How Commissary Money Works at Knox County Detention — Using the Lobby Kiosk and the 50/50 Split
Putting money on someone’s books at Knox County Detention is pretty straightforward, but two details surprise people: there’s a kiosk fee, and the facility splits deposits 50/50 between fees and commissary.
If you’re bringing cash to deposit for an inmate, Knox County Detention requires you to use the vending kiosk in the lobby. Cash deposits aren’t handled at a counter - everything goes through that lobby kiosk.
- ✓ Expect a $1.50 fee for each kiosk transaction
- ✓ Get your receipt from the vending machine before you leave
- ✓ Keep the receipt in case you need to track or confirm the deposit
Here’s the part that trips people up: when you drop off money, the facility applies half of it to fees or contracts first. That applies whether the charges are current or past due, so a deposit you make today can be used to pay down older balances.
The remaining half is what lands in the inmate’s account for commissary. That’s the portion they can actually use to buy commissary items, so if you deposit $100, it helps to remember that only about $50 is going toward purchases once the split is applied.
Note: Fees that may be deducted include things like booking, medical, or property damage charges while in jail.
Commissary is available to inmates Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM. That’s the window when commissary access happens, so deposits made outside that timeframe may not line up with the same-day purchasing schedule.
- Buy a money order - this is used for commissary deposits (and can also be used for MRT book payments).
- Make it payable to the right name - write “Knox County Detention Center” as the payee.
- Label the memo line - write the inmate’s name on the memo line (for MRT book payments, write the inmate name and “MRT Book” on the memo line).
- Mail it to the facility’s street address - Knox County Detention Center, 570 KY 225, Barbourville, KY 40906.
- Use the lobby kiosk for cash deposits - all cash has to go into the vending kiosk in the lobby.
- Plan for the transaction fee - each kiosk transaction costs $1.50.
- Print your receipt before you walk out - get the receipt from the vending machine and hang onto it.
- Do the math with the 50/50 split - half of what you deposit goes to fees/contracts (current or past due), and the other half goes into the inmate’s commissary account for purchases.
Tip: If your loved one says they “didn’t get all the money,” the 50/50 split is usually why - only the remainder goes to commissary purchases. Keep your kiosk receipt so you can confirm what you deposited.
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