In 1930 the Department of Justice authorized and established a Commissary at each Federal institution. The Commissary was created to provide a bank type account for inmate monies and for the procurement of articles not issued regularly as part of the institution administration. The purpose of individual inmate Commissary accounts is to allow the Bureau of Prisons to maintain inmates’ monies while they are incarcerated. Family, friends, or other sources may deposit funds into these accounts.

Funds may be sent to Federal inmates via the United States Postal Service or via the Western Union Quick Collect Program. In either case, the inmate must physically be housed at a Federal Bureau of Prisons’ facility before funds can be received and posted. If the inmate is not physically in a Federal Bureau of Prisons’ facility, the funds cannot be posted and will be returned or rejected.

Inmates’ families and friends choosing to send inmates funds through the mail must send those funds to the following address and in accordance with the directions provided below:

Federal Bureau of Prisons
Insert Valid Committed Inmate Name
Insert Inmate Eight-Digit Register Number
Post Office Box 474701
Des Moines, Iowa 50947-0001

The deposit must be in the form of a money order made out to the inmate’s full committed name and complete eight-digit register number. Effective December 1, 2007, all non-postal money orders and non-government checks processed through the National Lockbox will be placed on a 15-day hold. The Bureau of Prisons will return to the sender funds that do not have valid inmate information provided the envelope has an adequate return address. Personal checks and cash cannot be accepted for deposit.

The sender’s name and return address must appear on the upper left-hand corner of the envelope to ensure that the funds can be returned to the sender in the event that they cannot be posted to the inmate’s account. The deposit envelope must not contain any items intended for delivery to the inmate. The Bureau of Prisons shall dispose of all items included with the funds.

In the event funds have been mailed but have not been received in the inmate’s account and adequate time has passed for mail service to Des Moines, Iowa, the sender must initiate a tracer with the entity who sold them the money order to resolve any issues.

Inmates’ families and friends may also send inmates funds through Western Union’s Quick Collect Program. All funds sent via Western Union’s Quick Collect will be posted to the inmate’s account within two to four hours, when those funds are sent between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. EST (seven days per week, including holidays). Funds received after 9:00 pm EST will be posted by 7:00 am EST the following morning. Funds sent to an inmate through the Quick Collect Program may be sent via one of the following ways:

1) At an agent location with cash: The inmate’s family or friends must complete a Quick Collect Form. Click here to view a sample Quick Collect Form. To find the nearest agent, they may call 1-800-325-6000 or go to www.westernunion.com.

2) By phone using a credit/debit card: The inmate’s family or friends may simply call 1-800-634-3422 and press option 2.

For each Western Union Quick Collect transaction, the following information must be provided:

1) Valid Inmate Eight-Digit Register Number (entered with no spaces or dashes) followed immediately by Inmate’s Last Name

2) Committed Inmate Full Name entered on Attention Line 3) Code City: FBOP, DC

3) ONLINE using a credit/debit card: The inmate’s family and friends may go to www.westernunion.com and select “Quick Collect.”

For each Western Union Quick Collect transaction, the following information must be provided:

Please note that the inmate’s committed name and eight-digit register number must be entered correctly. If the sender does not provide the correct information, the transaction cannot be completed. The Code City is always FBOP, DC.

Each transaction is accepted or rejected at the point of sale. The sender has the sole responsibility of sending the funds to the correct inmate. If an incorrect register number and/or name are used and accepted and posted to that inmate, funds may not be returned.

Any questions or concerns regarding Western Union transfers should be directed to Western Union by the sender (general public). Questions or concerns should not be directed to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

For additional information concerning inmate Commissary account deposit procedures, please see the Bureau of Prisons Trust Fund/Warehouse/Laundry Manual (PS 4500.07) or 28 CFR Parts 506 and 540. For information concerning a specific deposit, please contact Federal Bureau of Prisons’ staff at 202-307-2712 between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. ET.

Inmate funds are retained electronically by the institution in a trust fund from which the inmates may spend in the institution commissary. FCC Beaumont uses a computerized commissary withdrawal system that simplifies purchasing and gives inmates an improved, up-to-date record of all account activity.
The commissary access time for inmates is scheduled on a rotating basis. The scheduled hours are posted within the housing units and outside the commissary. Procedures for receiving funds from the outside are also posted. Borrowing commissary items from other inmates is not allowed. Inmates are assigned a shopping day based on the 4th and 5th digits of their register number. Inmates may shop in the morning or during the noon sales of their assigned shopping day. The schedule will be posted in the housing units and at the commissary.
Upon release, accumulated institution earnings and monies sent from outside sources are given to the inmate or may be mailed home. It is the inmate’s responsibility to know the amount of money available in his commissary account. Inmates may check their account balance using the AIM (Automatic Inquiry Machine) located outside the commissary, or over the ITS (Inmate Telephone System). Inmates must present an inmate identification card to commissary staff to access specific account information or to purchase commissary items. If this inmate identification card is lost, inmates must inform a Unit Team member immediately.

Inmate funds accumulated from institutional earnings and funds set aside from the outside are retained by the institution in a trust fund account. Procedures for receiving funds from the outside are also posted. The total value of an inmate’s accumulated commissary items (including special purchases) will be limited to the monthly spending limitation of$290.00. This limitation does not include funds for postage stamps, over-the-counter medications and ITS (Inmate Telephone System).

Deposits to commissary accounts from outside sources will be made through the mail; deposits are made through the National Lock Box. Deposits may be made in the form of money orders, government checks, business checks, foreign negotiable instrument paid in US funds (negotiable instruments must be made out in the inmate’s committed name and include the inmate’s register number). The address for the National Lock Box is:

Federal Bureau of Prisons
Inmate Name
Inmate Register Number
Post Office Box 474701
Des Moines, Iowa 50947-0001

A standard form is provided by the institution for the withdrawal of inmate funds from commissary accounts. Unit Managers can approve withdrawals from the trust fund account to send to dependants and other family members, payment of telegraph and postage costs, and purchase of special release clothing. The Unit Manager can also approve withdrawals for institution losses, legitimate debts, and other obligations such as attorney fees, birth certificates, bedside visits, funeral trips, and the purchase of legal books. Only the Associate Warden of programs can approve inmate withdrawals exceeding $250.00. Withdrawals for some educational and leisure time items are approved by the Supervisor of Education.