How to Find a UK Prison Address

People looking up a UK prison address usually need a postal address, postcode, or switchboard number so they can write a letter, confirm they have the right establishment, or start a visit booking. Searches such as “HMP Wandsworth address” are best answered on that prison’s own contact-details page. This guide shows how to reach those pages from the directory, how to browse by security category when you do not yet have the name, and when to double-check the details on GOV.UK. It is general orientation only: it does not replace official HMPPS or GOV.UK records, and it does not list every prison’s address here.

If you already know the prison name

Open the prison’s profile in the UK directory, then use the contact-details page for that site. That is the page on this website meant to hold the postal address, postcode, and telephone number for one establishment. Profile pages describe the prison; contact-details pages own the address and phone lookup. If a search engine offered a directory listing instead of an address, follow through to the contact-details URL rather than copying an old forum post.

High-demand contact pages include HMP Wandsworth contact details, HMP Thameside contact details, HMP Wormwood Scrubs contact details, HMP Bullingdon contact details, HMP Durham contact details, HMP Five Wells contact details, HMP Preston contact details, and HMP Bronzefield contact details.

You can also start from the UK prison directory or the Prison Finder if you only have a partial name.

If you know the category but not the name

England and Wales male prisons are grouped by security category. Category B and Category C lists are the busiest browse pages on this site. Use them when you know the type of prison but not the exact HMP name, then open the matching contact-details page once you have identified the establishment. Category pages are lists; they are not a substitute for a named prison’s address page.

Browse Category C prisons and Category B prisons. If the site is privately managed, the privately managed prisons collection can also narrow the list. For the category definitions themselves, see Prison Categories Explained.

What a contact-details page is for

Use the contact-details page to check the postal address and postcode before you send mail, and the published switchboard or enquiry number before you call. Visiting still needs a separate booking process; the phone number on a contact page is not automatically a visits booking line. Mail usually needs the prisoner’s full name and prison number as well as the establishment address. Rules on photographs, enclosures, and digital mail providers differ by prison, so treat the contact page as the route to the right site rather than a complete mail manual.

Confirm the details officially

Addresses, phone numbers, and mail routes change. After you have identified the prison here, confirm the live details on GOV.UK before you post a letter or travel. This directory is compiled from HMPPS administrative data used in the current site build; it is not a government website and it does not cover every Scottish or Northern Ireland establishment in the same way as England and Wales HMP sites.

Confirm establishment contact pages via GOV.UK’s prisons in England and Wales collection (the former Find a prison entry point redirects here).

When you are ready to book a visit rather than post a letter, read How Prison Visits Work after you have the right contact-details page.

A simple order of steps

• Confirm the establishment name, including YOI in the title where that is how the site is listed.
• Open that prison’s contact-details page for the address, postcode, and telephone number.
• If you only know the type of prison, browse the Category B or Category C list first.
• Add the prisoner’s name and prison number to any letter, then confirm the postal route on GOV.UK before you send it.