Sending Money to Inmates
Send money order to P.O. Box 3000, Vacville CA 95696. Only a money order may be sent to this address with no correspondence.
All inmates have a right to have money placed in their trust funds from legal, accountable sources.
Why does an inmate want or need money? Inmates have access to a “store” where they are able to purchase food and other items. While they have no access to cash, they can order from the store and the amount spent is deducted from their trust account. If an inmate has sufficient funds, he/she may go to the “store” once a month scheduled by the last two digits of their CDCR number.
Some institutions have food sales where local and franchise vendors’ food items are sold. Inmates can order and the cost of their order will be deducted from their trust account.
You may send money orders to an inmate. Many institutions have separate P.O. Box numbers for money orders to speed up the process of getting money on the inmate’s account. You may send a personal check, but the check must clear before money is posted to the inmates account. This is a slower method.
Be sure the inmate’s name and CDCR number are written on the money order. Your name and address must also be included. Money orders arriving with no information from the sender will not be posted to the account.
Do NOT send cash in the mail. It will not be accepted.
You may also send money through JPAY or Western Union. While these are fast ways of getting money to the inmate’s account, there is a fee involved.
JPAY accepts debit card, credit card and cash payments. Contact them by email: Support@jpay.com or phone: 1-800-574 5729.
Western Union is found in many places. Local phone books will give you plenty of choices for locations.
Inmates receive documentation of their trust account quarterly so they can see what has been spent and remaining balances. It also shows the amount of restitution remaining. Fifty percent of monies sent in or earned are earmarked for restitution and 5% goes to administrative costs of processing the money orders.
