What Are Massachusetts Inmate Records?

Massachusetts inmate records are details of inmates held in any of the state’s prisons or county jails. Inmate records in Massachusetts are publicly available in line with the Act To Improve Public Records. However, access to these records is subject to official restrictions that may apply. For example, youth and juvenile records are restricted and not open to the public.

Massachusetts inmate records include: 

• Inmate commitment number 
• Full name(s) of the inmate
• The bio-data of the inmate, which includes the date of birth, sex, and fingerprints
• The offense for which the inmate has been jailed for and the length of their sentence
• The location of the prison or correctional facility where the inmate is held 

How To Find An Inmate In Massachusetts?

 To find an inmate in any Massachusetts state-run facility, search online via Vinelink, a third-party platform. Select Massachusetts from the state drop-down menu. After that, select “Find An Offender” and search either by name or by offender ID.

The name search requires the inmate’s full name. The search result may also be streamlined by facility name, date of birth, and age range. Alternatively, use the offender ID number. Note that this online search tool is only applicable for inmates in any of the sixteen state-run facilities, and Essex County.

Alternatively, requestors may find an inmate by calling Vinelink at (866) 277–7477. However, this is also only available for inmates held in any of the state-controlled facilities or Essex county jail.

To find inmates in other Massachusetts facilities, contact the various county sheriff’s offices or the individual jails. Some of these facilities also have official websites with online search tools that requestors may use to find inmates. Where there is no online search tool provided, contact the county directly, using the contact information provided on county websites.

For example, persons interested in Barnstable County inmate records may send a written request to the Barnstable County Sheriff’s Office’s Records Access Officer at:

Donna Buckley, Esq.

General Counsel

Barnstable County Sheriff’s Office

6000 Sheriff’s Place

Bourne, MA 02532

Phone: 508–563–4311

Fax: 508–563–4574

Email: dbuckley@bsheriff.net

The request must include all available details of the inmate for proper processing. Note that requests may attract a fee. 

How To Find A Federal Inmate In Massachusetts?

The Federal Medical Center, Devens, is the only federal facility in Massachusetts. To find an inmate at this facility, use the inmate locator available on the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) website. Searches are filtered in two ways: number or name. 

To search using the number, input one of the following:

• Bureau Of Prisons register number
• District of Columbia Department of Corrections (DCDC) number
• Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS) number
• Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) number

To search via name, use:

• First name
• Middle name
• Last Name
• Race
• Sex
• Age

Alternatively, find inmates by calling the FMC, Devens, at 978–796–1000.

Note that inmate records available on the Federal Bureau of Prisons website are for inmates incarcerated from 1982 to date. For inmate records preceding this date, records may be available at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). The requester’s name and contact information will be required along with details of the inmate, such as the name, ID number, etc.

How Do I Find Inmate Records In Massachusetts?

To find inmate records in prisons controlled by the Massachusetts Department of Corrections, visit Vinelink or call Vinelink (866) 277–7477. 

Records may also obtain records by contacting the individual institutions through in-person requests, mail, phone numbers, or by sending emails. 

Interested persons may also find inmate records from the Massachusetts Department of Corrections by filling out a request form or sending an email to the Records Officer at doc.rao@state.ma.us. Alternatively, call (508) 422–3436. Note that telephone requests are accepted at the discretion of the Records Officer. 

To request records by mail, use the following information:

Kate Silvia

Primary RAO

Department of Correction

50 Maple Street

Milford, MA 01757

For inmate records in houses of correction, records may be obtained by visiting the facility where the inmate is held. Alternatively, visit or write to the county sheriff’s department. 

For example, to obtain records of Dukes County Jail and House of Correction inmates, a requestor may contact the sheriff’s office by calling 508–627–5173. Requestors may also visit the facility at:

149 Main Street

Edgartown, MA 02539

Records that are considered public may be accessible from some third-party websites. These websites often make searching simpler, as they are not limited by geographic location, and search engines on these sites may help when starting a search for a specific or multiple records. To begin using such a search engine on a third-party or government website, interested parties usually must provide:

• The name of the person involved in the record, unless said person is a juvenile
• The location or assumed location of the record or person involved. This includes information such as the city, county, or state that the person resides in or was accused in

Third-party sites are independent of government sources and are not sponsored by these government agencies. Because of this, record availability on third-party sites may vary.

How To Put Money On Jail Inmates Book In Massachusetts?

Inmates in Massachusetts may receive funds from family and friends via different channels.

Options include making payments online, by phone, mail, and in person. Online and phone payments are facilitated through a third-party platform, Access Corrections.

To fund an inmate’s account online, depositors should sign up to Access Corrections via their website or download the Access Corrections app on the Google Play Store or the Apple Store. Creating an account requires the requestor’s full name, address, city, zip code, phone number, birth date, email address, and a password. Payments are accepted via Visa or MasterCard. 

To fund an account by phone, call the Access Corrections toll-free number at 1–866–345–1884. 

To make payments by mail, send a completed check or money order to:

Secure Deposits

Massachusetts DOC 

PO Box 12486 

St. Louis, MO 63132

Requests are processed within 48 hours of receipt, except on public holidays and weekends. However, the checks and money orders are subject to a 10-day hold period, after which the money is made available to the inmate’s account. Money order forms and check deposit forms may be obtained in the lobbies of the various facilities or online from Access Corrections. Also, Secure Deposits provides a lockbox option for the checks and money orders at no fee to the sender.

The Massachusetts Department of Corrections may also exercise discretion and allow depositors to fund an inmate’s account using certain checks. The checks must adequately identify the issuer, the intended recipient, the source of funds, and the recipient’s eligibility to receive said funds. Checks which do not satisfy these criteria will be returned to the sender. Equally, double recipient checks will be returned to the sender. 

To make payments in person, intending payers should drop checks or money orders at the institution where the inmate is held. Because this option may not be available at all Massachusetts facilities, depositors are advised to contact the facility to confirm if this method is possible.

Alternatively, cash-only deposits may be possible at certain CashPay locations. Interested persons may call CashPay at 1–844–340–2274 to find out about availability, and information about the nearest deposit location.