How to Send Money to a Pennsylvania (PA DOC) Prison

Step 1. Choose a Deposit Method

JPay offers four ways to send money:

• Online at jpay.com, using a debit or credit card. This is the fastest option.
• By phone at 800-574-5729, also by card.
• By mail, using a money order sent to JPay’s Lemoyne, PA address (see below).
• In cash, at a participating JPay kiosk or a retail MoneyGram location such as a Walmart MoneyCenter (MoneyGram receive code 3209).

Online and phone deposits usually post within minutes to a few hours. Mailed money orders take several business days because they have to be received and processed first.

Step 2. Have the Right Information Ready

You’ll need the person’s full legal name and PA DOC inmate number. If you don’t have the number, confirm it through PA DOC’s inmate locator. JPay matches every deposit to an account using that number, so an incorrect or outdated one is the single most common reason a deposit stalls or goes to the wrong account.

Step 3. Know the Limits

• Card deposits: capped at $300 per transaction and $300 per rolling 72-hour period.
• Money orders by mail: capped at $999.99 each.
• Cash through MoneyGram or a JPay kiosk: capped at $5,000.

These caps apply per sender, not per inmate account. That means multiple family members can each contribute up to their own limit for the same person.

Mailing a Money Order

A mailed money order goes to JPay, not to the prison. Mail it, along with a completed JPay money order deposit slip, to:

JPay
717 Market Street, Ste. 423
Lemoyne, PA 17043

Here’s the process:

1. Fill out JPay’s Pennsylvania money order deposit slip. Download the English coupon or the Spanish coupon, or pick one up in a prison visiting room. Complete every field in blue or black ink.
2. Make the money order payable to JPay. A U.S. Postal money order is recommended. Write the person’s full name and PA DOC inmate number on the money order’s memo line.
3. Put the money order and the completed slip in an envelope and mail them to the address above. Don’t include any letters or notes, JPay discards them.

There’s no fee for a money order deposit, and each is capped at $999.99. You don’t need a JPay account to send one. Approved money orders are processed within 10 business days after JPay receives them, so this is the slowest method. The slip requires a valid email or mailing address, because if there’s a problem JPay mails the money order and slip back to the address you put on it. Call 800-574-5729 if you need help with the form.

What the Money Covers

Deposited funds go into one commissary balance. That balance covers commissary items like hygiene products, snacks, and stationery, and it also covers email credit through ConnectNetwork, operated by ViaPath Technologies. There is no separate account for commissary versus email; it’s a single balance.

Phone calls are the exception. Securus Technologies runs phone service on a completely separate account. Funding the JPay commissary balance does not add phone credit, so if you want the person to have both, you set up and fund the Securus account on its own.

If a Deposit Fails

Start by confirming the person’s name and inmate number match PA DOC’s current records exactly. A recent transfer, a misspelled name, or a wrong inmate number cause most failed deposits. For a declined card, check the billing address, the card’s expiration date, and whether your bank flagged the charge; JPay emails a failed-payment notice to the address on your account. If you see an “inmate blocked” error, that usually points to an administrative hold on the account, not a payment problem, so confirm the person’s status with the facility. For anything else, call JPay customer service at 800-574-5729.

What Happens If the Person Transfers

If your person moves to another PA DOC prison, their JPay account and commissary balance move with them. You don’t need to open a new account or start over. Confirm the new location through PA DOC’s inmate locator before you send anything further, so a deposit doesn’t get delayed chasing an old facility.

Court-Ordered Restitution and Holds

Some accounts carry court-ordered restitution obligations or administrative holds that change how deposited funds get applied. If a deposit doesn’t seem to reach the commissary balance the way you expect, ask the facility’s business office whether a hold or restitution order applies to that account.