Telephone
Family members cannot call a person incarcerated at the Federal Detention Center (FDC) in SeaTac, Washington.
Inmates are not allowed to participate in three-party calls. The FDC will revoke the inmate’s phone privileges if you connect him with a third party or speak to another person on another phone while the inmate is on your phone line.
All calls made from the FDC are monitored and recorded. FDC staff listen to the recordings. Translators are employed to listen to conversations in languages other than English. Do not discuss anything about the case, or any other confidential subjects, on a phone call from the FDC.
The address to which family and friends can write is:
[Name]
[Reg. No. ___]
FDC SeaTac
P.O. Box 13900
Seattle, WA 98198-1090
Only first-class mail is accepted at the FDC. Items sent by Express Mail, Federal Express, and similar services are returned. First-class mail from outside the United States will be accepted. Your family member’s register number must be included on all mail. (See https://www.bop.gov/inmateloc/ to find out the register number).
Incoming and outgoing mail (except attorney-client mail) is read by the FDC staff.
Email to and from a person at FDC SeaTac is read and saved by FDC staff who may turn it over to the prosecutor. Do not discuss the case or anything else of a private nature in emails with an inmate at the FDC.
Money
There are three ways to put money on your family member’s Bureau of Prisons account:
Western Union: Funds can be sent through Western Union at https://www.westernunion.com/us/en/send-money/app/sendinmatestart/. All funds sent via Western Union will be posted to the inmate's account within two to four hours, when those funds are sent between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. EST (seven days per week, including holidays). Funds received after 9:00 pm EST will be posted by 7:00 am EST the following morning.
Funds sent to an inmate through the Western Union may be sent via one of the following ways: 1) At an agent location with cash using the form PAY A BILL, city code FBOP, DC, speed Urgent, 2) By phone (1-800-634-3422) using a credit/debit card, or 3) ONLINE using a credit/debit card.
You will need to provide the account number of the detainee. The account number is a combination of the register number (no dash) and last name (no dash, no space, no comma). (For example: John Smith-Doe, Reg. No. 12345-086, would be: 12345086smithdoe) with a maximum of 16 letters.
Example: https://www.bop.gov/inmates/docs/payment_form_2012.pdf
MoneyGram: Funds can also be sent through MoneyGram’s ExpressPayment Program at https://secure.moneygram.com/mgo/us/es/account/mandatory-signUp . All funds sent via MoneyGram’s ExpressPayment will be posted to the inmate's account within two to four hours, when those funds are sent between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. EST (seven days per week, including holidays). Funds received after 9:00 p.m. EST will be posted by 7:00 a.m. EST the following morning.
Funds sent to an inmate through the MoneyGram ExpressPayment Program may be sent via one of the following ways: 1) At an agent location with cash using the ExpressPayment form, company name Federal Bureau of Prisons (code 7932), city Washington, DC or 2) ONLINE using a credit, debit or prepaid card (Visa or MasterCard only).
You will need to provide the account number of the detainee. The account number is a combination of the register number (no dash) and last name (no dash, no space, no comma). (For example: John Smith-Doe, Reg. No. 12345-086, would be: 12345086smithdoe) with a maximum of 12 letters.
Example: https://www.bop.gov/inmates/docs/moneygram_form_2012.pdf
Money Order to the National Lockbox: The Federal Bureau of Prisons requires that all funds being mailed to the inmate should be sent to the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ national Lockbox at the following address:
Federal Bureau of Prisons
[Name]
[Reg. No. ___]
P.O. Box 474701
Des Moines, IA 50947-0001
A money order from a U.S. Post Office is the best type of money order to purchase. The lockbox also accepts the following negotiable instruments:
■ U.S. Government checks (Federal, state, county, municipal).
■ Foreign negotiable instruments payable in U.S. dollars only.
■ Business checks.
■ Cashier’s checks/certified checks/bank drafts
If mailing from Canada, Mexico, or another foreign country, the person should purchase a foreign money order or cashier’s check payable in U.S. currency.
The money order must be made out to the inmate’s full committed name and complete eight-digit register number. All non-postal money orders and non-government checks processed through the National Lockbox will be placed on a 15-day hold. The Bureau of Prisons will return to the sender funds that do not have valid inmate information as long as the envelope has an adequate return address. Personal checks and cash cannot be accepted for deposit.
Visitation
The current warden allows immediate family members (spouse, parent, sibling, child) and one non-family member to visit inmates who are held pending a trial, sentencing hearing, or disposition hearing. (*Note that this is subject to change, depending on the warden.) The inmate must make an application for a family member to be permitted to visit through his counselor. After he applies, a form will be sent to the family member to fill out and return to the FDC. It takes about two weeks for the application to be approved once the form is sent back. The application review includes a criminal background check. The inmate will be advised by FDC staff whether a family member has been approved for visitation. FDC will not confirm application status to anyone else, including the Federal Public Defender.
If you are family and your last name is not the same as inmate you wish to visit, you will have to provide documentation to prove your relationship with them. For example, if you are the inmate’s mother and have remarried, you will have to provide a copy of the inmate’s birth certificate showing you both had the same last name at the time of their birth and a copy of your marriage license showing the change to your current last name. It is always a good idea for the applicant to include a photocopy of their photo identification with the application.
The completed visitation application is not mailed to the inmate. Instead it must be mailed to the following address:
Unit Team
Re: [Name]
[Reg. No. ___]
FDC SeaTac
P.O. Box 13901
Seattle, WA 98198
The FDC has many restrictions regarding visitation, including the following:
The FDC limits the number of adults per visit to four. Children under the age of 18 are allowed to visit. No more than a total of six adults and children combined are allowed to visit at one time.
All visitors under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult on the approved visitation list. All visitors 16 years and older must have a valid state- or government-issued picture identification card. Note that an expired driver’s license is not accepted as valid identification but a suspended driver’s license will be accepted.
Visitors are not allowed to wear watches or have coins on their person while in the visiting area. Visitors are not permitted in the visiting room if wearing any of the following types of clothing:
| Halter, tank or tube tops | Open toe or heel shoes |
| Sandals | White, brown or orange T-shirts |
| Sleeveless shirts | Spandex garments |
| Shirts/blouses with plunging necklines | Low cut tops |
| Shorts | Jogging or sweat suits |
| Spandex/form fitting clothing | Clothes with offensive words/signs/logos |
| Hats/caps/shirts with hoods | Khaki colored clothing |
| Coats/jackets/gloves/scarves | Any type of outdoor apparel |
| Baggy/sagging clothing | Any excessively revealing clothing |
| Suggestive/revealing/transparent or see-through clothing | Skirts/dresses shorter than 2 inches above the knee |
If you have a medical condition that may set off the metal detector, please be prepared to provide a letter from your doctor detailing which part of your body might set off the detector (such as hip or knee replacement). It is important to do this before your first visit to avoid the possibility of being turned away. Visitors with metal implants may also be asked to submit to a clothed pat search.
Visitors may not bring anything into the facility to be given to an inmate. It is not permissible for papers of any kind to be examined or signed by the inmate during social visits.
Visitation Days
The day an inmate can visit will be determined by the fifth (5th) digit of their register number (example: 22334-086, the number 4 is the fifth digit). Inmates with register numbers ending with odd numbers (1, 3, 5, etc) will only be allowed to visit on odd-numbered days (such as January 1, 3, 5, etc), and inmates with register numbers ending with even number (2, 4, 6, etc) will only be allowed to visit on even-numbered days (such as January 2, 4, 6, etc).
Social visits for odd/even numbered days are limited to a two-hour session per day. Inmates can have up to four hours of social visits per week.
The odd/even register number system does not apply to any “special visiting days” (e.g., federal holidays) that are approved by the FDC. On these days all inmates are allowed to have social visits, and visits are limited to one hour.
FDC Visitation Hours
Monday: 2:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Tuesday: Closed
Wednesday: Closed
Thursday: Closed
Friday: 2:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Saturday: 7:30 am - 2:30 pm
Sunday: 7:30 am - 2:30 pm
Holidays: 7:30 am - 2:30 pm
The FDC is located at 2425 S. 200th Street, in SeaTac, Washington. The main phone number for the facility is (206) 870-5700.
Driving directions
Traveling southbound on I-5, take the 200th St. exit (Exit 151). Go straight at the light at the end of the ramp, and continue westbound on 200th St. Cross International Blvd./Highway 99 (about six blocks from the freeway). The FDC is on the left, about two blocks past Hwy 99. It is a multi-story concrete building.
Traveling northbound on I-5, take the 200th St. exit (exit 151). Turn left at the light at the end of the ramp. Follow Military Road S. about two blocks to the next traffic light. Turn left, and continue westbound on 200th St. Cross International Blvd./Highway 99 (about six blocks from the freeway). The FDC is on the left, about two blocks past Hwy 99. It is a multi-story concrete building.
Visitor parking is available on the east side of the building. Photo ID is required for entry to the FDC. It is sometimes also required for entry to the parking lot.
There is a dress code for visitors. (See above.) To avoid the risk of being denied entrance, it is best to wear loose-fitting clothing with full coverage.
Visitors must clear a metal detector and an external drug screening device.
Revised June 2018