Nothing goes to Brooklyn: every deposit routes through a national lockbox in Des Moines or through MoneyGram and Western Union. Send photos and letters too.
Send photos and letters too
The Federal Bureau of Prisons runs one deposit system for every institution it operates, so nothing about sending money here is specific to Brooklyn, and in particular nothing goes to the Brooklyn address. Money orders go to a national lockbox in Iowa. Electronic transfers go through MoneyGram or Western Union using codes that are the same everywhere. What is specific to MDC Brooklyn is the commissary limit at the other end, which is much lower than the figure usually quoted for federal facilities.
The Bureau’s own instruction, and it exists because people ignore it.
Do not send money until the person has physically arrived at a Bureau facility. Someone arrested federally is in U.S. Marshals Service custody first, and there is no Bureau account to credit until the Bureau receives them.
Confirm in the locator, then send.
Every money order for every federal facility goes to the same address in Iowa.
Federal Bureau of Prisons
[Full Committed Name]
[Eight-Digit Register Number]
Post Office Box 474701
Des Moines, Iowa 50947-0001
What is accepted: money orders, U.S. government checks, certified checks, cashier’s checks, bank drafts.
What is not: cash, and personal checks.
The name and the eight-digit register number have to appear on the instrument itself and on the outside of the envelope. Your return address goes in the upper left corner. Anything else you put in the envelope is disposed of, so this is not a place to enclose a letter.
Holds that catch people out:
| Instrument | Hold |
|---|---|
| U.S. postal money order or government check | Normal processing |
| Non-postal money order, non-government check | 15 days |
| Foreign instrument payable in U.S. dollars | 45 days |
A money order bought at a supermarket rather than a post office therefore sits for a fortnight before the money is usable.
Both are faster and both cost a fee.
MoneyGram ExpressPayment
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Receive code | 7932 |
| Company name | Federal Bureau of Prisons |
| City and state | Washington, DC |
| Account number | Eight-digit register number, then surname, no spaces |
| Beneficiary | Full committed name |
In person on the Blue Form with cash, or online at moneygram.com up to $300 with a Visa or Mastercard. Agent locator 1-800-926-9400.
Western Union Quick Collect
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Code city | FBOP |
| State | DC |
| Account number | Eight-digit register number, then surname, no spaces |
| Attention line | Full committed name |
Online at send2corrections.com, by phone on 1-800-634-3422 option 2, in person through an agent, or in the Send2Corrections app.
Speed, both routes: processed seven days a week including holidays. Funds sent between 7:00 AM and 9:00 PM Eastern post within two to four hours. Anything sent after 9:00 PM posts at 7:00 AM the following morning.
Write this down before you go to the counter.
The locator shows the register number as 12345-678. Every deposit route wants it as 12345678, with no dash and no space, and MoneyGram and Western Union want the surname immediately after it with no space either: 12345678DOE.
A dash in the account field, or a space before the surname, is the most common reason a deposit does not land.
Most guides to federal prisons quote a $360 monthly commissary limit. That is not the number here.
MDC Brooklyn’s own Admission and Orientation handbook sets the spending limit at $150.00, not including stamps, subject to the Warden’s discretion.
How it works in practice:
The two-week cycle is the part worth planning around. Money that arrives the day after a unit shops sits unused for thirteen days.
Bureau of Prisons deposit enquiries: 202-307-2712, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM Eastern.
Not the facility. The facility does not handle the lockbox and cannot trace a transfer.
6 of 8 questions
No. Nothing financial goes to 80 29th Street or to the inmate mail box at P.O. Box 329002. Money orders go to the Bureau's national lockbox at PO Box 474701, Des Moines, Iowa 50947-0001. Electronic deposits go through MoneyGram or Western Union.
Send MoneyMoneyGram with receive code 7932, or Western Union with code city FBOP and state DC. Both are processed seven days a week, and funds sent between 7:00 AM and 9:00 PM Eastern post within two to four hours. Anything later posts at 7:00 AM the next day.
Send MoneyEight digits with no dash. The locator displays it as five digits, a dash, three digits, but every deposit route wants the plain eight. MoneyGram and Western Union want the surname immediately after with no space, so 12345678DOE. A dash or a space in that field is the usual reason a deposit goes missing.
Send MoneyCheck what kind it was. A U.S. postal money order or government check is processed normally, but a non-postal money order or a non-government check carries a 15-day hold, and a foreign instrument payable in dollars carries 45 days. A supermarket money order therefore sits for a fortnight before the money can be spent.
Send Money$150 a month at MDC Brooklyn, excluding stamps, which is well below the $360 usually quoted for federal facilities. The figure comes from the facility's own handbook and is subject to the Warden's discretion. Someone on refuse status is limited to $25.
Send MoneyEach housing unit shops once every two weeks. Order lists go in the outgoing mailbox and are collected by 7:00 AM on the unit's shop day, and missing that collection means waiting for the next cycle. Money arriving the day after a unit shops sits unused for nearly a fortnight.
Send MoneyNo. The Bureau states that anything else in the lockbox envelope is disposed of. Letters go separately, to the inmate mail box at P.O. Box 329002, Brooklyn, NY 11232.
Send MoneyThe Bureau's deposit line on 202-307-2712, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM Eastern. Not the facility. Brooklyn does not run the Des Moines lockbox and cannot trace a MoneyGram or Western Union transfer for you.
Send MoneyThe Marshals hold them first, so the locator lags an arrest.
View ArticleImmediate family only while pretrial, and the unit sets the day.
View ArticleFifteen minutes a call, 300 a month, and you cannot call in.
View ArticlePhotocopied, original destroyed, and white paper only.
View ArticleSearch for your loved one and start sending photos, letters, and messages today.
Search for Your Loved OneFree Inmate Search
All information on this page comes directly from official government and facility sources. How we verify information › Last verified September 15, 2026.