call process, medication policy, grievance procedure, religious-service list, education program list, or Huber application details. Because DOC 350 requires sheriff jail policies and procedures, some internal rules may exist even if not posted. Contact the jail directly for current medical, medication, grievance, attorney-visit, or program procedures.
Directions to Vernon County Detention Center
The public address for the Detention Center and Sheriff's Office is 1320 Bad Axe Court, Viroqua, WI 54665. The courthouse and Clerk of Courts are at 400 Courthouse Square, Suite 115, so visitors should confirm which office they need before driving. Jail visits, current custody, and Sheriff's Office Records are at Bad Axe Court. Court copies and weekday court processing are at the courthouse.
From central Viroqua, use local streets north toward Bad Axe Court and follow local signs for the Sheriff's Office or Detention Center. From regional highway approaches, use the exact street address in GPS rather than a generic jail search. The county pages did not publish official parking, bus, rail, or ADA-entry instructions. Confirm parking and accessible entry when calling to schedule a visit.
Vernon Detention Center Source Pages
The official Jail Division page describes the Detention Center as staffed 24 hours per day, 365 days per year.
The official visitation rules page gives the gender-based schedule, scheduling rule, screening language, and visitor restrictions.
