Send Money to FCI Aliceville. BOP Lockbox, Western Union & MoneyGram

How to Send Money to FCI Aliceville

The BOP gives families three ways to send money to someone in federal custody:

1. Mail a USPS money order made out to the inmate’s full committed name and Register Number, sent to: Federal Bureau of Prisons, [Inmate Name and Register Number], P.O. Box 4000, Des Moines, Iowa 50947-0001.
2. Western Union Quick Collect Program.
3. MoneyGram ExpressPayment Program.

Every method requires the inmate’s full committed name and Register Number. Get the Register Number from the BOP inmate locator if you don’t already have it.

The Des Moines Lockbox Is Not the Facility’s Address

This is the single most important thing to get right. Money doesn’t go to FCI Aliceville’s street address in Alabama. It goes to a centralized BOP processing address in Des Moines, Iowa, the same address used for federal inmates at facilities across the country. FCI Aliceville’s own address, P.O. Box 4000 or P.O. Box 487 in Aliceville, AL, is only for letters, photos, and packages, never for money. Check bop.gov’s send-money page or ask the facility for the exact current deposit slip format before mailing a money order, since the BOP occasionally updates its processing details.

Sending a Money Order by Mail

Make the money order out to the inmate’s full committed name and Register Number, and write both clearly on the money order itself, not only the envelope. Mail it to Federal Bureau of Prisons, P.O. Box 4000, Des Moines, Iowa 50947-0001. Mailed money orders take longer to process than electronic methods because they have to be physically received and matched to the correct inmate account first.

Using Western Union

Western Union’s Quick Collect Program lets you send money electronically for deposit to a federal inmate’s account. Contact Western Union directly, either online or at a retail location, and follow their process for a BOP inmate deposit. If you have a problem with the transaction itself, such as a payment that didn’t go through, contact Western Union, not the prison.

Using MoneyGram

MoneyGram’s ExpressPayment Program works the same way: an electronic transfer to a federal inmate’s account. Timing matters here. Funds sent by 3:00 p.m. Central time post to the inmate’s account the same day. Funds sent after 3:00 p.m. Central post by 3:00 a.m. Eastern time the next morning. If you have a problem with the MoneyGram transaction itself, contact MoneyGram directly, not the prison.

What You Always Need

Every deposit method requires the inmate’s full committed name and Register Number. A deposit submitted with the wrong name or Register Number can be delayed or credited to the wrong account. Find the correct Register Number using the BOP inmate locator before sending anything.

Confirm the Person Is Still at FCI Aliceville Before You Send Money

Check the BOP inmate locator shortly before sending a deposit to confirm the person is still in custody at FCI Aliceville. Federal transfers between BOP facilities can happen without much advance notice to families, so this quick check can save you a delayed or misrouted deposit.

If a Deposit Fails or Doesn’t Show Up

First double-check the spelling of the name and the Register Number, since a mismatch is the most common cause of a delayed or misapplied deposit. For a Western Union or MoneyGram transaction that didn’t go through, contact that company directly, since the prison isn’t the one processing the payment. For a mailed money order that hasn’t posted after a reasonable time, contact the facility at (205) 373-5000 to ask about processing status.

If the Person Transfers

If the person is transferred to a different BOP facility, her account and Register Number move with her. You don’t need to open a new account, but confirm her current location and facility with the BOP inmate locator before sending more money, since the mailing details for money still go to the same national Des Moines lockbox regardless of which facility she’s currently at.

Commissary Spending Limits

Federal inmates typically have a monthly commissary spending limit, commonly cited around $360 per month across BOP facilities. Ask the facility at (205) 373-5000 to confirm FCI Aliceville’s current limit, since this detail wasn’t specifically broken out in the source reviewed for this guide.