If someone you love is at FCI Tallahassee and is seriously ill, this page explains the facility in the Bureau of Prisons' own terms and how a compassionate release request works from there. Every fact about the facility comes from its page on bop.gov, checked October 9, 2026.

We help families with compassionate release requests from FCI Tallahassee.

FCI Tallahassee at a glance

Official name
FCI Tallahassee
Facility type
Federal Correctional Institution
Security level
Low
Population
Male and Female
BOP description
A low security federal correctional institution with a detention center.
Physical address
FCI Tallahassee501 Capital Circle, NETallahassee, FL 32301
Location
Tallahassee, Florida (Leon County) · Northern District of Florida · BOP Southeast Region

Source: FCI Tallahassee facility page, Federal Bureau of Prisons.

The Bureau of Prisons describes FCI Tallahassee as a low security federal correctional institution with a detention center, and lists its population as male and female. It is a correctional institution, not a federal medical center.

In a November 2023 inspection report, the Justice Department’s Inspector General described FCI Tallahassee as a low security prison for women with an adjacent detention center for men, and as a Medical Care Level 2 institution. The report says that means the institution generally can care for stable outpatients whose conditions can be managed through routine appointments (OIG report 24-005).

The Bureau lists the street address, 501 Capital Circle, NE, Tallahassee, FL 32301, for mail to staff, including the warden, and P.O. Box 5000, Tallahassee, FL 32314, for mail to the people held there. The two ZIP codes are different.

Medical care levels at FCI Tallahassee

The Bureau gives every institution, and every person in its custody, one of four medical care levels. Care Level 4 institutions are the Bureau's Medical Referral Centers, where people may need extensive medical and nursing care, including 24-hour nursing care for some (Program Statement 6031.06, Patient Care, section 6, June 22, 2026). FCI Tallahassee is not a Federal Medical Center, and its bop.gov page does not list a medical care level. Where an official report gives one, it is noted above with its date.

Being held at a particular prison is not, by itself, a reason for release. The reasons a judge can rely on are about the person's own situation, such as a terminal illness or a serious condition that keeps them from caring for themselves in prison (U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13(b)). See the Federal Medical Center pages for how the Bureau describes its medical centers.

How to find your loved one and contact FCI Tallahassee

Use the Bureau's inmate locator. You can search by BOP register number (format #####-###) or by name; it covers people in federal custody from 1982 to the present. Write down the register number. You will need it for mail, and the Bureau encourages people requesting records to include it (Program Statement 1351.05).

Fax
850-671-6105
Mail to your loved one
Full name and register numberFCI TallahasseeP.O. Box 5000Tallahassee, FL 32314
Mail to staff, including the warden
Staff member’s name (for example, Warden)FCI Tallahassee501 Capital Circle, NETallahassee, FL 32301

Source: FCI Tallahassee facility page, “How to send things here.” Addresses can change, so check that page before you mail anything.

How compassionate release works from FCI Tallahassee

  1. A written request to the Warden of FCI Tallahassee. The request explains the extraordinary and compelling circumstances and gives a release plan: where your loved one will live, how they will be supported, and, for a medical request, where they will get treatment and how it will be paid for (28 C.F.R. § 571.61(a)). A family member or lawyer can send it, and the Bureau handles it the same way (28 C.F.R. § 571.61(b)). The Bureau counts the request as submitted when the warden receives it (Program Statement 5050.51, section 3), so send it in a way that gives you proof of delivery.
  2. Thirty days, or the end of the Bureau's appeals. Your loved one can go to court after the Bureau's administrative appeals are finished or 30 days after the warden received the request, whichever is earlier (18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)). If the warden denies the request, the appeal runs through the Administrative Remedy Program (28 C.F.R. part 542, subpart B). The Bureau must expedite requests based on a medical condition (28 C.F.R. § 571.62(c)).
  3. A motion in the court that sentenced your loved one. The motion goes to the federal court that imposed the sentence, not to the court for the Northern District of Florida, where FCI Tallahassee is located, unless that is also where your loved one was sentenced (18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A); 28 C.F.R. § 571.60). The judge decides under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A), looking for extraordinary and compelling reasons, consistency with the Sentencing Commission's policy statement, U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13, and the sentencing factors in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a).

The Bureau's current policy is Program Statement 5050.51, Compassionate Release/Reduction in Sentence Procedures, dated September 3, 2026. It replaced Program Statement 5050.50. We confirmed the number and date on bop.gov on October 9, 2026. Two limits from May 28, 2026, apply in every court: a sentencing change Congress did not make retroactive cannot be the reason (Rutherford v. United States), and claims that the conviction itself is invalid belong in a motion under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 (Fernandez v. United States). See the full step-by-step process.

Medical records to request, and how

When a warden supports a medical request, the Bureau's own referral must include these records (Program Statement 5050.51, section 10). Ask for the same ones:

  • A Comprehensive Medical Summary by the attending physician, including an estimate of life expectancy
  • All relevant test results
  • Consultations
  • Referral reports and opinions

If your loved one asks: they send an Inmate Request to Staff (form BP-A0148) to the Health Services Administrator at FCI Tallahassee. Staff review the records before releasing them, and anything held back can be requested under the Freedom of Information Act (Program Statement 6090.04, section 3; 28 C.F.R. § 513.42).

If you or a lawyer asks: the request goes to the Bureau's FOIA/Privacy Act office, not the prison, with your loved one's written authorization. The authorization must be notarized or signed under penalty of perjury and dated within three months of the request (28 C.F.R. § 513.63; Program Statement 6090.04, section 3). The Bureau's FOIA page explains how to submit it. More on getting medical records.

Federal Medical Centers

More federal prisons

Common questions

Does FCI Tallahassee house women?

The Bureau of Prisons lists FCI Tallahassee’s population as male and female (bop.gov). In 2023 the Justice Department’s Inspector General described it as a low security prison for women with an adjacent detention center for men who are awaiting sentencing or transfer (OIG report 24-005). The inmate locator shows which facility your loved one is in.

Where do I mail a compassionate release request to the warden at FCI Tallahassee?

The Bureau lists the street address, 501 Capital Circle, NE, Tallahassee, FL 32301, for mail to staff at FCI Tallahassee (bop.gov). Mail to the people held there goes to P.O. Box 5000 instead. Keep proof of when the request arrived, because the 30-day clock runs from the warden’s receipt (18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)).

Will a federal judge in Florida decide the motion?

Only if your loved one was sentenced there. The Bureau lists FCI Tallahassee in the Northern District of Florida, but a compassionate release motion goes to the court that imposed the sentence (18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A); 28 C.F.R. § 571.60).

Can I send the request to the warden for my mother, wife, or daughter?

Yes. The Bureau handles a request made by another person on an inmate’s behalf the same way it handles her own request (28 C.F.R. § 571.61(b)). The request should give the reasons and a release plan: where she will live, how she will be supported, and, for a medical request, where she will get treatment and how it will be paid for (28 C.F.R. § 571.61(a)).