The Bureau of Prisons runs Federal Medical Centers, administrative facilities whose missions include treating people with serious or chronic medical problems (bop.gov, About Our Facilities). Each page below covers one of them: the official name and address, how to reach the facility, what being at a medical center means, and how a compassionate release request works from there. Every facility fact comes from the Bureau's own facility page.
- FMC ButnerButner, North Carolina · men
- FMC CarswellFort Worth, Texas · women
- FMC RochesterRochester, Minnesota · men
- FMC DevensAyer, Massachusetts · men
- FMC LexingtonLexington, Kentucky · men and women
- FMC Fort WorthFort Worth, Texas · men
- MCFP SpringfieldSpringfield, Missouri · men
Other federal prisons
These pages cover federal prisons that are not medical centers, including prisons that house women, prisons with a detention center, and two complexes with several institutions each. They follow the same format, and every facility fact comes from the Bureau's own facility pages.
- FCI AlicevilleAliceville, Alabama · women
- FCI Butner Low, Medium I and Medium IIButner, North Carolina · men · not the medical center
- FCC ColemanSumterville, Florida · four institutions
- FCI TallahasseeTallahassee, Florida · men and women
- FCI DanburyDanbury, Connecticut · men and women
- FCI EnglewoodLittleton, Colorado · men
- FCI AtlantaAtlanta, Georgia · men · formerly USP Atlanta
- FCI Fort DixJoint Base MDL, New Jersey · men
The same three steps from every federal prison
The steps do not change with the prison. Your loved one, or you on their behalf, writes to the warden of the facility where they are held (28 C.F.R. § 571.61). After 30 days, or sooner if the Bureau's appeals are finished, the motion can be filed (18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)) in the court that imposed the sentence, wherever the prison is. See how the process works.
Common questions
What is a Federal Medical Center?
It is a Bureau of Prisons facility for people with serious or chronic medical problems; the Bureau classifies Federal Medical Centers as administrative facilities (bop.gov). The Bureau’s highest medical care level, Care Level 4, is assigned to its Medical Referral Centers (Program Statement 6031.06, section 6), and the Justice Department’s Inspector General describes Federal Medical Centers as housing people at all medical and mental health care levels (OIG report 25-009). See Federal Medical Centers.
How do I find out where someone is in federal prison?
Use the Bureau of Prisons’ inmate locator. You can search by BOP register number or by name, and it covers people in federal custody from 1982 to the present. The result names the facility, and each facility’s page on bop.gov lists its phone number and mailing addresses.
Does it matter which prison my loved one is in?
It matters for where the request goes, not for which court decides. The written request goes to the warden of the facility where the person is held (28 C.F.R. § 571.61), and the motion goes to the court that imposed the sentence (18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A); 28 C.F.R. § 571.60).