If you have a loved one in prison, you probably know what state they’re in and maybe even what facility they’re in. But if something changes on their end or if you need to tell someone else the facility’s information, you’re probably stuck looking for a state or federal “offender search” website.

Depending on where your loved one is, finding the correct “offender search” website can be a challenge. The federal Bureau of Prisons and some states have easy-to-use websites. But others use third-party sites (like Smart Communications and VINELink), which make finding your loved one much more challenging.

How to Justice wants to help. Below, you can find links to the “offender search” websites for every state and the federal BOP. From time to time, these websites go down for maintenance or because of too many searches. But, most of the time, these websites should help you find your loved one.

State “Offender Search” Websites

If your loved one is in a state prison, click on your state below to follow a link to that state’s “offender search” website:

Federal Bureau of Prisons Website

If your loved one is in federal prison, go to the BOP’s “Inmate Locator” by clicking here. Once you go to that website, you can search your loved one by using their name or their BOP register number. As the “Inmate Locator” website states, release dates may not be up to date because of the changes the BOP is implementing as a result of the First Step Act Time Credits Program.

The Takeaway:

Being away from a loved one while they are serving time in prison is hard. Looking up your loved one shouldn’t be. Our hope is that this article can help make it a little easier for you to find the “offender search” website you need to locate your loved one and the information you need to contact them.