How to Send Money to a Prisoner

In England and Wales, the standard way to send money to someone in prison is GOV.UK’s free Send money to someone in prison service. You pay with a Visa, Mastercard or Maestro debit card, and you need the person’s prisoner number and date of birth. Money usually reaches their prison account in less than 3 working days. Prisons no longer accept bank transfers, cheques, postal orders or cash by post, unless you have been given an exemption. Scotland, Northern Ireland and US prisons use their own systems, covered below.

Use the official GOV.UK service

Start at GOV.UK’s send money to someone in prison page. The service is free, secure and available in all prisons in England and Wales, and it is built by the Ministry of Justice. You do not need to know which prison the person is in: the prisoner number and date of birth identify their account. Use the GOV.UK link rather than a search advert or a site that looks similar.

What you need

• A debit card. Visa, Mastercard or Maestro. The service’s help pages say credit cards and prepaid debit cards are not accepted.
• The person’s prisoner number. The service cannot give this out by law, so ask the person for it.
• Their date of birth, matching the prison’s record.

If the person has only just arrived in prison, their details can take one working day to appear, so try again the next day. If the number and date of birth still do not match, the person should ask wing staff to check the details the prison holds and correct them.

How long it takes and how they find out

Most payments arrive in less than 3 working days, though the service’s help pages say a payment can take up to 5 days. Some prisons give the person an account slip when money arrives; not all do, so they may need to ask a wing officer. The person can see the sender’s name, but not the sender’s personal or banking details.

If something goes wrong

• You cannot cancel a payment. Once it has gone through it is non-refundable.
• If the person moves prison, the money is transferred to the new prison, which can take a few days.
• If the person has been released, they need to contact the prison, which will send a refund.

If you cannot pay online

If you cannot use a computer, smartphone or the internet, or you do not have a debit card, you can ask the prison for an exemption that lets you send money by post. Print the request form from the GOV.UK apply for an exemption page and post it, with proof, to the prison’s Business Hub. The proof listed is an account refusal from one of the named UK banks, proof that your bank account does not give you a debit card or cheque book, or, if you live overseas, proof of residence and an account refusal from a bank in your country.

Exemptions are only granted in exceptional circumstances, and the governor can withdraw one at any time. Do not post any money until you have your exemption letter. If the only problem is not having a debit card, GOV.UK suggests setting up a basic bank account that comes with one.

Sending money from abroad

You can use the same service from outside the UK, but only with a Visa, Mastercard or Maestro debit card.

Gifts and property are separate

Money and property follow different rules. Books, clothes and other items are handled through each prison’s own property process, which is described on its GOV.UK page. Our guide to what you can bring to a prison visit covers what visitors can and cannot carry in.

Scotland and Northern Ireland

The GOV.UK service only covers prisons in England and Wales. To send money to someone in a Scottish or Northern Irish prison, contact that prison directly and ask how it accepts money.

US federal prisons

Federal Bureau of Prisons facilities accept deposits into a person’s commissary account through MoneyGram, Western Union, or by post through the US Postal Service. For MoneyGram and Western Union you need the person’s eight-digit register number followed immediately by their last name, with no spaces or dashes, as in the BOP’s example 12345678DOE. The BOP says electronic deposits sent between 7am and 9pm Eastern time usually post within 2 to 4 hours, and that you should wait until the person has physically arrived at a BOP facility before sending. Wrong details can mean the money is rejected or paid into someone else’s account and not returned. Check the exact steps on the BOP’s communications page.

Privately run contract facilities, state prisons and county jails use their own deposit providers, so check with the facility or the state Department of Corrections instead.