Transfers & Finding Someone in New York (DOCCS)
How New York reception and classification works, how to find where a person is held using the DOCCS Incarcerated Lookup by name or DIN, and how classification, transfers, and recent facility closures change a person's location.
New York’s prison system is run by the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS). After sentencing, a person enters DOCCS custody through a reception and classification center, is assigned a security level and a facility, and may be transferred during the sentence. Because of this — and because DOCCS has been closing facilities — the facility where a person is held can change over time. The DOCCS Incarcerated Lookup shows the current location.
Reception and classification
A newly committed person is first sent to a reception and classification center, where DOCCS conducts intake processing and assigns a security classification and a facility. For men, Elmira Correctional Facility is the primary reception center; classification is also handled at several maximum-security prisons, including Clinton, Auburn, and Wende. For women, Bedford Hills Correctional Facility is the reception center.
The former Downstate reception center closed in 2022 and no longer operates. After classification, a person is generally transferred to the facility assigned for the rest of the sentence, so the reception center is usually not where the person remains.
How to find someone
DOCCS maintains an online Incarcerated Lookup that lists people currently in DOCCS custody. A search can be run by name or by DIN (Department Identification Number) — the unique number DOCCS assigns to each incarcerated person. The DIN returns an exact match; a name search may return multiple people.
The lookup covers people in DOCCS custody in state prisons. It does not cover people held in county or city jails (see below). It also does not provide real-time movement details, so the listed facility reflects the most recent record DOCCS has published.
Why a location changes
A person’s facility can change for several reasons:
- Classification. After reception, DOCCS assigns a security level and a facility, which moves the person from the reception center.
- Transfers. People are moved between facilities during a sentence for reasons including security level, programming, medical needs, and population management.
- Facility closures. DOCCS has been closing prisons. Great Meadow and Sullivan closed in 2024, and Bare Hill closed in 2026. When a facility closes, the people held there are moved to other facilities.
New York has no private prisons (banned in 2007) and no death penalty (no death row), so every person in DOCCS custody is held in a state-operated facility.
Because of classification, transfers, and closures, the facility on an older letter, record, or memory may be out of date. The Incarcerated Lookup shows the current facility.
County and New York City jails are separate
The DOCCS lookup covers state prison custody only. People held in county jails or in New York City jails — for example, Rikers Island — are in a separate system and are not listed in the DOCCS lookup. People in those facilities are typically pretrial detainees or serving shorter sentences, and each county sheriff or the New York City Department of Correction maintains its own records.
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.