Tarrant County Corrections Center Inmate Commissary

Tarrant County Corrections Center

Address:
100 N. Lamar Street
Ft Worth, TX 76102

Phone:

817-884-3116

In addition to the many ways you can add money to an inmate's account; online, by phone, using the Kiosk, and dropping it at a CashPayToday remote machine, all which are referenced below, you can also mail a USPS or Western Union Money Order to:

Tarrant County Sheriff's Office Detention Bureau
100 N. Lamar
Fort Worth, Texas 76196

Add the inmate's name and CID number to the memo section.

Inmate Money Deposit Instructions for Inmate Communications Tarrant County Corrections Center

Depositing Money for Communicating with an Inmate

How to Make a Deposit for Phone, Email or Visitation using GettingOut.com

Tarrant County Corrections Center uses GettingOut for some or all of its communication services with an inmate.

If you want to deposit money using this company for your use or your inmate's account, there are four ways to do it:

  • Online - They accept all major credit cards including Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express.
  • At the Tarrant County Corrections Center using the kiosk in the jail lobby - (cash, debit or credit card) NOTE - Tarrant County Corrections Center may require identity verification so bring your driver’s license or some other form of ID.
  • By phone by calling 866-516-0115 - They have bi-lingual operators are standing by 24 hours 7 days a week to assist you with your deposit. Major credit cards accepted are Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express.
  • By using their app, either Android or iphone. - All credit cards mentioned above are accepted.

Occasionally, it may take up to 72 hours for funds to be active on an inmate Trust & Commissary account, however most people experience deposits are available immediately.

Commissary Money Deposits

Tarrant County Corrections Center uses Access Corrections Secure Deposits (also known as 'Smart Deposit') for depositing money into an inmate's account. 

The information below provides you complete instructions regarding the Tarrant County Corrections Center:
- Inmate Accounts and Deposits,
- Commissary Information,
- Depositing Money Online,
- Mailing Inmate Money, and
- What 'property' Tarrant County Corrections Center inmates are allowed to have in jail and/or have dropped off to them.
Follow the instructions below on this page exactly to help ensure that your inmate has access to commissary, and in some cases medical and bail money, as soon as possible.

What is an Inmate Commissary?

Commissary, also known as Canteen, is the ‘store’ within a jail or prison where inmates can purchase items that they want or need to make their stay in jail or prison less of a burden.

Snacks and comfort foods, branded hygiene products they are used to, sneakers and t-shirts, prayer blankets, radios, headphones, television sets, tablets, stationary products and art supplies; depending on the facility, there are thousands of products to choose from.

Some jail and prison systems run their own commissary store, others contract out to companies that serve dozens or hundreds of jails, where inmates and/or their friends and families can purchase products through a website from home, or a kiosk or tablet within their facility.

What items can inmates purchase in jail and prison?

Food
•    Cookies
•    Pastries
•    Candy
•    Tuna and mackerel
•    Coffee and Tea
•    Soft drinks
•    Energy drinks
•    Pizza
•    Hamburgers
•    Chicken fingers
•    Spices

Hygiene
•    Shampoo
•    Soap
•    Shaving supplies
•    Lotions
•    Deodorant
•    Oral care
•    Toilet paper
•    Nail care

Clothing
•    Sweats
•    Sneakers
•    Shorts
•    Underwear and bras
•    Socks
•    Jackets
•    Hats

Electronics
•    Televisions
•    Radios
•    Headphones
•    Tablets
•    Watches

Miscellaneous
•    Playing cards
•    Games
•    Bibles
•    Books
•    Art supplies
•    Stationery supplies
•    Vaping products (only some states)
•    Greeting cards

How much money can an inmate spend on commissary each month?

Generally, the maximum spend in jail is about $300 per month. Prisons allow a bit more as it is more of a permanent home, whereby jail is temporary. To find out how much an inmate in the Tarrant County Corrections Center can spend each month, call 817-884-3116.

How often can inmates purchase commissary?

Some jails it's twice a week, others once a week or every other week. A lot of the online stores care pack companies are once a month. To find out the exact schedule for Tarrant County Corrections Center, call 817-884-3116.

How can a friend or family member deposit money for an inmate in jail or prison?

Tarrant County Corrections Center has its own methods for receiving money for inmates, and that information can be found above or by calling 817-884-3116 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 usually located in the lobby or visitation area of the facility.

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 Tarrant County Corrections Center, this information will be outlined above.

Who are the companies that jails use to send money to inmates?

There are many companies competing for the accounts of jail and prison inmates. Their intention is to alleviate the staffing and financial responsibility of 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

How do I send an inmate money by mail?

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 817-884-3116.

Can I send an inmate money online?

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 Tarrant County Corrections Center contracts with for inmate deposits, call them at 817-884-3116.

How expensive are items on commissary?

Items on commissary are no more expensive than they would be at a local Walmart store.

What is a Commissary deposit?

A commissary deposit is the money that a person on the outside deposits in an inmate’s trust account, so they can have money to spend on commissary and communication services.

How much money can inmate have in his commissary account?

The limit that an inmate can have in their commissary account is usually about $300.00. To find out what the limit is for Tarrant County Corrections Center, call 817-884-3116.

Can I send an inmate a package or care pack??

Many jails contract with companies that send food, hygiene products and/or clothing to inmates. These can be purchased and sent by friends and family on a weekly or monthly basis.

You can only send items from the one that your jail has a contract with. 

An inmate carepack is a pack of snacks and/or hygiene products that friends or family members of an inmate can purchase online and have shipped to an inmate. The carepack company needs to have a contract with the facility before it can be shipped to the inmate.

Check this page, the Money Page or the Commissary Page for further information, or call the jail at 817-884-3116 to see which one that the Tarrant County Corrections Center works with.

Here are the commissary package companies, in alphabetical order, that provide this service to jails in the United States:

Access Securepak
Care A Cell
Commissary order
Correct Pay
Express Account
icare
Inmate Canteen
Jail ATM
Jail Pack Store (McDaniel Supply)
My Care Pack
Oasis (jailcanteen)
Prodigy Solutions
Tiger
Union Supply Direct

Can an inmate buy gifts on commissary?

Not really. Other than the basic supplies mentioned above there are no gifts other than greeting cards that they can fill out and mail to a friend, family or loved one.

Tarrant County Corrections Center Inmate Mail Guidelines

Envelopes
The Tarrant County Corrections Center also allows envelopes to be mailed to inmates. The letter cannot exceed 12" x 16" in size.

Envelopes MUST be mailed to the following address:
Inmate Full Name & CID Number
Tarrant County Jail
100 N. Lamar
Fort Worth, TX 76196


Newspapers
Local or national newspapers may also be mailed to the inmate as long as they are mailed directly from the newspaper publisher.

Magazines
News, special interest or sports magazines may also be mailed to an inmate as long as they are shipped directly from the publisher. Any magazines that contain profanity, weapons, pornography or other content that is adult in nature will be confiscated by the jail staff and will NOT be delivered to the inmate.

Books
The Tarrant County Corrections Center allows books to be mailed directly to the jail from a reputable retailer such as Barnes & Noble. You can order them directly from your computer and have them shipped to the inmate at the address above. The shipment must come from the USPS. A shipment from any other carrier other than the Post Office will NOT be accepted.
Books must NOT contain images or content that are considered excessively violent, pornographic or obscene. Any book that does not meet the Tarrant County Corrections Center standards will be disposed of. No more than three books may be shipped at any one time.
Hard cover books will not be accepted by the jail due to their potential to be used as a weapon.


All mail, newspapers, magazines and books are to be shipped to:
Inmate Full Name & CID Number
Tarrant County Jail
100 N. Lamar
Fort Worth, TX 76196

For complete information about what is NOT allowable to mail to an inmate, check out our Inmate Mail page.


 

Depositing Money for Communicating with an Inmate

How to Make a Deposit for Phone, Email or Visitation using GettingOut.com

Tarrant County Corrections Center uses GettingOut for some or all of its communication services with an inmate.

If you want to deposit money using this company for your use or your inmate's account, there are four ways to do it:

  • Online - They accept all major credit cards including Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express.
  • At the Tarrant County Corrections Center using the kiosk in the jail lobby - (cash, debit or credit card) NOTE - Tarrant County Corrections Center may require identity verification so bring your driver’s license or some other form of ID.
  • By phone by calling 866-516-0115 - They have bi-lingual operators are standing by 24 hours 7 days a week to assist you with your deposit. Major credit cards accepted are Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express.
  • By using their app, either Android or iphone. - All credit cards mentioned above are accepted.

For all the information you need to know, including tips, guidelines and warnings about depositing money in a Tarrant County Corrections Center inmate's account for communication services, check out our Send Money page.


 

How Inmates Can Use a Tablet to Access Services at Tarrant County Corrections Center

To find out how to get access to a tablet for inmate read the following:

1.  First, Register or Sign In to GettingOut/GTL

2.  Purchase the services you want for your Tarrant County Corrections Center inmate.
3. All inmates have free access to the tablets to read their letters from family & friends, but there are many other services available to keep your inmate busy while incarcerated... such as Games, Books, Music and Movies. These other services come with fees that you can pay for when you pay for phone service.

To learn more about Tablet Rentals for inmates, including the cost, all the services available and everything else you need to know, check out our Tablet Rental Page.


 

How to Communicate with an Tarrant County Corrections Center Inmate by Mail and by Email

To mail or email an inmate in Tarrant County follow these steps:

When mailing a letter or postcard to an inmate, please follow these instructions:

  • All mail sent to an inmate at the Tarrant County Corrections Center must include the sender's name and mailing address in the top left corner of the envelope or postcard.
  • All mail must include the facility's address, as well as the inmate's name and assigned number.
  • Failure to include your return address will most likely result in your mail NOT being delivered and your letter destroyed.
  • The Tarrant County Corrections Center has a zero-tolerance policy regarding mail violations. 
  • All the information you need to understand mail and email policies can be found on our Inmate Mail Page and our Text/Email an Inmate Page.

Emailing Messages & Photos

Facility_name_1} contracts with GTL GettingOut, the same service that handles iInmate Phone Systems and Video Visitation, for sending secure messages and photos between you and your inmate.
 
If you are not already registered, do so here, or Log in.

Then use the Facility Finder to:
1.  Select Tarrant County Corrections Center,
2. Add your inmate to your list of contacts,
3. Add a credit or debit card to cover your costs.

  • Messages can be up to 500 characters long, including punctuation. At the bottom of your message there is a 'character countdown' feature.  
  • After you click the “CONTINUE” button, you can review the cost to send your message to your inmate. You can also attach credits for your inmate to reply to your message.  Be sure to accept the Terms and Conditions and click the “SEND” button for your message to be successfully delivered to your inmate.
  • You can also send your Tarrant County inmate photos and videos.

Customer Service Questions
'Online' Contact Form, or
Call   866-516-0115

Go here to this FAQ to get answers to how the transition to ViaPath from GTL and gettingout will affect your account.

All the information you need to understand mail and email policies for Tarrant County can be found on our Inmate Mail Page and our Text/Email an Inmate Page.


 

How to Send Money to an Inmate in Tarrant County

To send commissary money to an inmate in Tarrant County Corrections Center follow these steps:

  • Register with Access Corrections by creating an account.
  • Select Texas, then select Tarrant County Corrections Center, and then the inmate you want to send money to.
  • Choose the amount of money you want to send, and input your payment method.

For all information on how to Send Money to an inmate's account check out our full money and commissary guide for Tarrant County Corrections Center.


 

How an Inmate Makes a Phone Call to You or Others from Tarrant County Corrections Center

To set up a phone account so that your inmate can call you from Tarrant County do the following:

1. Enroll in an account with Securus Technologies.

2. Choose one of three account types, Securus Debit, Advance Connect or Direct Bill.
3. Choose [facility_name_1}, then connect with your inmate.
4. If you have any questions, call Securus: 972-734-1111 or 800-844-6591.

To find out fees, how to's, calling times, limits on phone calls and other systems Securus has do that you can communicate with your Tarrant County inmate, check out our Inmate Phone Page.
NOTE: All of your inmate's phone calls are recorded and stored. It is advised not to discuss their pending case.


 

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