Federal Inmate Search: BOP Locator, Contact, and Release Alerts

To run a federal inmate search, go to the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ free online locator at bop.gov/inmate_locator. It covers anyone held in federal custody from 1982 to the present and returns the person’s current facility, projected release date, and basic identifying details in about 30 seconds.¹ The tool is limited to the federal prison system. If the person is in a state prison, county jail, immigration detention, or pre-trial custody with the U.S. Marshals, you’ll need a different database.

What You Need Before You Search

You can search by identifying number or by name. A number gets you to a single record without duplicates. The locator accepts four:

BOP Register Number, assigned when someone enters the federal system. This is the most common one.
DCDC Number, used for people with records from the District of Columbia’s correctional system.
FBI Number, assigned during criminal fingerprinting.
INS Number, assigned by the former Immigration and Naturalization Service.

No number? Search by legal first and last name. A middle name helps considerably when the name is common. You can also filter by race, age, and sex to narrow results.²¹

Running the Search

Open the locator page and pick the number-search tab or the name-search tab. For a number, choose the type from the dropdown, enter it, and submit. For a name, fill in the first and last name fields, add any filters you have, and submit. Results come back within seconds.

If nothing comes back, check spelling first. Then try again without the middle name and without the demographic filters. A blank result doesn’t mean the person was never in federal custody. It could mean they were released before 1982, they’re being held somewhere that isn’t federal prison, or the name on file doesn’t match what you typed. Married names, legal name changes, and aliases are frequent reasons.

Reading the Results

A successful search returns the person’s full name, BOP register number, current age (calculated live from date of birth, not frozen at release), race, and sex.² Two fields carry most of the weight:

Release Date. A future date is a projected release, based on BOP calculations that account for good-time credit and other adjustments. A past date with no facility listed means the person finished their federal sentence on that date and is no longer in BOP custody.²
Location. For someone currently incarcerated, this appears as a clickable link to the specific facility’s page, which lists the mailing address, phone number, and visiting information.

A “Released” or “Not in BOP Custody” status doesn’t necessarily mean the person is free. They may be on supervised release or in the custody of another jurisdiction.¹

If the Location Is a Reentry Management Office

Inmates near the end of their sentence are sometimes moved to a Residential Reentry Center, commonly called a halfway house. The locator won’t show the halfway house address. Instead, the location field lists the name of the Residential Reentry Management office that oversees the inmate.³ The person is at the halfway house, not at that office. Contact the listed office for information on reaching them.

Who Won’t Appear

The database is federal prisons only. Several groups will return no results even though they’re clearly in custody somewhere:

State and local inmates. Anyone in a state prison, county jail, or city lockup won’t appear. That includes people facing federal charges who are being held temporarily in a local facility.
Immigration detainees. People held by Immigration and Customs Enforcement are in a separate system.
Pre-1982 inmates. Older records have been transferred to the National Archives.²
U.S. Marshals Service detainees. People in pre-trial federal custody are often held in contract facilities managed by the Marshals, which keeps its own records.

Where to Look Instead

For state or county custody, there’s no single national database. Search the department of corrections website for the state where the person was arrested or convicted. Every state runs its own tool and the details vary. VINELink, run by the Victim Information and Notification Everyday network, is a useful starting point: pick a state on the VINELink site and search inmates in participating facilities. It covers most states and many local jails, and you can register for automated custody-change notifications through the website, by phone, or through the mobile app.

For immigration custody, use the ICE Online Detainee Locator System at locator.ice.gov. You can search by A-Number (the nine-digit immigration identifier, padded with leading zeros if shorter) plus country of birth, or by first name, last name, and country of birth. The name search requires exact spelling: “Jon” won’t find “John,” and hyphens must match. The ICE locator cannot search for anyone under 18.⁴

For federal inmates from before 1982, direct your request to the National Archives and Records Administration rather than the BOP. Provide the full name with middle name or initial, date of birth or approximate age at incarceration, race, and approximate dates in prison. NARA lists which regional facility holds records for each federal district at archives.gov/research/court-records.²⁵

After You Find Them

The facility link in your search results is the starting point for contact. Each federal institution sets its own rules for visits, mail, phones, and messaging, so check that facility’s page before you send anything.

Mail

General mail to a federal inmate is opened and inspected by staff for contraband and content that could threaten institutional security.⁶ Address your envelope with the inmate’s full legal name and BOP register number, and use the mailing address on the facility’s page. Attorney mail gets special protection only if the envelope is marked correctly: the attorney’s name, an indication that the sender is an attorney, and the phrase “Special Mail—Open only in the presence of the inmate” on the front. Without those markings, staff process it as general mail and may read it.⁷

Email Through TRULINCS and CorrLinks

Federal inmates can exchange email using a system called TRULINCS, paired with an outside service called CorrLinks. The inmate has to start it. They add you to their approved contact list, staff must approve, and CorrLinks then emails you an invitation asking whether you accept or block messages from that inmate. You have 10 days to respond. Miss the window and the inmate has to submit a new request.⁸ Messages are more like email than texting, and staff can monitor them.

Visiting

You can only visit a federal inmate if they’ve put you on their approved visiting list and you’ve cleared a background review. The inmate submits your name during intake or later by request. At medium- and high-security facilities, the BOP typically runs a background check on non-family visitors before granting approval. The inmate mails you the authorization form, which you complete and return directly to the facility. Each institution publishes its own visiting schedule, dress code, and rules on what you can bring.

Sending Money

Federal inmates use a commissary account to buy food, hygiene items, stamps, and similar goods. You can send funds through Western Union or MoneyGram, either in person at an agent location or online.⁹ For MoneyGram, the BOP’s receive code is 7932; online transfers are capped at $300 and require a Visa or Mastercard.¹⁰ Double-check the name and register number before you send. Funds routed to the wrong account may go to the wrong person and won’t be returned.⁶

Release Alerts for Crime Victims

Victims of federal crimes can sign up for the Department of Justice’s Victim Notification System, a free automated service that sends updates on case events, custody transfers, and scheduled release dates for federal defendants. You register at notify.usdoj.gov or by calling 1-866-365-4968, using a Victim Identification Number and Personal Identification Number sent in your initial VNS notifications.¹¹ For crimes involving immigration detainees, the Department of Homeland Security runs a separate program called DHS VINE.¹²

1
Federal Bureau of Prisons. Federal Bureau of Prisons – Inmate Locator
2
Federal Bureau of Prisons. Federal Bureau of Prisons – About Inmate Records
3
Federal Bureau of Prisons. Federal Bureau of Prisons – Residential Reentry Management Centers
4
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Online Detainee Locator System
5
National Archives. National Archives Court Records
6
Federal Bureau of Prisons. Federal Bureau of Prisons – Inmate Communications
7
eCFR. 28 CFR 540.19 – Legal Correspondence
8
Federal Bureau of Prisons. Federal Bureau of Prisons – TRULINCS Topics
9
Federal Bureau of Prisons. Federal Bureau of Prisons – Sending Funds Using Western Union
10
Federal Bureau of Prisons. Federal Bureau of Prisons – Sending Funds Using MoneyGram
11
Victim Notification System. Victim Notification System
12
Office for Victims of Crime. Victim Notification