Florida
Guides and facility information for Florida, the third-largest state prison system in the country — the Department of Corrections runs about 50 major institutions plus work camps and several privately operated prisons, while county jails for people awaiting trial or serving short sentences are run separately by elected sheriffs.
The Florida Department of Corrections (FDC) runs the third-largest state prison system in the country — roughly 50 major institutions, plus annexes, work camps, and work-release centers, holding around 88,000 people. Florida also uses seven privately operated prisons (run by the GEO Group, Management & Training Corporation, and CoreCivic); those contracts are overseen by the Florida Department of Management Services, not FDC directly. FDC’s materials use the word inmate; this site uses neutral terms.
Where a person is held turns first on the sentence. A person sentenced to state prison is held in an FDC institution (or a contracted private prison); people awaiting trial or serving a sentence of a year or less are held in a county jail run by one of Florida’s elected sheriffs, which sets its own rules and is not in the FDC search.
Newly committed people are processed at a reception center first. For men, the main intake centers are the Reception and Medical Center (RMC) at Lake Butler — which is also the system’s prison hospital — along with the Central Florida Reception Center (Orlando), the South Florida Reception Center (Doral), and the Northwest Florida Reception Center (Panhandle); for women, intake is at Lowell (Ocala). Florida has an active death penalty: men under a death sentence are held at Union Correctional Institution and Florida State Prison (both near Raiford), the execution chamber is at Florida State Prison, and women under a death sentence are held at Lowell Correctional Institution.
To find where someone is held, use the FDC Corrections Offender Network search by name or DC number; it covers people in FDC custody, including those in the contracted private prisons, not county-jail detainees. Incoming personal mail does not go to the prison — Florida routes routine personal mail to an off-site Smart Communications center that scans it and delivers it electronically (legal mail still goes to the institution); see the mail guide for the address. Use the guides below for the statewide rules at Florida prisons, or go straight to a specific institution.
State guides
Visiting in Florida (FDC)
Florida's visiting process — getting approved on the incarcerated person's visitor list (Form DC6-111A), reserving a visit, the dress code (no blue or orange), and JPay video visits.
Mail & Packages in Florida (FDC)
Florida scans routine personal mail off-site through Smart Communications and delivers it electronically; address personal mail with the person's name and DC number to the Tampa processing center, while legal mail, publications, and packages go directly to the institution.
Phone & Video Calls in Florida (FDC)
Florida prison phone service is provided through ViaPath with billing handled by Securus, while JPay supplies tablets, electronic messaging, and video visits; families set up and fund accounts through those vendors.
Sending Money in Florida (FDC)
How to deposit money to an incarcerated person's account in Florida through the FDC vendor — online, by mobile app, by phone, or by mailed money order — and what the account pays for.
Medical & Mental Health Care in Florida (FDC)
How health care works in Florida prisons — requesting care through sick call, the contracted provider Centurion of Florida, the $5 co-pay for inmate-initiated visits, the Reception and Medical Center hospital at Lake Butler, and oversight by the Correctional Medical Authority.
Transfers & Finding Someone in Florida (FDC)
How Florida reception and classification works, how to find where a person is held using the FDC Corrections Offender Network by name or DC number, and how classification, transfers, and privately operated prisons affect a person's location.
Facilities
Women's facilities
Men's facilities
Central Florida Reception Center
Orlando · Reception and classification (men)
Everglades Correctional Institution
Miami · Close/medium custody (men)
Florida State Prison
Raiford · Maximum security (men) — the state execution chamber and death-row cells
Northwest Florida Reception Center
Chipley · Reception and classification (men)
Reception and Medical Center
Lake Butler · Reception and classification (men) — statewide male intake and the system's hospital
South Florida Reception Center
Doral · Reception and classification (men)
Union Correctional Institution
Raiford · Close and maximum custody (men) — holds male death-row housing