Inmate Lookup for Riverview Correctional Facility

The Tool, and What It Costs

Nothing. The lookup is at nysdoccslookup.doccs.ny.gov, the state runs it, and anyone can use it. No sign-up, no fee, no cap on searches.

It returns people held in New York state prisons. Riverview is one, so an inmate lookup for Riverview is this search with a name typed into it.

Searching by Name

With a DIN in hand, enter that. Exact, and fastest.

Without one, the search takes a last name and first name:

• Use the legal name before any nickname.
• Try a maiden name if one might be on record.
• Check the spelling letter by letter, because the tool matches what you type exactly.

A result gives you the facility, the DIN and custody details. It does not give a housing unit, and no New York result does.

You Search the Person, Not the Prison

The state tool has no facility filter and no list of everyone at Riverview. It answers one question: where is this person, and what is their DIN?

Riverview or Ogdensburg CF?

Ogdensburg used to hold two state prisons. Ogdensburg Correctional Facility closed in March 2022, and the people held there were moved to other prisons.

If an old letter, a court paper or a relative’s memory says “Ogdensburg Correctional Facility”, that is not where the person is now. The lookup shows where they are today, which may be Riverview, across the city, or another prison entirely.

Riverview or Gouverneur?

St. Lawrence County holds two open state prisons, both medium security for men, about forty minutes apart.

	Riverview	Gouverneur
Town	Ogdensburg	Gouverneur
Post box	P.O. Box 158	P.O. Box 370
Phone	315-393-8400	315-287-7351

The facility line on the result settles it.

County Jails Are a Different System

The DOCCS lookup covers state prisons only. Someone recently arrested, awaiting trial or serving a short sentence is usually in a county jail, and St. Lawrence County runs its own. After sentencing to state time they move into a prison such as Riverview, and from then the state lookup finds them.

What the DIN Is For

Where you need it	What happens without it
The envelope	Mail is not matched to a person
The JPay deposit slip	Deposits are matched to the DIN, not a name
Any call to the prison	It is the first thing you will be asked
Any form or request	Staff work from the number

Write it down once, carefully, together with the exact spelling of the name.

Nothing Came Back

In this order.

1. Spelling, then variants, then a maiden name.
2. Still in a county jail. Sentencing comes first, then transfer to state custody.
3. Wrong state. Each state runs its own lookup.
4. Transferred. New York moves people between prisons, and the lookup follows them.

Run It Again Before You Act

New York moves people between prisons, including between the two in St. Lawrence County, and a move changes the post box completely.

Re-run the lookup before you post a letter and before you send money. It takes under a minute.

Once You Have the Number

With the DIN written down, everything else opens up. Pigeonly takes the name and the facility and sends letters and photos from your phone, addressed to P.O. Box 158 with the full ZIP, so an old Ogdensburg address never ends up on the envelope.