Fort Dodge Correctional Facility does two jobs. It is a medium-security men's prison on 60 acres in Webster County, built in 1996 and opened in 1998, and it is also the place Iowa routes every prisoner's money through, for all nine of its prisons. That second job is why families in Anamosa and Fort Madison post money orders to a street in Fort Dodge. This guide covers the two Saturday visiting schedules, the twelve-hour video window, the money system this prison runs for the whole state, and the mail code that keeps a letter from coming back.
City
Fort Dodge
County
Webster County
State
IA
Facility Type
state prison
Gender
Adult male
Capacity
1,392
Custody Levels
Medium
Operator
Iowa Department of Corrections
Address
1550 L St., Fort Dodge, IA 50501
Phone
515-574-4700
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View ArticleProtective custody at 8:00, general population at 10:00, and why that matters.
View ArticleFort Dodge banks the money for all nine prisons. Yours is already here.
View ArticleCheap calls, but the money for them sits at a different prison entirely.
View ArticleTwo Fort Dodge addresses, and using the wrong one costs you weeks.
View ArticleIowa runs one search for all nine prisons, narrowed to this one through the Location dropdown. Name matching offers Starts With, Matches and Sounds Like, and the record carries age, offense, tentative discharge date and the most recent parole board decision. Iowa's disclaimer says data is updated weekly.
See the full breakdownFort Dodge is the only Iowa prison publishing a separate protective custody schedule: Saturday from 8:00 AM for PC and 10:00 AM for general public, both to 6:50 PM, with Sunday 8:00 AM to 6:50 PM for everyone. Video runs Monday and Friday 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM. All free, all booked in Ameelio Connect, all requiring approval first.
See the full breakdownThis prison holds the statewide lockbox. Money orders and cashier's checks for anyone in Iowa custody go to the IDOC Offender Fiduciary Account at 1550 L Street, Suite B, made payable to that account and carrying four required details or they are returned. Access Corrections starts at $3.49, JPay from $3.95, and Western Union also works.
See the full breakdownSeven cents a minute to the lower 48, with the revenue directed to legal services, education and victim services. Calls come out only and your number must be on an approved list. Toll-free, 900 and three-way calls are blocked. Phone money is lockboxed at Iowa State Penitentiary rather than here. Iowa names no vendor and publishes no call length.
See the full breakdownPersonal mail goes to PO Box 96777 in Las Vegas under the routing line Fort Dodge Correctional Facility - 1114, where Pigeonly Corrections opens and scans it. Iowa states that mail sent directly to a prison is returned to sender. Letters including children's drawings, cards, postcards, ten 4x6 photos and unbound newsletters are accepted. Pelipost is the approved photo printer.
See the full breakdown6 of 7 questions
Because Iowa centralized offender banking here. All incoming money for spending and commissary accounts across all nine prisons is received and handled at Fort Dodge, and the department states it will not be accepted at or by any other location. The lockbox address, 1550 L Street, Suite B, is the same street as the prison itself.
Send MoneySaturday has two start times: protective custody from 8:00 AM and general public from 10:00 AM, both running to 6:50 PM. Sunday is one schedule, 8:00 AM to 6:50 PM. Video visits run Monday and Friday from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM, the longest video window of any Iowa prison. All of it is booked in the Ameelio Connect app.
VisitationNo. The Iowa Department of Corrections states that it offers both in-person and video visits at no cost to approved friends and family. You do have to be approved first, which means a paper application posted to Mount Pleasant and a wait of up to 30 days.
VisitationTo the person's name and offender number, then the line Fort Dodge Correctional Facility - 1114, then PO Box 96777, Las Vegas, NV 89193. Iowa states that non-legal mail sent directly to a prison will be returned to sender, so the Nevada address and the 1114 code both matter. Note that 1114 is the mail code and is unrelated to the money address.
MailIt is the only Iowa prison that publishes an exact figure: capacity 1,392, adult male. Every other facility gives a rounded approximation or nothing at all. Iowa's daily count on September 9, 2026 showed 1,293 people held against a working capacity of 1,162, with 75 in medical or segregation status.
GeneralSeven cents a minute to anywhere in the lower 48 states, one of the lowest published prison rates in the country. Alaska is 12 cents and Hawaii 14 cents. Iowa directs that revenue to legal services, religious accommodations, education and victim services rather than to a profit share.
Phone CallsIowa publishes eleven named apprenticeships at Fort Dodge: carpentry, computer operation, cooking, electrical, housekeeping, landscaping, the National Career Readiness Certificate, painting, plumbing, sewing machine repair and welding. Iowa Central Community College also delivers an online Associate of Arts degree and a welding technology diploma, and Iowa Prison Industries runs a textile programme.
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All information on this page comes directly from official government and facility sources. How we verify information › Last verified September 9, 2026. Official source: doc.iowa.gov/districts-prisons/fort-dodge-correctional-facility ›