The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) runs 118 institutions across the country, plus satellite camps beside many of them. Its mail rules are consistent in some ways and vary by institution in others.
The Register Number
Every person in federal custody has an 8-digit Register Number, written as five digits, a hyphen and three digits (for example 12345-678). It stays the same for that person. You can find it with the BOP inmate locator by searching their name.
The locator also tells you where they are. If it shows a Residential Reentry Management office, they're in a halfway house or on home confinement. The BOP doesn't publish those addresses, so mail can't be sent there through the prison system.
How to address it
Federal prison mail is addressed in this order:
- The person's full name and Register Number
- The institution's name (for a camp, the camp's name)
- The institution's inmate mail address, usually a P.O. box
- City, state and ZIP
Use the inmate mail address, not the prison's street address. They differ for most federal prisons. A satellite camp can have its own P.O. box (FCI Sheridan's camp uses a different box from the main prison), while some prisons in the same complex share one.
What photos are allowed
BOP policy bans photos showing nudity or sexual acts. Polaroids aren't allowed. Individual institutions set further local rules, and many limit how many photos can be in one envelope or received in a day. Send real photo prints, never printouts on plain paper.
Photocopies instead of prints
Since November 2024, federal prisons other than minimum-security facilities photocopy all incoming general mail, including photos and greeting cards, and give the person the copy. Photos are copied in color. At minimum-security facilities, the original prints are generally still delivered.
This means that at most federal prisons, the person receives a color copy of each photo rather than the print itself. It's still very much worth sending; just expect a copy.
Sending through InmatePics
We keep every federal institution's inmate mail address on file from the BOP's own published data, including separate camp addresses. Enter the Register Number and we'll check the BOP locator to confirm the name and that they're at the prison you chose. Before you pay, we show whether that institution delivers prints or color copies. If the prison returns your photos for any reason other than banned content, you get a full refund or a free reprint.