Transfers & Finding Someone in Washington (WA DOC)

Finding someone

WA DOC publishes an online Incarcerated Search — the state’s incarcerated-individual locator. It can be searched by DOC number or by name, and it returns the facility where the person is currently held. It is the reliable way to confirm someone’s current location.

Each incarcerated person has a DOC number assigned by the department. Searching by that number is the most precise lookup; a name search can return more than one result, so the DOC number distinguishes between people with similar names.

Reception and classification

Newly sentenced people do not go directly to a long-term prison. They are first held at a reception center, where they go through intake and are evaluated. Where a person starts depends on sex:

• Men are received at the Washington Corrections Center (WCC) in Shelton, the statewide men’s reception and diagnostic center.
• Women are received at the Reception & Diagnostic Center (RDC) at the Washington Corrections Center for Women (WCCW) in Gig Harbor — the only women’s prison in the system.

During reception a person is evaluated and assigned a security level (custody classification). That classification, along with programming and bed space, determines which prison the person is later assigned to. Visiting generally cannot begin until a visitor has been approved on the Approved Visitor List — see Visiting in Washington.

How transfers work

WA DOC reclassifies and moves people among its prisons based on security level, programming, and available beds. Washington runs ten adult prisons across the state, so a transfer can move a person a considerable distance — for example, between facilities on the west side and the large prisons in eastern Washington.

WA DOC does not automatically notify families when someone is transferred as part of a routine move. For a family member tracking where someone is held, the Incarcerated Search above is the practical tool — check it again after a move to confirm the new facility.

Your visiting approval follows the person

Washington stores each person’s Approved Visitor List in an internal Statewide Visit System. When an incarcerated person transfers to another prison, the Approved Visitor List moves with them automatically. An approved visitor stays approved after a transfer and does not need to submit a new application for each facility.

What changes with a transfer is the facility’s own arrangements — visiting days, hours, and availability are set by each prison, and there is no public online booking for in-person visits. After confirming the new location on the Incarcerated Search, the facility’s visit staff can confirm current visiting days and availability. See Visiting in Washington.

Learn More

For detailed information about visiting and communicating with someone in a Washington state prison:

• Visiting in Washington — the visitor application, approval, and the Approved Visitor List
• Mail & Packages — addressing mail and the publisher-only book rule
• Phone & Video Calls — Securus calls, JPay tablets, and video visits
• Sending Money — depositing through JPay and Securus
• Medical & Mental Health — the co-pay, mental health, and the Corrections Ombuds

Verify Before Acting

For the general, nationwide overview of this topic, see the national guide: Visiting Basics.