Can You Buy Stuff in Prison? How the Commissary Works

The prison commissary works as an on-site store where incarcerated people buy approved items using money held in an individual trust account. Friends and family deposit funds from the outside, the inmate places orders from a printed list on a set schedule, and purchases are deducted from the account balance. In the federal system, spending is capped at $360 per month.¹

What the Commissary Covers

Prisons provide meals, a uniform, and basic toiletries, but the range is narrow. The commissary is where an inmate buys anything beyond that baseline: a preferred brand of soap, snacks, writing supplies, or a small electronic item. For many people inside, it’s one of the few places where personal choice is possible, which is also why losing access to it is such a common disciplinary sanction.

What Inmates Can Buy

Inventories vary by facility and security level. A Bureau of Prisons commissary list includes hygiene items like soap, shampoo, deodorant, and toothpaste; food items such as instant coffee, ramen noodles, chips, and candy; and writing supplies, envelopes, and stamps for mail.²

Electronics appear on the list too, at prices that are steep relative to prison wages. An MP3 player runs about $88, a basic radio around $30, and a Casio watch about $94.² Batteries, headphones, ear buds, and book lights fill out that section. Tablets are not sold through the standard federal commissary, though some state systems have introduced them through separate programs.

How Money Gets Into the Account

Inmates don’t handle cash. Every purchase draws from a trust account, and someone on the outside has to fund it. In the federal system, the Bureau of Prisons uses Western Union’s Quick Collect program, with four ways to send money: online through the Send2Corrections website, through a mobile app, at a Western Union agent location with cash, or by phone with a credit or debit card.³ State facilities contract with different providers, and some offer lobby kiosks for in-person deposits.

Whichever method you use, you’ll need the inmate’s eight-digit register number followed immediately by their last name, with no spaces or dashes, plus their full legal name on the attention line. The Bureau warns that misdirected funds may not be returned.³ Funds sent between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. Eastern typically post within two to four hours. Anything sent after 9 p.m. posts at 7 a.m. the next morning.

Every electronic deposit method carries a transaction fee. The amount depends on the provider and the size of the deposit. Mail-in money orders are sometimes cheaper but take longer to process.

How Orders Are Placed and Delivered

Once there’s money in the account, the inmate can shop, though not by walking aisles. In most facilities, inmates fill out an order form listing item codes and quantities from a printed commissary list. Forms have a submission deadline, and shopping typically happens on a set schedule, often once a week or every two weeks. The total is deducted from the trust account, and the bagged order is delivered during a designated distribution window, usually within a few days.¹

The spending limit resets once per month unless a facility uses weekly or bi-weekly validation.¹ Someone who spends their full budget early in the cycle waits for the reset before ordering again.

Spending Limits and Quantity Caps

The federal Bureau of Prisons sets a national cap of $360 per month on commissary spending. Individual wardens can set a lower limit but cannot exceed it. During the November/December holiday period, the cap increases by $50 for a single 30-day stretch.¹ State systems set their own limits, and amounts vary widely.

Individual items also carry quantity limits. A federal commissary list shows caps ranging from one per shopping trip for electronics to 20 for cheaper consumables.² The caps exist because commissary goods become informal currency inside a prison, and stockpiling coffee or ramen can create leverage that administrators try to prevent.

Pricing

Commissary items cost more than they would on the outside. Markups vary by state and item category. Some states set modest markups of roughly 15 to 25 percent, while others allow markups that reach several hundred percent on certain products. A few states cap markups by law, typically at 25 to 35 percent, but many have no cap. Revenue generally funds inmate welfare programs or facility operations.

Deductions Before You Can Spend

Not every dollar deposited is available for shopping. If an inmate owes restitution, court fines, or special assessments, the Bureau of Prisons collects payments from the trust account through the Inmate Financial Responsibility Program. At each review, staff look at total deposits over the previous six months, subtract any IFRP payments already made, and subtract $450 (a $75-per-month allowance meant to cover phone use). Anything left over can be considered for increased payments.⁴

The minimum payment for most inmates is $25 per quarter. Those with higher-paying UNICOR (prison industry) jobs are expected to put at least 50 percent of their monthly pay toward their obligations.⁵ For families, this means a $200 deposit to someone who owes restitution may have a portion redirected before it’s spendable. Refusing to participate doesn’t trigger forced collections, but it does carry consequences, including placement in the lowest-paying work assignments and loss of other privileges.

Losing Commissary Access

Commissary access is a privilege, not a right, and it can be revoked as a disciplinary sanction. Under federal regulations, loss of commissary privileges is available as a punishment at every severity level of prohibited acts, from the lowest infractions to the most serious.⁶ Duration depends on the severity of the infraction and the hearing officer’s discretion. Other infractions like fighting, possessing contraband, or failing drug tests can also lead to transfers to higher-security facilities where commissary options are more limited.

The Balance at Release

When a federal inmate is released, any remaining balance in the trust account is paid out. The first $500 is given in cash. Anything above that is sent as a U.S. Treasury check to the person’s release destination, issued in the inmate’s committed name.⁷

Inmates released on court writs who aren’t expected to return receive their balance before leaving. If someone is transferred to a state or county facility for more than 120 days, the balance is forwarded by Treasury check, either automatically or upon written request.⁷ State systems handle release payouts differently. If a recently released family member hasn’t received remaining funds, contact the facility’s financial services office directly.

Special Package Programs Are Separate

Some state prison systems run seasonal or quarterly programs that let families send pre-approved care packages through a contracted vendor. These are separate from commissary and typically limited to one order per quarter with a dollar cap on each. Inmates in solitary confinement or disciplinary segregation are usually ineligible, and orders placed for them are returned to the vendor. Rules on who counts as an eligible family member vary, and not every state offers these programs, so check with the specific facility before ordering.

1
Federal Bureau of Prisons. Trust Fund/Deposit Fund Manual
2
Federal Bureau of Prisons. TRUFACS Commissary Shopping List
3
Federal Bureau of Prisons. Sending Funds Using Western Union
4
Federal Bureau of Prisons. Inmate Financial Responsibility Program
5
eCFR. 28 CFR 545.11 – Procedures
6
eCFR. 28 CFR 541.3 – Prohibited Acts and Available Sanctions
7
Federal Bureau of Prisons. Trust Fund/Deposit Fund Manual