Atwater U.S. Penitentiary

General Prison Information

Official Prison Name: Atwater U.S. Penitentiary
Prison Code: ATW
Prison Type: U.S. Penitentiary
Region: Western Region
State: California
Security Level: High

Contact Information

Here you have the street address and mailing address for Atwater U.S. Penitentiary. Use the mailing address if you are mailing a letter or package to an inmate at Atwater U.S. Penitentiary, and be sure to use the physical address if you need to know the location of Atwater U.S. Penitentiary.

Mailing Address

Make sure to also read the Inmate Mail and Package Procedures section on this page if you are going to send a package or letter to a prisoner to make sure that you correctly address the item, and use the right procedure for sending a package or letter. If you do not use the correct steps, it could get sent back.

INMATE NAME & REGISTER NUMBER
USP Atwater
U.S. Penitentiary
P.O. Box 019001
Atwater CA, 95301

Street Address / Prison Location

Use the street address if you plan to visit a prisoner. Make sure to also read the Inmate Visitation Procedures and Inmate Visitation Schedule information below if you are going to try to visit someone in prison at Atwater U.S. Penitentiary.

Atwater U.S. Penitentiary
1 Federal Way
Atwater CA, 95301

Phone Number

Federal inmates can’t take phone calls, so you won’t be able to call an inmate, however, there are some times when it may be necessary to know the telephone number to the facility.

(209) 386-0257

Fax Number

Federal inmates don’t have fax machines, so you won’t be able to fax the inmate, but there are some times when it might be helpful to know the fax number to the facility.

(209) 386-4635 

Email Address

This email address is the main email for Atwater U.S. Penitentiary. You can’t email inmates at this address. If you want to email a prisoner, read the Inmate Email information below.

ATW/PUBLICINFORMATION@BOP.GOV

Inmate and Staff Statistics

Total Inmates:   1,284 

Inmate Email

In order to send email to a prisoner at Atwater Federal Prison you must follow an exact process to ensure that the message gets to the inmate.

TRULINCS – Trust Fund Limited Inmate Computer System

Federal prisoners are allowed to email messages only from people listed on their approved contact list. An federal prisoner has to make a formal request to send and recieve email messages with a friend or family member by placing them into their contact list.

All email is monitored. prisoners must consent to being monitored when they agree to participate in the email system. Inmate contacts give consent to being monitored when they agree to corresponding with the prisoner and are reminded about this every time that they get an email letter from the inmate.

When a contact is added to an inmates contact list they will get an email notification which directs them to CorrLink.

Emails must not endanger the public or the security, safety, or operation of the prison. Also, emails should not be larger than 13,000 characters. Email messages that don’t follow these rules will not get delivered.

Inmate Internet Access

Prisoners don’t have access to the internet.

Inmate Mail and Package Procedures

There are certain procedures that you have to follow when sending a package or letter to a prisoner. If you do not then the letters and packages might not make it there.

before you send a letter or package, you should read the sections below:

Mail Monitoring

Prison guards will open and read and inspect all received general mail. Received general mail can be read as frequently as deemed necessary to ensure safety and security or watch problems having to do with any inmates.

How to Address a Letter to an Inmate

Shown here is the correct format for how you have to address a package or letter to a prisoner at Atwater Federal Prison:

INMATE NAME & REGISTER NUMBER
USP Atwater
U.S. Penitentiary
P.O. Box 019001
Atwater CA, 95301

Inmate Money

Every prison has a Commissary which was created to provide a bank type account for inmate money and for purchasing things not issued by the Bureau of Prisons.

How to Send an Inmate Money

Friends, family, or other people can deposit money to these Commissary accounts by sending it by the U.S. Postal Service and Western Union.

Via U.S. Postal Service: An inmate’s family and friends can to send prisoners money in postal mail and have to send money to the following address and follow the steps shows below:

Federal Bureau of Prisons
Insert Valid Committed Inmate Name
Insert Inmate Eight-Digit Register Number
Post Office Box 474701
Des Moines, Iowa 50947-0001

The money has to be in the form of a money order that is made out to the prisoner’s full committed name and complete eight-digit register number. It is best if you use a U.S. Postal Service money order, since all non-postal money orders processed through the National Lockbox will be placed on a 15-day hold, in which the prisoner will not get the funds. The Bureau of Prisons will return funds that don’t have correct prisoner info if the envelope has an adequate return address. Cash and checks cannot be deposited to the inmate’s account so do not send checks or cash.

Via Western Union Quick Collect Program: Prisoner’s friends and family may also send prisoners money with Western Union’s Quick Collect Program. Money sent to a prisoner with the Western Union Quick Collect Program can be sent via one of these methods:

1. At Western Union location using cash. In order to locate the closest agent, you can call 1-800-325-6000 or visit www.westernunion.com.
2. By phone with a credit/debit card: Call 1-800-634-3422 and choose menu option 2.
3. On the web with a credit or debit card: Go to www.westernunion.com and choose “Quick Collect.”

For the Western Union Quick Collect transaction, this info must be included:

1. Correct and valid Inmate Eight-Digit Register Number (entered with no spaces or dashes) followed immediately by Inmate’s Last Name
2. Committed Inmate Full Name entered on Attention Line
3. Code City: FBOP, DC

If the wrong register number and/or name are used and accepted and sent to that prisoner, funds might not get returned to you.

For additional info about how to send money to an inmate, go to the official Bureau of Prisons website.

Inmate Locator

Federal inmates are often transported to different prisons throughout the country, so you may have to locate what facility an inmate is at using the inmate locator. Follow the link here to locate a prisoner.
Inmate Search

Inmate Visitation Schedule

Visiting hours are from 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, as well as every federally recognized holiday.

Inmate Visitor Procedures

Every federal prison has its own procedures for prison visitation and they get changed frequently. The rules listed here may be out of date when you are reading this, so be sure to also go to the prison’s official website to get the latest visitation rules.

Visitation Sign-In and Check-In

The visitation guard ensures every visitor signs the prisoner visitors log when they enter the facility and also when they leave.

Identification Required

Picture id of all visitors is required. Acceptable forms of ID are Driver’s License and Social Security Card; but, a state issued photo id is OK.

For all of the things shown below, check out the official prison facility website as this info changes frequently:

• Visitation Rules
• Visitation Dress Code
• Things You Can and Cannot Take to Visitation
• Special Rules For Children, Special Visits, Pastoral or Attorney Visits

Prison Jobs & Hiring

Trying to find a prison job? Have any prior experience? Have you worked at a prison facility previously?

Tell Your Story – Write a Review of Atwater U.S. Penitentiary

Have you ever been incarcerated in Atwater U.S. Penitentiary? Do you have a family member or friend that spent time there? Have you ever been to visit an inmate at this correctional facility?

If you have, then we would like you to write your review about it. Tell us about your experience so other people can find out what to expect.

Things you can write in your review:

• Prison conditions
• Prison layout and facility
• Staff and guards
• Food and commissary
• Visitation
• Inmates
• Safety
• Gangs
• Activities and programs

If you are an inmate at this prison, leave your address if you want people to be able to mail you.