Transfers & Finding Someone in Maine (Maine DOC)

Intake and Classification

The Maine Correctional Center in Windham is the primary reception and classification facility for both men and women. After intake assessments, a resident is assigned an initial custody level — Close, Medium, Minimum, or Community — which determines where they are held and is reviewed periodically. The small number of men who cannot be received at the Maine Correctional Center are received at the Maine State Prison in Warren instead. Where a person lands after classification depends on their custody level and program needs.

County Jail or State Prison

Maine divides custody by sentence length. Under state law, a sentence of more than nine months is served in a Maine DOC state facility, while a sentence of nine months or less — and most detention before trial — is served in one of the state’s 15 county jails. A county jail is run by the county sheriff and sets its own visiting, mail, phone, and money rules, which differ from the state system and from one county to the next.

This matters for families because “state custody” does not always mean a state prison, and the rules in this site’s guides apply at Maine DOC facilities, not county jails.

Finding Someone

To find where a person is held in state custody, use the Maine DOC Adult Resident Search, a free public tool updated daily. It lists adult residents and people on community supervision and shows the facility or status, an MDOC number, and release-date information. It does not include juveniles or people held under a county’s own authority — those serving short county sentences or awaiting trial — and it is not a criminal-history record. (It does list Maine DOC residents who are physically housed in a county jail, another state, or a federal facility.) So if someone does not appear, they are likely held by a county (check that county sheriff’s roster) or have been released.

Maine releases information about a resident only as shown on the public search unless the resident has signed a release of information, and even then some information is withheld under privacy law. For victim notification, Maine DOC runs the Office of Victim Services; the separate VINE notification system operates only at certain county jails, not statewide.

Moving Within Maine and Community Confinement

Transfers between Maine facilities are routine as a person’s custody level or program needs change. Maine also runs a Supervised Community Confinement Program (SCCP), in which a resident nearing release is moved to confinement in the community — living and often working outside a facility while still counted as in custody. The department also operates transitional living programs, such as “Leading the Way” in Bangor, for people in that stage. These programs are the main reason a person “in DOC custody” may physically be living in the community.

Out-of-State Transfers

Under the Interstate Corrections Compact (and the New England Interstate Corrections Compact), Maine can place a resident in another state’s prison and can hold residents from other states; the same framework, through a separate compact, governs the transfer of community supervision. A transfer turns on safety, security, and suitability rather than a family’s request.

Verify Before Acting

For the general, nationwide overview of this topic, see the national guide: Know Your Rights.