If someone you love is at FMC Butner 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 FMC Butner.

FMC Butner at a glance

Official name
FMC Butner
Facility type
Federal Medical Center
Security level
Administrative
Population
Male
BOP description
An administrative security federal medical center.
Physical address
FMC ButnerOld N. Carolina Hwy 75Butner, NC 27509
Location
Butner, North Carolina (Granville County) · Eastern District of North Carolina · BOP Mid-Atlantic Region
Complex
Part of FCC Butner, with FCI Butner Low, FCI Butner Medium I, FCI Butner Medium II

Source: FMC Butner facility page, Federal Bureau of Prisons.

FMC Butner is one of several prisons at the Federal Correctional Complex (FCC) Butner. The Bureau of Prisons lists the others as FCI Butner Low, FCI Butner Medium I, and FCI Butner Medium II. Those are correctional institutions, not medical centers. Check the inmate locator to see exactly which Butner facility your loved one is in.

The Bureau lists the same address, P.O. Box 1600, Butner, NC 27509, for mail to staff and for mail to people held at FMC Butner. The street address, Old N. Carolina Hwy 75, is the physical location.

What it means that FMC Butner is a medical center

The Bureau of Prisons lists FMC Butner as a Federal Medical Center with an administrative security level. The Bureau says administrative facilities have special missions, including the treatment of inmates with serious or chronic medical problems, and that administrative facilities other than ADX can hold people of all security categories (bop.gov, About Our Facilities).

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). The Bureau's clinical guidance says Care Level 4 patients need services available only at a Medical Referral Center, and gives examples such as cancer on active treatment, dialysis, and high-risk pregnancy (Care Level Classification for Medical Conditions or Disabilities, October 2025).

The Justice Department's Inspector General describes the Bureau's Federal Medical Centers as housing people at all medical and mental health care levels (OIG report 25-009, December 2024).

Being held at a medical center 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)).

How to find your loved one and contact FMC Butner

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
919-575-4801
Mail to your loved one
Full name and register numberFMC ButnerP.O. Box 1600Butner, NC 27509
Mail to staff, including the warden
Staff member’s name (for example, Warden)FMC ButnerP.O. Box 1600Butner, NC 27509

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

How compassionate release works from FMC Butner

  1. A written request to the Warden of FMC Butner. 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 Eastern District of North Carolina, where FMC Butner 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 FMC Butner. 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.

Other Federal Medical Centers

Other federal prisons

Common questions

Is FMC Butner the same as FCC Butner?

No. FCC Butner is the whole complex, and FMC Butner is the medical center inside it. The Bureau of Prisons lists FCI Butner Low, FCI Butner Medium I, and FCI Butner Medium II as the other facilities in the complex (bop.gov). The inmate locator shows which one your loved one is in.

Where do I mail a compassionate release request to the warden at FMC Butner?

The Bureau lists P.O. Box 1600, Butner, NC 27509 as the address for mail to staff at FMC Butner (bop.gov). Address it to the Warden and keep proof of when it arrived, because the 30-day clock runs from the warden’s receipt of the request (18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)).

Will a federal judge in North Carolina decide the motion?

Only if your loved one was sentenced there. The Bureau lists FMC Butner in the Eastern District of North Carolina, 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 call FMC Butner about my loved one’s health?

You can call the main number the Bureau lists, 919-575-3900. Bureau policy treats medical records as confidential and requires the patient’s written authorization before releasing them to a third party (Program Statement 6090.04, section 3). Your loved one can sign a Release of Information Consent form (BP-A0192), the form the Bureau uses for compassionate release notices (Program Statement 5050.51, section 4).