Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC) — Inmate Records & Recent Arrests

Mississippi DOC: Inmate Search, Visits, Money & Mail Rules

This page holds the inmate records we have on file for the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC). Mississippi runs a statewide system anchored by facilities such as the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman and the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility, and the person you are looking for could be housed at any of them and may be transferred during their sentence. The records below are a historical directory of custody entries we hold — a starting point for identifying the right person and taking the next step — not a live count of any single facility, so confirm anything current against the state's official search. For more on this facility — history, programs, and what to expect — see our full facility profile.

How to find someone in MDOC

Mississippi provides an online offender search where you look someone up by their inmate ID number or by first and last name, returning current location and status. On this page you can also browse the records we hold by last name (A–Z), gender, or age to narrow a common name, then confirm the current facility and ID through the state search. Because people are transferred between Mississippi institutions as their classification changes, a record here can lag behind a recent move, so verify before you plan a visit or send anything. For help beyond the online tool, MDOC can be reached at (601) 359-5600. Our inmate search guide for this facility walks through this in more detail.

Getting on the visiting list

Visitation in Mississippi is initiated by the incarcerated person, and there is a specific wrinkle: the Application for Visiting Privileges is not available online, and MDOC does not email or mail the forms itself — the inmate must send the application to prospective visitors. All visitors must be on the inmate's approved list, which the inmate is responsible for keeping updated. When you visit, bring a valid, unexpired government photo ID that matches the name on your approved application, and observe the dress code, which is enforced at entry: no revealing attire, nothing resembling inmate or staff uniforms, no hats, and at many facilities no underwire bras. Cell phones must be left locked in your vehicle.

Sending money

Family and friends can send money by electronic transfer, mail, or walk-in. Electronic deposits are made through Access Corrections, available around the clock online or via its mobile app. To send by mail, a money order can go to Mississippi Department of Corrections with the detainee's name and ID number at P.O. Box 1057 – Highway 49 West, Parchman, MS 38738. Funds let a person buy commissary items such as hygiene products, snacks, and writing materials, and cover communication costs. Always include the correct ID number so the deposit reaches the right account, and allow processing time before the balance is available.

Mail is photocopied, not delivered as originals

Mississippi has adopted a strict incoming-mail policy to fight contraband. Because drugs have been smuggled in on soaked paper, inmates do not receive mail on the original paper and envelope — approved mail, including photographs, is photocopied and the copies are given to the inmate. All incoming and outgoing mail is searched, and it is censored only for specific security reasons such as contraband, criminal plans, or coded content. Publications have their own rules: they must be prepaid soft-cover books with an order limit of three, and subscriptions and newspapers must come directly from the publisher, distributor, or vendor. Address your letter with the person's committed name and ID number, keep it simple, and skip anything with adhesive or unusual materials.

Phone calls and staying connected

Calls are placed by the incarcerated person out to numbers on their approved list, so set up and fund an account with the facility's phone provider in advance and make sure your number is approved so their calls connect. For families who talk frequently, lower-cost calling arrangements can meaningfully reduce the expense over a long sentence. Because the original-mail restriction slows physical correspondence, phone and any available electronic-messaging options often become the faster ways to stay in regular contact, so it is worth setting them up early.

Programs, parole, and reentry

Because MDOC holds sentenced people, many families are also navigating classification, earned time, and parole rather than a pending trial. Mississippi offers education, vocational, and treatment programming, and participation can matter both for a person's daily life and, in some cases, for their release timeline. Staying closely involved — encouraging participation and helping line up the practical pieces of reentry, such as housing and identification — is one of the most effective things a family can do, and consistent contact is associated with smoother transitions back to the community.

Keeping contact steady

The most important thing over a long sentence is consistency. A dependable rhythm of letters, funded calls, and money on the books gives your loved one something reliable to count on and keeps your relationship intact through an isolating time. Coordinate among family so contact is spread out, keep small balances on the phone and commissary accounts so nothing lapses, and make sure your visitor application and approved status stay current so a visit never fails for a preventable reason. Small, steady support usually matters more than occasional grand gestures.

Reading this page responsibly

Every entry here is drawn from public records and captures a moment in time rather than the live state of Mississippi's prison system. People are reclassified, transferred, and released, so a listing can be out of date, and details such as a name, an identification number, or an age may be recorded imperfectly — a reflection of the underlying data, never a comment on the individual. Read any record as a pointer, and settle the facts through the MDOC offender search, which is the authoritative source. If a person you know is missing, they may be held locally, moving through intake, or newly admitted, so give it a day and try again, or search on the last name alone. Above all, an arrest or a listing is not a conviction; everyone here retains the presumption of innocence.

Next steps

Confirm your loved one's ID and current facility through the MDOC search, then use this page to keep track and take the next step — have them send you a visiting application, set up Access Corrections so basics are covered, and open a steady line of mail knowing it will arrive as a photocopy. Verify anything time-sensitive with the facility before you travel or send anything.

Sources: www.mdoc.ms.gov/family-friends/sending-mail-t..., www.inmateaid.com/prisons/mississippi-departm...