Sending Money in Minnesota (MN DOC)

How to deposit personal funds

Money for commissary and personal spending goes into the incarcerated person’s account. The Minnesota DOC handles personal deposits from friends and family through JPay:

• In the JPay app, using a credit or debit card.
• Online at JPay.com, using a credit or debit card.

You will need the incarcerated person’s full name and OID number (the Minnesota DOC Offender ID) to direct the deposit. The OID number can be confirmed through the Minnesota DOC offender locator.

Whether a mailed personal money order is accepted, and where it would be sent, is not something this guide can confirm. Do not assume a mailing address — contact the facility to ask whether a personal money order is allowed and, if so, where to send it before mailing anything.

Government and corporate payments go to a different address

Certain payments are not sent through JPay. U.S. Treasury checks, tribal payments, vendor refunds, and other government or corporate checks are mailed to the Minnesota DOC Office of Financial Management:

MN Department of Corrections Attn: Office of Financial Management P.O. Box 4719 St. Paul, MN 55101-4719

This address is for government and corporate payments only. Personal deposits from friends and family go through JPay, not to this P.O. box.

Fees and limits

Deposit fees are set by the vendor and change over time. JPay charges a service fee that is shown before a transaction is completed, so confirm the current amount with the vendor at checkout.

The phone and messaging account is separate

The spending account is not the same as the account that pays for calls and tablet messages. In Minnesota, phone calls run through ViaPath, and messaging and video visits run through JPay. That account is funded separately — money added for commissary does not automatically pay for phone time. For how to set up and add money to the calling and messaging account, see Phone & Video Calls.

Don’t hand money over at a visit

Funds are added only through the methods above. Money is not accepted in person during a visit, and personal mail does not reach the facility — Minnesota sends incoming personal mail to an off-site scanning vendor, so anything enclosed there is returned to the sender (see Mail & Packages). Personal deposits go through JPay, and government or corporate checks go to the Office of Financial Management P.O. box — not to the prison and not to the mail vendor.

For the general, nationwide overview of this topic, see the national guide: Sending Money.