How to Send Money to Garza West Unit

Garza West is an intake unit, so deposits are keyed to the TDCJ number and go to a Huntsville lockbox rather than to Beeville, and a transfer will not strand the money. Send photos and letters too.

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Send Money to a Loved One in Garza West Unit, TX

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Overview

Before anything else: you have to be on his approved list. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) only accepts deposits from friends and family on the inmate’s approved visitor list or approved telephone list. If you are on neither, the deposit is rejected no matter which vendor you use. Every deposit runs through the TDCJ Inmate Trust Fund and is keyed to his TDCJ number, so nothing you send goes to the unit in Beeville.

3 Ways to Send Money

Ways to Send Money

Fastest

Online with a card

JPay, eCommDirect, Access Corrections, or TouchPay take debit and credit cards for a fee.

Cash in person

MoneyGram, Dollar General, or an ACE America's Cash Express counter.

Money order by mail

Payable to Inmate Trust Fund, mailed to PO Box 60, Huntsville, with a deposit slip.

Approved list only

Must be on his visitor list or phone list

14 days

Hold period on deposits of $500+

Approved Deposit Vendors

TDCJ approves five outside vendors. All of them charge a service fee.

Vendor	Details
JPay	jpay.com or 1-800-574-5729. Cash at any MoneyGram counter using receive code 3570.
eCommDirect	texas.gov/eCommDirect with Visa, Mastercard, or Discover. The fee is $2.50 plus 2.25 percent.
Access Corrections	accesscorrections.com or 1-866-345-1884, with bilingual agents 24/7. Cash at Dollar General through CashPayToday.
ACE America’s Cash Express	1-866-734-2306 or acecashexpress.com to find the nearest counter.
TouchPay	tdcjpayment.com or 1-877-868-5358. Takes Mastercard, Visa, and MoneyPak cash.

Mailing a Money Order

A mailed money order does not go to Beeville. Make the money order or cashier’s check payable to Inmate Trust Fund for [His Name and TDCJ Number], enclose a completed deposit slip, and mail it to:

Inmate Trust Fund
PO Box 60
Huntsville, TX 77342-0060

He can send you deposit slips, or you can request them by mailing a self-addressed, stamped envelope to that same address. TDCJ charges no fee for a mailed deposit.

Why the Address Matters More Here

Garza West is a transient intake unit. Men arrive newly sentenced, get processed, and move on to a permanent unit, sometimes within weeks. Because deposits go to a central lockbox in Huntsville and are matched to his TDCJ number rather than to a building, a transfer in the middle of all this does not strand the money. That is one less thing to chase during the part of a sentence when everything else is moving.

The Free Monthly Option

For a set amount every month, TDCJ runs a free automatic debit from a personal checking account. Complete the ACH authorization form, attach a voided check, and mail both to Inmate Trust Fund, PO Box 629, Huntsville, TX 77342-0629. That is a different PO Box from the money order lockbox. The debit hits around the 5th of the month, and his account is credited around the 10th.

What Is Not Accepted

Cash. TDCJ tells families not to send cash, stamps, or personal items to the unit or to the Inmate Trust Fund.
Deposits from unapproved senders. Returned without exception.
Deposits missing your name and address. TDCJ requires the sender’s name and address on every transaction.

TDCJ’s own deposit materials name money orders and cashier’s checks as the mailed forms it takes. They do not list personal checks as a mail-in option, so use a money order if you are sending through the post.

Large Deposits: The 14-Day Hold

Any single deposit of $500 or more is held a minimum of 14 days before the funds reach his trust fund account. Insurance, company, payroll, and estate checks carry the same hold.

Checking a Balance

TDCJ does not offer a public balance lookup for family members. Confirm deposits through your vendor’s transaction confirmation, or ask him during his next call. If a deposit has not posted when it should have, call the Inmate Trust Fund at (936) 438-8990.

Families Also Ask

3 of 6 questions

How do I add money to an inmate's account at Garza West?

Get on his approved visitor list or phone list first. Then use JPay, eCommDirect, Access Corrections, TouchPay, or ACE America's Cash Express, or mail a money order to the Inmate Trust Fund, PO Box 60, Huntsville, TX 77342-0060.

Sending Commissary

Can I mail a money order to Garza West Unit?

No. Mailed deposits go to the TDCJ Inmate Trust Fund lockbox, not to the unit in Beeville. Make it payable to Inmate Trust Fund for his name and TDCJ number, enclose a deposit slip, and mail it to Inmate Trust Fund, PO Box 60, Huntsville, TX 77342-0060.

Sending Commissary

Can I put cash in a letter instead?

No. TDCJ tells families not to send cash, stamps, or personal items to the unit or to the Inmate Trust Fund. Personal mail is scanned at a TDCJ mail center in Dallas, so nothing tucked into an envelope reaches him.

Sending Commissary

What happens to deposits over $500?

TDCJ holds deposits of $500 or more for 14 days before crediting them to the inmate trust fund account.

Sending Commissary

What if he transfers off Garza West before the money posts?

Deposits are matched to his TDCJ number and processed centrally in Huntsville rather than at the unit, so a transfer does not lose the funds. Confirm his current unit with the TDCJ Inmate Search before your next deposit anyway.

Sending Commissary

Is there a free way to send money?

Yes, two. A mailed money order to the Huntsville lockbox carries no TDCJ fee, and the monthly checking account debit is free. All five online vendors charge a service fee.

Sending Commissary