Cotulla's custody levels include Transient and its own PREA audit puts the average stay near five months, so a result here goes stale faster than at most units. Search by name to confirm where he is now and start sending letters, photos, and money.
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Turnover is the usual reason at this unit. Transient is TDCJ’s designation for people between assignments, and a five-month average stay means a record you looked at a few weeks ago can already name a different prison. That is normal at Cotulla, not a sign anything went wrong.
The other Cotulla-specific answer is Briscoe. A result naming the Dolph Briscoe Unit is not a variation on Cotulla, it is a different facility in Dilley with its own address and its own arrangements.
Call the unit on (830) 879-3077. Be careful with numbers you find elsewhere: the one published for the Briscoe-Cotulla Complex, (830) 965-4444, reaches Briscoe in Dilley rather than Cotulla, and Cotulla’s own number does not appear in the 2026 audit at all. If nobody there can help, the person may already have moved on, which at a transient unit is the likeliest answer.
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Use TDCJ's statewide Inmate Search at inmate.tdcj.texas.gov, then read the unit name closely: Cotulla and the Dolph Briscoe Unit run as one complex under the same senior warden, so those are the two results families most often mix up.
Inmate SearchThe unit's December 2020 PREA audit recorded an average stay of about five months. Cotulla's custody levels include Transient, meaning part of the population is between assignments, so a locator result goes out of date faster here than at a general-population unit.
Inmate SearchNo. Briscoe is a separate prison in Dilley, roughly 40 miles from Cotulla, and the two are run as one complex under the same senior warden. A result showing Briscoe means an actual transfer, with a different address and different arrangements.
Inmate SearchThe number published for the Briscoe-Cotulla Complex, (830) 965-4444, rings Briscoe in Dilley. Cotulla's own number does not appear in the 2026 audit at all. To reach Cotulla directly, call (830) 879-3077.
Inmate SearchBefore you act on the result, whether that means sending money, mailing a letter, or planning a visit. Given the average stay of about five months, a result more than a few weeks old is worth checking again. TDCJ does not publish how often the locator refreshes, so even a recent record can lag a transfer.
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All information on this page comes directly from official government and facility sources. How we verify information › Last verified August 24, 2026.