How to put money on inmate books

Private websites such as Access Corrections, ConnectNetwork, TouchPay, or MoneyGram handle card payments from home at most county jails. Western Union says you'll need the facility's name, the full name of the person, plus their ID or a booking number. During the jail booking process, the jail gives each person a tracking number called a booking number.

When you don't have that number yet, start with the county roster. To look up their record, use the steps in the guide to finding someone in jail.

How to pay on a jail payment website

Sheriff's offices each pick their own payment portal, so confirm it on the jail's website before you register. You'll go through 4 main steps on portals like Access Corrections and ConnectNetwork:

1. Sign in to your profile, or open a new account on the vendor's website.
2. Use the facility name and their ID number to find the incarcerated person.
3. Type in your deposit amount, then calculate the fee to see the total you'll pay.
4. Use a debit or credit card, as long as it's a US-based Visa or MasterCard.

Online payments go through the TouchPay portal anytime: 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, all 365 days a year. In Stanislaus County and similar places, you pay at tponlinepay.com using your card or an electronic check. Touchpay Direct or Correctional Payment Services will appear as the payee on your bank statement.

Phone deposits

Don't want to use a website? A card deposit by phone can still put money on inmate books, and ConnectNetwork accepts internet and phone payments 7 days each week, 24 hours each day. The facility gets those deposits in 1 working day or less. The jail phone number directory gives you the booking desk's number, so you can call and ask about the vendor the facility uses.

• ConnectNetwork takes Salt Lake County deposits at 888-988-4768 with site ID 143.
• ViaPath offers toll-free deposit help in North Carolina at 877-650-4249.
• TouchPay handles Stanislaus County and Baltimore County phone payments at 1-866-232-1899.
• Access Corrections takes Dallas County phone deposits at 1-866-345-1884.
• JPay accepts Visa phone payments for Leon County in Florida at 800-574-5729.

In person, you can pay with cash at a facility machine or a retail counter, or send a paper payment by mail. A self-serve machine that takes cash and cards sits in the lobby at most county jails. In Oregon, the Records Unit at the Washington County Jail also accepts payments 24 hours daily, 7 days a week. You must show a photo ID when paying by cash, USPS money order, or cashier's check.

You should confirm the right building for paying before you drive to the jail. Salt Lake County takes walk-in deposits for the Metro and Oxbow Jails at the Metro Jail alone.

Paying at a jail lobby machine or retail store

Like bank ATMs, lobby machines take bills or a card to fund a commissary account. The lobby kiosk is your only option for paying cash at the jail in Stanislaus County. In Pennsylvania, the Allegheny County Jail opens its lobby kiosks from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m. To deposit money there, your name must appear on the approved visitor list.

Before you go, look up the lobby rules and the facility's visiting hours. Can't get to the jail? Several services take cash payments at stores near you:

• MoneyGram takes cash at agent locations near you when you show the facility's name plus the inmate's ID number.
• TouchPay takes cash at participating walk-in retail stores in your area.
• Through CashPayToday or at each jail kiosk, Dallas County takes walk-in cash deposits.

Mailing a money order

The traditional way to send funds without a vendor fee is a money order sent by mail. Money orders aren't processed at the facility itself by North Carolina prisons. Instead, agencies such as the Georgia Department of Corrections have you send money orders by mail to a JPay lockbox, and it costs nothing. The term lockbox means a central mailing address: a payment company processes the jail's paper deposits there.

Once GTL receives a mailed deposit, it's generally processed the next working day. Check your local mail rules before anything else. Knox County in Tennessee accepts cashier's checks and money orders by mail only. By contrast, Leon County in Florida won't accept any mailed deposits. In Allegheny County, a mailed money order needs the inmate's DOC number, and anything over $100 is held for 10 working days.

Paying by card at a kiosk, online, or by phone almost always costs extra, while paper payments sent by mail usually cost nothing. With the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, there's no fee for a cashier's check, personal check, or money order. In California, electronic funds transfers come with a fee. Likewise, TouchPay in Stanislaus County charges a convenience fee every time you pay.

In Knox County, Tennessee, credit cards add 5%, and the lobby deposit ATMs carry a $3.45 surcharge. An extra fee, called a surcharge, is added to your payment to cover what the machine or card network costs.

Sample deposit fees by amount and service

Your payment method and the amount you send determine each vendor's prices. In Dallas County, Access Corrections online deposits start at $2.95, while deposits in Baltimore County run from $2.95 to $6.95. According to the Georgia Department of Corrections, the JPay fee schedule is as follows:

Deposit method	Deposit amount	Transaction fee
JPay online transfer	$0.01 to $20.00	$3.50
JPay online transfer	$20.01 to $100.00	$5.00
JPay online transfer	$100.01 to $300.00	$6.50
Walk-in or MoneyGram	Up to $5,000.00	$4.95
Mail lockbox money order	Any approved amount	$0.00

With ConnectNetwork, you'll see the total deposit amount, fee included, on screen before you complete the payment.

Jail deductions and deposit limits

Limits on the amount you can send each month or each transaction are set by the facility itself, according to MoneyGram. To learn the maximum balance allowed, call the jail or visit the sheriff's website.

Your payment can be delayed, or the vendor can reject it, if you send more than the limit.

If the person in custody owes money to the facility, your full deposit might not reach them. The jail in Salt Lake County may take as much as 50% of a new deposit to cover what the prisoner owes. Before you put money on inmate books, ask the booking desk about any unpaid jail debts.