Comal County Booking Photo Records
A mugshot is the photograph made during a booking. It documents that booking, not guilt, final disposition, or release. The image can remain part of an arrest record after a person leaves Comal County Jail, but public access is not automatic in every case. Juvenile, sealed, expunged, confidential, or lawfully withheld material may not be available.
The strongest local evidence of release is a Jail Records entry, a Jail Bond Records entry when bond was involved, or a written Criminal/Jail Records response. Pair the image with the full booked name, booking or SO number, booking date, charge, case number, actual release date and time, and release type. A same-name photo without those links can identify the wrong person or the wrong arrest.
Texas Government Code Chapter 552 governs requests to county and state agencies. It permits lawful redactions and exceptions. The familiar ten-business-day provision is often misunderstood: it can govern when an agency seeks an Attorney General decision on withholding, not guarantee delivery of every item in ten days. Comal County separately says jail requests may take up to ten business days.
Where Comal County Mugshots Appear
No single official Comal County gallery was verified for released people. The available channels serve different custody systems, and some do not promise a photo at all. Use the source tied to the booking.
| Channel | Has photo? | How to access |
|---|---|---|
| Comal Odyssey Jail Records | Not verified for every result | Inspect the official historical record; do not assume an image |
| Comal jail records request | Requestable, not guaranteed | Identify one booking and ask for its photo and release sheet |
| Comal Sheriff iOS app | Not advertised | Do not use as a claimed inmate or photo channel |
| TDCJ records | Separate state image may exist | Use a narrow TDCJ Public Information Act request |
| Official police news archive | Sometimes | Match a selective incident notice to the jail and case record |
| Commercial or third-party page | Sometimes, but not authoritative | Do not treat it as release proof |
The Comal County Judicial Record Search offers Jail Records, Jail Bond Records, and Criminal Case Records. Its detail interface could not be inspected reliably during research, so it cannot be called a current mugshot feed. The official record should be checked as it appears at the time of search.
Request a Comal County Booking Photo
Comal County sends written jail requests to the Criminal/Jail Records Division. The request should identify one booking rather than ask broadly for every image tied to a name. Include the approximate incarceration dates and known booking or SO number. Ask for the corresponding booking and release sheet at the same time, which helps prevent an image from being detached from its custody outcome.
- Confirm the person and booking through the official Jail Records category. Record the booking, charge, and case identifiers that are visible.
- Open the online Jail Open Records form, deliver a request in person, or fax it to 830-608-0147.
- Request “the booking photograph associated with booking/SO number [number] and the corresponding booking and release sheet.”
- Ask for an electronic copy if available and state the approximate incarceration dates.
- Review the response for redactions, exceptions, the actual release date, release type, and receiving agency.
The county request page lists 3000 IH 35 South, New Braunfels, TX 78130, as the in-person route. Criminal/Jail Records can be reached at 830-620-3412 for routing questions, and posted office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pages 1 through 40 are free, later pages cost $0.10 each, and large requests may include research and assembly charges. Exact cash or money order is accepted for fees.
The official page shows the request channels, fee terms, and processing statement:
A request is not a promise that the image will be released. The county may redact or withhold material when law permits.
Comal Sheriff App Photo Limits
The official Comal County Sheriff’s Office iOS app advertises tips, sex-offender information, a staff directory, and public-safety news. It does not advertise inmate lookup, recent releases, or mugshots. It is therefore not a verified photo source for released Comal County inmates.
That negative result prevents a common error. Some sheriff apps elsewhere include inmate modules, but those functions cannot be assigned to Comal County by analogy. Use the historical jail record and written request channel. The Released Last 24 Hours route explains the same limit for recent custody events.
The current listing makes the feature boundary visible:
The app may provide useful safety news, but its advertised functions do not support a claim that it maintains a jail-photo archive.
TDCJ Photos Are Different Records
A photograph held by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice is not the Comal County Jail booking photo. TDCJ covers state prison and state-jail custody. A person who only bonded out of Comal County Jail does not gain a TDCJ photo record for that reason.
TDCJ’s free email inmate-information service expressly says it does not supply photographs. For a state-prison image, make a narrow TDCJ public-information request tied to the person’s full name and TDCJ or SID number. The request remains subject to legal exceptions. A current TDCJ photograph also does not prove an actual release date or type. Obtain incarceration history and a release or discharge record for that separate question.
Official New Braunfels Photo Archives
New Braunfels Police media releases occasionally include an image expressly labeled as a Comal County Jail booking photo. These official notices are selective. They cover particular incidents chosen for public communication and are not a roster of everyone booked or released.
A news release captures facts known at publication. It may not reflect a later bond, dismissal, sentence, expunction, or transfer. Match the named incident to the Comal County jail record and court case before relying on the photograph. The official archive can provide historical context, but it is poor proof of present custody or final case outcome.
The archive illustrates this selective source:
Its incident-based format shows why an official news image cannot replace the jail’s release sheet.
Third-party and commercial galleries rank lower. They may lag, retain an image after a disposition changes, misidentify people, or hide their update method. No commercial mugshot publisher or paid removal service is endorsed or linked. Start any correction with the official jail and court source.
Texas Commercial Photo Correction Rules
Texas Business & Commerce Code Chapter 109 includes arrest and criminal-justice photographs within “criminal record information.” It does not impose a universal ban on sheriff publication, and it does not declare every booking photo public. Section 109.002 determines which commercial practices are covered, including specified businesses using government-sourced information that demand at least $150 to remove it or charge any fee to correct or modify it.
Covered businesses must publish complete and accurate information and provide a conspicuous dispute contact. After a dispute, Section 109.004 requires free verification with the source agency, completion of the investigation within 45 business days, prompt correction or removal when information is incomplete or inaccurate, no correction fee, and written results within five business days after the investigation. Applicability depends on the statute. It is an accuracy and anti-pay-to-correct process, not a guaranteed remedy against every site.
Comal Expunction Reaches Many Holders
Expunction is not the deletion of one search result. The Comal County expunction page stresses that eligibility is fact-specific and provides local routing. The petition and order should list each agency that holds or published the arrest and charge information. Comal identifies the jail, Sheriff, county and district clerks, magistrate, county IT, New Braunfels Police, Municipal Court, and other possible recipients. Outside holders must be added when relevant.
Comal County lists a $25 certified-mail issuance fee for the petition and another $25 for the order for each agency without an email address. The matching fee does not apply when an agency email is supplied. The local jail address for routing is jailrecords@co.comal.tx.us. Those details show why removing one county copy may not reach an image already sent to another lawful holder.
The county’s local routing page displays the multi-agency process:
The agency list should be tailored to the actual arrest and publication trail rather than treated as a one-office removal request.
An order of nondisclosure, sealing rule, or expunction may change public access, but no removal should be promised without the qualifying order and process. When a photo is inaccurate, preserve the booking and case identifiers, correct the originating record first, and then contact other holders with the official correction or order.
Verify Comal County Photo Context
Use a clear source order. First inspect the official historical Jail Records result and note whether it actually carries a photograph. If it does not, submit a booking-specific request to Criminal/Jail Records. Use TDCJ only for a state-prison photograph. Check official police news only for a particular incident, and never use a third-party gallery as proof of release.
- Booking photo
- An image made during a specific arrest and booking episode.
- Release record
- The record showing when and how a named custodian ended that custody episode.
- Expunction
- A court process that can require qualifying arrest records to be removed or restricted across named holders.
- Nondisclosure
- A separate order that limits public disclosure in qualifying cases but is not identical to expunction.
The Comal County release-record search helps locate the matching custody and court documents. A photograph alone does not show whether the person bonded out, transferred, completed time, or remained held on another matter.
Note: A missing or removed image is not proof of release; confirm the actual event in the jail or agency record.
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