For incarcerated individuals, every bit of assistance and communication they receive from friends, family, and loved ones can make a significant difference. Sending money to an inmate in prison, jail, or another correctional facility is one of the best ways to support the individual during incarceration.
Friends and family commonly want to send money to an inmate, but facilities consider cash contraband. Alternatively, correctional facilities hold and manage funds for inmates in special accounts.
Inmates primarily spend funds on three primary expenses—court and legal fees, telephone use, and purchasing personal items and snacks from the commissary store. Occasionally, a facility may use a percentage of the deposit funds to pay fines or restitution.
The commissary store is an area inside a prison or jail that enables inmates to purchase necessities that the facility doesn’t provide. Everyday commissary items include toothbrushes, socks, hygiene products, and stamps. Some inmates facing longer sentences may also purchase items like radios, televisions, and reading materials in certain facilities.
Although it can be challenging to send packages to an individual on the inmate list, sending funds is the next best thing.
Sending Money to an Inmate
When conducting an inmate search to find the individual to receive your money, ensure you have the inmate’s correct information to deposit funds. Every institution will impose different rules and regulations on how to send funds to an inmate. It may limit how much money inmates may hold in their accounts, how often you can send a deposit, or how much money you can send each time.
Check with the institution where your inmate is held for their specific rules or guidelines about sending money and the best ways you can. The last thing you’ll want is to send inmates funds they never receive.
Depositing in Person or By Mail
Some facilities use kiosks where you can deposit money via credit or debit card. Certain facilities may also accept funds from money orders or cashier’s checks.
Friends and family may also consider depositing funds into an inmate's account by mailing a cashier’s check or money order to the facility. Envelopes should clearly outline the inmate’s name and identification number.
Sending Inmate’s Money Online
Most prisons, jails, and other incarceration facilities will offer a form of electronic or online deposit. They typically partner with a third-party system if the institution doesn’t provide its own banking system.
Some standard methods institutions use include companies like JPay, Western Union, or Moneygram. However, take caution when sending money, as some providers typically charge higher fees for transactions, especially those you complete with a credit card. They will also impose more fees based on the amount of money you send.
Fees may also vary depending on where you live and the terms of the contract that jail or prison authorities sign with service providers.
Finding Additional Information
Family and friends transferring funds to loved ones in state prisons have no choice but to pay fees that can take a notable percentage of transferred funds off the top. Nonetheless, modern facilities offer various convenient ways to send inmates money and ensure they have what they need.
Jail Exchange is a critical resource for those looking for incarceration information. This jail and inmate search engine enables users to find every American jail, prison, and detention center. Users can additionally find arrests, criminals, courts, laws, most wanted, and family help information.
Contact Jail Exchange for more information about our inmate search resource, associated handling and transfer fees, or anything else related to incarceration.
