There are several methods for depositing money on an inmate's account:
1. To send money online to an inmate in the Washington County Jail use correctpay.
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2. If you prefer to use your credit or debit card and deposit money over the phone, you can call them at 855-836-3364.
3. Deposit cash or use a debit or credit card using a dedicated kiosk for this purpose. The machine is located in the lobby or visitation area of the Washington County Jail.
4. The Washington County Jail may also allow you to *mail an inmate a money order or cashier’s check from a trusted source such as the Post Office, a local bank, or Western Union. The money order should be be made out to either the inmate or the Washington County Sheriff's Office, with the inmate’s name and ID# on the memo line of the check. To confirm this option call the facility at 251-847-2202.
*When mailing a money order or cashier’s check, send it an envelope by itself. Never send it with a letter or photos for your inmate, unless the facility allows it. Never send personal checks or cash.
5. The Washington County Jail has a reception desk that may accept cash, money orders or cashier checks. Call 251-847-2202 to find out the specific hours for drop off times.
Address:
45 Court Street
Chatom, AL 36518
Phone:
251-847-2202
Cost to Send Money
To deposit between $1.00 and $300.00 the fee ranges from $1.50-$2.95, plus an additional 5%. *Rates are subject to change.
Examples:
correctpay.com Help
24/7 Customer Service - 855-836-3364
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I send money to an inmate in the Washington County Jail?
Who are the companies that jails use to send money to inmates?
How do I send money by mail to an inmate in the Washington County Jail?
Can I send an inmate money using the internet?
What are considered ‘inmate funds’?
How much money can an inmate have in their account while in the Washington County Jail?
How much money can I send an inmate at one time?
Is it illegal for an inmate in the Washington County Jail to have cash?
If an inmate can’t have cash in jail, how do they purchase contraband or gamble?
What are things inmates use or trade in lieu of cash?
What kind of food can an inmate purchase on Commissary in the Washington County Jail?
What items can inmates purchase in the Washington County Jail?
Important tips about sending money to an inmate in the Washington County Jail
Washington County Jail has its own methods for receiving money for inmates, and that information can be found above or by calling 251-847-2202 and asking, however all jails and prisons all receive money for an inmate’s trust and commissary account, as well as an account used for communications, pretty much the same way.
1. Mailing an inmate a money order or cashier’s check from a trusted source such as the Post Office, a local bank, or Western Union. The Money order should be be made out to either the inmate or the facility, with the inmate’s name and ID# on the memo line of the check.
When mailing a money order or cashier’s check, send it an envelope by itself. Never send it with a letter or photos for your inmate.
Never send personal checks or cash either.
2. Deposit cash or use a debit or credit card to send an inmate money using an ATM machine that is located in the lobby or visitation area of the Washington County Jail.
3. Some jails have a reception desk or booth that is open during certain hours that they will list on their website. They will accept cash, money orders or cashier checks. Other facilities that don’t have a human manning the desk will have mail drop where you can leave a money order or check. No cash can be left in these boxes.
4. There are multiple companies that jails and prisons contract with which accept inmate deposits online, by mail or over the phone, or even in ATM machines you can find in check cashing stores and retail outlets across the country.
If one of these companies (listed in the next question) works with Washington County Jail, this information will be outlined at the top of this page.
There are many companies competing for the accounts of jail and prison inmates. Their intention is to alleviate the staffing and financial responsibility of the jail handling inmate’s accounts. They usually charge a fee equal to 3-5% of the total deposit.
The companies, in alphabetical order, are:
Access Corrections
AllPaid (aka GovPayNet)
Care A Cell
Cash Bond Online
CIDNET
City Tele Coin
CommissaryDeposit.com
Correct Solutions Group
Correctpay
Ctel
Edevo
Express Account
gettingout
GTL
Inmate Canteen
InmateSales
JailATM
Jail Pack Store (McDaniel Supply)
Jailpayments.com
Jpay
NCIC
JailCanteen (Oasis)
Paytel
Pigeonly
Prodigy Sales
Reliance
Securus
Smart Communications
Tennessee Business Enterprise
Tiger
Touchpay
To send an inmate money by mail you first have to have the money converted to a money order, preferably from the US Post Office, or a Cashier’s Check. Never send cash, and never send a personal check.
To find the address for sending money to an inmate, call the jail at 251-847-2202 or check out the money deposit instructions above.
Almost every facility contracts with a company that helps friends and families of inmates send them money. The list can be found above.
To find out who Washington County Jail contracts with for inmate deposits, call them at 251-847-2202 or go to the top of this page for deposit instructions.
Inmate funds are the cash that an inmate has on themselves when they are booked into jail, plus the money that friends and family add while they are incarcerated. Inmate funds are also known as ‘inmate trust account’, ‘inmate commissary account’, and ‘inmate money account’.
Typically, most jails allow an innate spend no more than $300-400 per month on snacks and hygiene products, with another $300 spent on phone calls and other communication services. Some jails limit the amount an inmate can spend on snacks to as low as $100 per month, but that is rare.
To find out how much the Washington County Jail allows, call the jail at 251-847-2202.
Most jails limit the amount that you can send an inmate to $200 at one time. If a money order exceeds $50.00 some jails will hold the money for up to 30 days before releasing it. The quickest way to get money on an inmate’s account is to deposit it either online or over the phone with the outside vendor that the Washington County Jail works with.
It is not illegal for an inmate to have cash, but it is considered contraband and will be confiscated by the Washington County Jail if it is discovered. There could be additional punishment such as the inmate having their phone use or visitation limited. It is unlikely that criminal charges will be levied though.
Inmates are very creative in coming up with alternatives to cash for buying goods and services and taking part in gambling and other recreational activities.
• Some jails use stamps as a form of currency.
• Some use a “unit”, which is basically a candy bar, bag of chips or foil package of tuna.
• Some buy goods and services for a “tray”, which is basically a meal, especially one that contains food that may be in demand, such as “chicken on the bone”.
• Some will trade a service such as legal research, haircutting, jail artwork to send to a loved one.
• Some will agree to clean another’s cell in exchange for a candy bar or some coffee.
Basically, everything and anything can be used for trade instead of cash, but one thing is for certain, in jail, you must pay your debt. If you agree to do something when it comes to owing “money”, and you don’t pay, you may end up with a broken jaw when you least expect it.
Inmates in jail and prisoners in prisons, in lieu of cash, trade food, meals, haircuts, cell cleaning, legal research, artwork and communication credits (phone, email, etc.).
Commissaries carry every type of food imaginable:
• Cookies
• Pastries
• Candy
• Tuna and mackerel
• Coffee
• Tea
• Soft drinks
• Energy drinks
• Pizza
• Hamburgers
• Chicken fingers
• Spices
Some jails have larger selections than others, and some contract with companies that ship in gift packages of food, and even fast food that can be reheated.
Prisons in Canada even have small fast-food outlets that operate within the jail.
Besides the food products mentioned above, inmates can purchase on commissary:
• hygiene products like soaps, shampoos and lotions,
• clothing like sweats, t-shirts, hoodies and sneakers,
• stationary supplies
• religious garments
• books
• televisions, radios and headphones
• movie and television programming
• educational courses
Sometimes an inmate's commissary money is used to purchase items to pay gambling debts or purchase prescription medicine from another inmate. If your inmate is spending more than $10.00 a day on commissary items, you are most likely paying for him or her to gamble or buy drugs.
Some inmates, specifically those who are targeted for being weak or are in jail for rape or child molestation, are forced to relinquish their commissary to avoid regular beatings from other inmates.
If you think your inmate is being targeted for violence or having their commissary taken to avoid beatings, contact the Washington County Jail and ask to investigate. If an inmate is being targeted, most jails will intervene and have the victim placed in protective custody, away from the general population.
Put your financial needs first and the inmate's second. Don't forget, the inmate is getting three free 2,000 calorie meals a day. The food may not be of the highest quality, but the commissary food is generally much less nutritious.
You can deposit money four different ways:
correctpay.com Assistance:
24/7 Customer Service - 855-836-3364
Frequently Asked Questions
Commissary Package (pre-made Care Packs) companies work with correctpay.com to deliver items directly to the inmate, but not all facilities jails take part in it.
Washington County Jail uses an outside vendor called correctpay.com (aka JailFunds & VendEngine) to deposit money to your inmate's account.
Deposits of up to $300.00 are allowed by jailfunds.com, although Washington County Jail may at times limit the maximum deposit to as low as $200.00.
correctpay.com (aka JailFunds) is the Washington County Jail's outside vendor for depositing money for your inmate's Commissary Items.
Here is a sample of what your inmate can purchase:
Food
Hygiene
Apparel
Electronics
*NOTE* -- Once you are fully registered with correctpay.com, and have selected the inmate you wish to send money to, you will receive instuctions on how much you can deposit, and how often you can send commissary money.
Anybody can contribute to an inmate's 'books' or commissary fund as long as there isn't a no-contact order in place.
Because of the ability for family members and friends to deposit money online using a credit or debit card at correctpay.com, inmates at Washington County Jail can now receive funds from anywhere in the world.
Since inmates are not allowed to possess cash money while in custody in the Washington County Jail, the jail maintains a 'bank account' for the inmate to purchase products and services from their commissary (canteen) store.
Commissary funds allow inmates to purchase items such as personal hygiene products, snacks and stationery supplies from the jail store.
Inmates can use money from their account to purchase phone time credits or prepaid phone cards in order to make outside phone calls to friends and family members.
Washington County Jail may on occasion debit (charge) an inmate's commissary accounts for medical visits, any medications including over-the-counter pain reliever, jail stay fees, restitution, etc.
Taking this into consideration when deciding how much to deposit will ensure the inmate gets the amount you wanted him to have, after these things are deducted.
Sometimes an inmate's commissary money is used to purchase items to pay gambling debts or purchase prescription medicine from another inmate. If your inmate is spending more than $10.00 a day on commissary items, you are most likely paying for him or her to gamble or buy drugs.
Some inmates, specifically those who are targeted for being weak or are in jail for rape or child molestation, are forced to relinquish their commissary to avoid regular beatings from other inmates.
If you think your inmate is being targeted for violence or having their commissary taken to avoid beatings, contact the Washington County Jail and ask to investigate. If an inmate is being targeted, most jails will intervene and have the victim placed in protective custody, away from the general population.
Put your financial needs first and the inmate's second. Don't forget, the inmate is getting three free 2,000 calorie meals a day. The food may not be of the highest quality, but the commissary food is generally much less nutritious.
