Minnesota Correctional Facility – Faribault

A medium-security state prison for men in Faribault, Minnesota — the largest prison in the Minnesota DOC by population, holding a general-population men's count at custody Levels 1–3.

Overview

Minnesota Correctional Facility – Faribault (MCF-Faribault) is a state prison for men operated by the Minnesota Department of Corrections. It is in Faribault, the seat of Rice County, in southern Minnesota. The facility houses men in general population at custody Levels 1 through 3 and is the largest prison in the Minnesota DOC by population.

The Minnesota DOC assigns custody level based on factors that include sentence length, time remaining, and conduct, and a person’s custody level can change during incarceration. The custody class and housing unit held at a given prison affect visiting arrangements, so families confirm the arrangement that applies to the specific person before a first visit.

What Makes MCF-Faribault Different

MCF-Faribault is the largest prison in the Minnesota Department of Corrections by population. It is a medium-security facility holding a men’s general population across custody Levels 1 through 3, rather than a reception center or a single-mission unit. Because of its size, it houses a broad range of general-population units and programming. Newly sentenced adult men do not enter the system here — statewide men’s reception and classification is handled at MCF-St. Cloud, and people are assigned to MCF-Faribault or another prison after intake.

Visiting

The statewide MN DOC rules above — the approved visitor list, the dress code, ID, and item limits — apply at MCF-Faribault. The facility’s own arrangements:

Getting There and Parking

MCF-Faribault is at 1101 Linden Lane in Faribault, in Rice County in southern Minnesota. Faribault is south of the Twin Cities and is reached by way of Interstate 35 and U.S. Highway 60. The nearest large commercial airport is Minneapolis−Saint Paul International Airport to the north.

Parking is on site. Visitors confirm current entry procedures, the visitor-processing location, and what may be brought onto the grounds with the facility before arriving, because electronic devices and personal items are generally not permitted inside.

Nearby Services

Faribault has lodging and dining along the Interstate 35 corridor, with additional options in the surrounding Rice County communities and a wider range in the Twin Cities area to the north. Emergency medical care is available locally, with larger hospitals in the Twin Cities. Visitors traveling a long distance generally find the most options for fuel, food, and overnight stays along the Interstate 35 corridor and in the Twin Cities area.

Mail

Minnesota does not deliver friends-and-family mail to the prison. Since November 1, 2024, the Minnesota DOC has personal mail processed off-site by a private vendor, TextBehind, which scans or photocopies each item and sends the copies to the facility (electronic delivery to the person’s tablet is also available for a fee). Mail sent directly to a Minnesota prison is returned to the sender.

Address personal mail this way:

First Name / Last Name, and OID number MCF-Faribault, Minnesota (do not abbreviate Minnesota) P.O. Box 247 Phoenix, MD 21131

Items missing a first and last name or the OID number are rejected, and envelopes without complete information are discarded unopened. Mail between two incarcerated people, pen-pal mail, and photo orders also go to the TextBehind address.

Some mail still goes directly to the facility, not to TextBehind: legal mail; published materials, books, and subscription renewals; business mail from courts, counties, child support, and other government agencies; and vital documents such as birth certificates, Social Security cards, and IDs (TextBehind forwards these to the facility). Legal mail is sent to the facility’s own address, and incarcerated people use the facility address as the return address on outgoing legal mail.

Verify the current mailing rules and the facility’s address before sending anything.

Learn More

• Visiting a Minnesota prison — getting on the approved visitor list, scheduling, and what to expect at the visit.
• Sending mail — how the TextBehind scanning system works and how to address letters, photos, and legal mail.
• Phone & video — ViaPath phone calls and JPay Video Connect video visits.
• Sending money — depositing funds through JPay and where government or corporate checks go.
• Medical care — how health care is provided in Minnesota prisons and how to raise a concern.
• Transfers & intake — where people enter the system (men at MCF-St. Cloud, women at MCF-Shakopee) and how transfers work.