A federal inmate register number is the unique eight-digit identifier the Bureau of Prisons assigns to every person taken into federal custody, and it stays attached to that person’s record for life. The format is five digits, a hyphen, three digits (for example, 12345-067). You will need it to send mail, deposit money, apply to visit, or request records, and the fastest way to find one is the BOP’s free online Inmate Locator.
What the Number Is and Why It’s Permanent
The BOP and the U.S. Marshals Service use the register number to tie every part of a person’s federal record together: housing, medical files, legal filings, and commissary accounts.1U.S. Department of Justice. Privacy Impact Assessment for the Justice Detainee Information System (JDIS) No two people share one, which matters in a system holding well over 100,000 people where names repeat constantly.
The number is permanent. It remains attached to a person’s federal record after release, and if that person is later re-incarcerated federally, the BOP reactivates the same file rather than opening a new one. One identifier, one history, however many years pass in between.
How the Format Works
Every register number follows the same pattern: five digits, hyphen, three digits. The first five are assigned sequentially and carry no special meaning on their own. The three-digit suffix does the informative work. It marks the federal judicial district where the person was first processed into the system.2Federal Bureau of Prisons. Sending Funds Using Western Union
There are 94 federal judicial districts, and each has a code. Suffix 054 corresponds to the Southern District of New York; 012 indicates the Central District of California. In districts that have processed unusually large numbers of people, the leading zero in the suffix is replaced with a 1 to expand capacity. If you already have the number, the suffix tells you where the case originated, which can help when tracking down court records.
How to Look Up a Register Number
The Bureau of Prisons runs a free public search tool called the Inmate Locator. It covers every federal inmate incarcerated from 1982 to the present, including people who have already been released.3Federal Bureau of Prisons. Find an Inmate
Searching by Name
Enter the person’s legal first and last name. The database matches exact spellings, so a typo or nickname returns nothing. Add a middle name if you know it to narrow results. When several people share a name, the results list each person’s age, race, and sex so you can confirm the right individual.
Searching by Number
If you already have some identification number but don’t know where the person is held, the Locator also accepts a DCDC number, an FBI number, or an INS number.3Federal Bureau of Prisons. Find an Inmate That’s useful for immigration cases or people processed by another federal agency before transferring to BOP custody.
What the Results Show
A successful search returns the person’s name, register number, age, race, sex, projected release date, and current facility.3Federal Bureau of Prisons. Find an Inmate The projected release date reflects sentence length and good-conduct credit earned so far, so it can shift over time. The facility location updates when someone is transferred, making the Locator the quickest way to confirm where a person is currently held.
What You Need the Register Number For
Almost every interaction with a federal inmate runs through the register number. Without it, you can’t complete the basic tasks below.
All mail to a federal inmate must include the person’s full committed name and eight-digit register number on the envelope. Mail that arrives without this information can be rejected or returned.4Federal Bureau of Prisons. Communications Inmates must also include their own name and register number on the return address of outgoing mail.5Federal Bureau of Prisons. Correspondence Program Statement 5265.14 Any money order enclosed must carry the inmate’s full name and register number, or the funds cannot be posted.
Depositing Money
Commissary accounts let inmates buy food, hygiene items, and over-the-counter medications. To add funds, enter the eight-digit register number with no spaces or dashes, followed immediately by the inmate’s last name (for example, 12345678DOE).2Federal Bureau of Prisons. Sending Funds Using Western Union Enter it wrong and the money can land in someone else’s account, and it may not come back.
The BOP accepts electronic deposits through Western Union and MoneyGram, and you can also mail a U.S. Postal Money Order directly to the institution.6Federal Bureau of Prisons. Sending Funds Using Western UnionSending Funds Using MoneyGram Each option carries its own processing fee, so check with the provider before sending.
Visitation
Before you can visit someone in a federal facility, you must submit a visitor application listing the inmate’s name and register number.7Federal Bureau of Prisons. Visitor Information Form BP-A0629 The institution uses that information to verify identity and run background checks on prospective visitors. Applications missing the register number cannot be processed.
Electronic Messaging
Federal inmates can exchange electronic messages through TRULINCS, which connects outside contacts through a service called CorrLinks. The inmate starts the process from the inside by adding you to an approved list; you then get an email asking whether you accept messages.8Federal Bureau of Prisons. TRULINCS Topics You don’t need the register number to accept, but you’ll want it if you ever have to reference the account or work through a connection problem with the facility.
FOIA and Records Requests
Requesting an inmate’s records under the Freedom of Information Act requires the register number. The BOP’s FOIA office asks for the person’s full name, date of birth, place of birth, current address, and register number before processing a request.9Federal Bureau of Prisons. Freedom of Information Act Requests for someone else’s non-public records also require signed authorization, either notarized or made under penalty of perjury.
If a Deposit Goes to the Wrong Account
Mistakes happen. When money reaches the wrong inmate’s commissary account because of a staff error, the BOP posts a corrective transaction as soon as the error is identified, whether the cause was a wrong register number or a wrong name on the deposit.10Federal Bureau of Prisons. Trust Fund/Deposit Fund Manual Program Statement 4500.12 The correction is applied regardless of the current balance in either account. If pulling the money back creates a negative balance in the receiving account, future deposits to that account are automatically applied to cover the shortfall.
That process is for staff-side errors. If you sent money to the wrong register number through Western Union or MoneyGram, call the service provider first. The BOP’s own guidance is blunt: you are responsible for sending funds to the correct inmate, and funds deposited into the wrong account due to sender error may not be returned.2Federal Bureau of Prisons. Sending Funds Using Western Union Double-check the number before you confirm any transaction.
Records from Before 1982
The online Inmate Locator only reaches back to 1982.3Federal Bureau of Prisons. Find an Inmate For anyone incarcerated before that, historical federal prison records sit with the National Archives under Record Group 129, which maintains name indices for inmate case files at several well-known facilities and holds general BOP records at its Kansas City facility.11National Archives. Prison Records at the National Archives For cases that fall between the historical indices and the 1982 cutoff, a formal records request to the National Archives or the BOP is usually the path forward. Full name, approximate dates of incarceration, and the facility where the person was held will make the search much faster.