Understanding Your Inmate's Commissary Account at FCI Morgantown

Think of the commissary account as a bank account in your loved one's name. It holds their money so they can buy items the facility doesn't provide - snacks, hygiene products, stamps, and more. Behind the scenes, commissary purchases actually help fund services inmates use: the Inmate Trust Fund, which covers things like TRULINCS (the email system), is maintained through profits from commissary sales and other inmate-paid services.

Money you deposit doesn't get handed directly to your loved one. Instead, it goes into their commissary account - a tracked balance the facility maintains on their behalf. They draw from this account for commissary purchases and other approved spending.

Here's where people get tripped up: you're not just sending money "to the prison." You're trying to get it credited to a specific commissary account. That's why mailed funds must go through the centralized processing center in Des Moines, Iowa - not to FCI Morgantown's address. Using the right route ensures the deposit gets recorded properly and shows up where your loved one can actually spend it.

Practical Tips

• ✓ Double-check the inmate’s name and register number before you send any funds, so the deposit can be credited to the right commissary account.
• ✓ If you’re mailing funds, make sure you’re using the centralized processing center in Des Moines, Iowa - not the FCI Morgantown facility address.
• ✓ Keep proof of what you sent (receipt, confirmation, or a copy of what you mailed) until you’re confident it has been credited to the commissary account.
• ✓ If someone suggests “just mail it to the prison,” treat that as a red flag and switch to the correct process so the account the facility maintains can be updated.