Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) Forrest City Low is a low-security US federal prison for male inmates in Forrest City, St. Francis County, Arkansas, about 85 miles east of Little Rock and 45 miles west of Memphis. Opened in 1997, it is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) as part of the Federal Correctional Complex (FCC) Forrest City, which also includes a medium-security institution (opened 2004) and a minimum-security satellite camp on the same grounds. The complex houses roughly 1,900 men across its three components. This page explains, using the facility's current official visiting regulations, how to visit, write, send money, and reach the institution.
About the facility, management and structure
FCI Forrest City Low is one of three components in FCC Forrest City, administered by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the US Department of Justice. The complex is led by a Complex Warden with associate wardens and department heads overseeing each institution. As a low-security facility, FCI Forrest City Low houses men in dormitory-style or cubicle housing with a lower staff- to-inmate ratio than higher-security institutions, and it emphasizes structured programming — education, vocational and work assignments (including UNICOR, the federal prison industries program, where available), substance-abuse treatment, and reentry preparation — over the tighter physical controls used at medium- and high-security prisons. The Low and Medium units each maintain their own visiting room, dress code enforcement, and count schedule, even though they share a single Warden's office and support functions such as food service and health services for the complex.
Because Forrest City Low is a low-security institution, inmates generally have more freedom of movement within the compound and more access to programming hours than they would at a higher security level, but the facility still runs on the BOP's standard structured daily schedule of counts, work or program call, and controlled movement between buildings.
How to contact the prison
- Phone (Low & Camp): 870-630-6000
- Phone (Medium): 870-494-4200
- Fax: 870-494-4496
- Physical address: 1400 Dale Bumpers Rd, Forrest City, AR 72335 (St. Francis County)
- Mailing address for inmate correspondence: P.O. Box 9000, Forrest City, AR 72336
- Official website: bop.gov/locations/institutions/for/
Call the main line to confirm visiting hours, the approved-visitor process, and current policies before you travel or send anything — visiting can be suspended without much notice, and the facility posts a red banner on its bop.gov page when that happens.
Inmate service providers at Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) - Forrest City
Like most US jails and prisons, Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) - Forrest City relies on private companies for phone calls, video visits, money transfers, and care packages, each with its own fees and sign-up steps. Nationwide the most common providers are Securus and ViaPath (GTL) for calls and video, JPay and Access Corrections for sending money, and Access Securepak for care packages.
Sending money and staying in touch
Do not send money to the facility's own address. Funds for an inmate's trust account must go to the BOP's central lockbox in Des Moines, Iowa, sent by MoneyGram, Western Union, or a mailed money order — never cash, and never to the Forrest City mailing address directly. Inmates make outgoing calls through the BOP's monitored phone system and can also use TRULINCS electronic messaging, which families reach through CorrLinks. We've built direct relationships with facility phone providers, so through our discounted phone calls service you can get a flat $10 a month for 500 minutes instead of paying the provider's standard per-minute rate — no local number to set up.
Inmate contact details — sending mail
Address general correspondence using the inmate's committed name and register number:
- Inmate Full Name & Register Number
- FCI Forrest City Low
- P.O. Box 9000
- Forrest City, AR 72336
All incoming mail is opened and inspected before it reaches an inmate. Never include cash in a letter, and follow BOP content rules — no stickers, no perfume, no items outside plain paper and photographs unless a specific program allows more — to avoid a piece of mail being rejected and returned.
Visitation timings
Social visits at FCI Forrest City Low are held on Saturdays, Sundays, and all federal holidays, from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Visitors are not permitted on institution property before 7:45 a.m. on any visiting day, and processing of new visitors stops one hour before the institution's official inmate count and again one hour before the close of visiting hours, so that everyone already inside has a reasonable amount of time to visit. These timings come directly from the complex's current visiting regulations (Institution Supplement FOX 5267.09B), so they are the same schedule BOP staff use to plan the visiting room.
Visiting is managed on a points system: each inmate receives five visiting points per calendar month, and one point is charged per visit. If an inmate receives a morning visit and a separate afternoon visits on the same day count as two points. Each inmate may have up to four adult visitors and five children present at once; approval for additional children must come from the Unit Team in advance. The FCC Low Visiting Room has a rated capacity of 259 people, and a supervised Children's Center with age-appropriate toys, books, and games stays open throughout visiting hours. Because visiting can be suspended on short notice for safety, security, or severe weather, always call ahead — 870-630-6000 — and check the red banner on the facility's page at bop.gov before you travel.
Inmates held in the Special Housing Unit (SHU) do not use the general visiting room. Their visits happen by telephone or video conference inside the SHU, are limited to one hour, take place on Mondays only, and must be requested by the inmate in advance through a written request (a "cop-out") to the SHU Lieutenant.
Visitation rules and dress code
Every visitor, adult or minor, must already be on the inmate's approved visiting list before arriving—visits cannot be approved on the spot. Adults must present a valid, unexpired government-issued photo ID, such as a driver's license or passport; without one, entry is refused outright. Everyone passes through a walk-through metal detector and is subject to random Ion Spectrometry Device (explosive-trace) testing, and personal items are searched. Visitors will have a hand stamped with ultraviolet ink at entry, and the stamp is checked again on exit.
The institution enforces a detailed dress code, and admission is at the discretion of the Front Lobby and Visiting Room staff:
- No see-through, lace, or holed clothing, and no sleeveless shirts.
- Nothing that reveals the stomach, back, underarms, or thighs — no tank tops, halter tops, crop tops, or form-fitting shirts, blouses, or dresses.
- Skirts must not be form-fitting and must reach below the knee while standing and seated.
- No form-fitting pants, shorts, spandex, or swimsuits.
- No hats (traditional religious headwear such as a kufi, yarmulke, or tam is allowed), no camouflage clothing, and — specific to the Medium and Low units — no khaki or shirt-and-pant combinations, since that resembles inmate clothing.
- No sweat suits, hooded sweatshirts, or athletic jerseys; no sunglasses, backless outfits, profanity or obscene graphics, open-toe shoes/sandals/flip-flops, purses or wallets (other than a small clear plastic bag no larger than 8" x 8"), jackets, coats, gloves, scarves, or wrist watches. A light sweater without a hood or pockets is permitted.
Because BOP visiting regulations are updated periodically, confirm the current dress code and any new restrictions on the official facility page before visiting, especially if it has been a while since your last visit.
What visitors can and cannot bring
Visitors may carry in a small clear plastic bag (no larger than 8" x 8") holding only a few authorized items: up to $20 in one- and five-dollar bills and coins for the vending machines, an infant's diapers, commercially sealed formula and baby food, and one blanket in an amount usable during the visit (formula is mixed only in front of the Front Lobby Officer), and life-sustaining medication such as nitroglycerin tablets or an inhaler, which stays at the Visiting Room officer's station during the visit. Visitors who arrive by cab or drop-off can use a provided locker for anything else; those with a vehicle must return unauthorized items to it.
Items that are never allowed inside, regardless of how you arrived, include strollers or baby carriers, baby powder or creams, food or drinks, candy or gum, tobacco products, matches or lighters, toys or games, photographs, personal or business papers, writing implements, additional medications, animals other than certified service animals, more than one car key, controlled substances, weapons, electronic devices (including cell phones), and cosmetics. Children 16 and under must be accompanied by a parent, legal guardian, or immediate family member at least 18 years old; unaccompanied 16-year-olds need the visiting parent or guardian's written approval on file with the Unit Team in advance.
Getting to the facility
FCC Forrest City sits about three miles from the town of Forrest City, off Interstate 40 at Exit 239 (south on Highway 1, then left onto Dale Bumpers Road). The Low institution is the first parking lot on the left after that turn; visitors park on the right-hand portion of the lot. The Medium institution is further along on the far right of the grounds, and the Satellite Prison Camp shares the same access road toward its own administration building. The complex is served by two international airports — Little Rock, about 90 miles away, and Memphis, about 45 miles away. Vehicles must stay locked at all times in the visitor lot, and once a Notification to Visitor form is completed, leaving and returning to your car ends the visit for the day, so bring everything you need with you the first time.
- Low & Camp unit phone: 870-630-6000
- Medium unit phone: 870-494-4200
- Physical address (Low): 1400 Dale Bumpers Road, Forrest City, AR 72335 (St. Francis County)
Preparing for your first visit
If this is your first trip to FCC Forrest City, a little preparation can save you a wasted drive. Confirm you are actually on the inmate's approved visiting list before you leave — the inmate has to request your addition through their Unit Team, and that approval can take time, so don't assume a first-time visitor will be let in without it. Bring only your government ID and whatever cash you plan to use in the vending machines; leave phones, bags, and anything else in the car, since almost nothing else is allowed past the Front Lobby. Plan to arrive with time to spare — the earliest you can be on the property is 7:45 a.m., and processing slows down as the visiting room fills, so families who arrive right at 8:00 a.m. sometimes wait. If you are traveling a long distance, call ahead the morning of your visit; the facility can restrict or cancel visiting with little notice for weather, staffing, or security reasons, and that information is posted as a red banner on the institution's bop.gov page before it reaches word of mouth.
Once you're in the visiting room, the rules are simple: a kiss and an embrace are allowed at the start and end of the visit, and no other physical contact is permitted. All visits are supervised visually, and both visitors and inmates are expected to keep their hands in plain view. Visits can be shortened or ended early if the room becomes overcrowded, with priority given to visitors who have traveled the farthest or visited least often — so if the room is packed, don't be surprised if staff ask for volunteers to wrap up early.
Not sure which company serves Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) - Forrest City? Our inmate service provider directory explains how each one works, what it charges, and how to set up an account before you pay.