Sending Money in Alaska (AK DOC)
How to put money on an Alaska DOC Offender Trust Account — in person at any institution or by mailed cashier's check or money order to the prisoner — plus who may deposit and the monthly limit.
Where money goes
Money for commissary and personal spending goes onto the prisoner’s Offender Trust Account (OTA). Alaska DOC handles these accounts directly. Unlike most states, Alaska uses no outside deposit vendor — there is no JPay, Access Corrections, or TouchPay account to set up, and no central lockbox to mail to. Deposits go either to a DOC institution in person or to the prisoner at the prisoner’s own facility.
Only people on the prisoner’s approved visitor list may deposit funds.
Deposit in person
You can deposit money in person at any Alaska DOC institution, regardless of where the prisoner is held — the institution does not have to be the one where the prisoner is housed. Bring valid photo identification. Cash is accepted for in-person deposits.
Deposit by mail
To deposit by mail, send a cashier’s check or money order — cash is not accepted by mail — to the prisoner at the prisoner’s facility. The check or money order must be:
- Made out to the prisoner, including the prisoner’s prisoner number, and
- Marked with the sender’s full name.
Because Alaska uses no central deposit vendor, there is no separate P.O. box for funds. A mailed deposit goes to the prisoner at the facility’s mailing address — the same address used for personal mail. Find the current mailing address on the prisoner’s facility page, or on the Alaska DOC institutions list, and confirm where the prisoner is currently held before sending.
The monthly limit
Deposits to the trust account are capped at $500 per month. Dividend and Native-corporation checks are excepted from that limit.
Don’t hand money over at a visit
Funds are added only through the two methods above. Money is not accepted in person during a visit — it is never handed over in the visiting room. To put money on the account, use an in-person deposit at an institution or mail a cashier’s check or money order to the prisoner.
Verify Before Acting
Sources
This page is compiled from the following publicly available sources. Policies change without notice — confirm current details with the facility before relying on them.