Sending Money to Someone at MCC Chicago: The MoneyGram Guide

Before sending anything, confirm the person is actually at MCC Chicago and double-check their eight-digit register number. MoneyGram payments are tied to that register number - a single typo can mean a rejected transaction or money landing in the wrong account. The BOP Inmate Locator is the most reliable way to verify location and pull the register number. It covers federal inmates incarcerated from 1982 to the present. One caveat: don't treat the release date shown there as final. Sentences are being reviewed and recalculated under the First Step Act, so those dates may be outdated.

The

• ✓ Company Name: Federal Bureau of Prisons
• ✓ City/State: Washington, DC
• ✓ Receive Code: 7932

Send funds through MoneyGram ExpressPayment between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. EST, and they'll post within 2–4 hours. This is your best bet if you need the money on the account same-day.

Submit after 9:00 p.m. EST? The funds won't post until 7:00 a.m. EST the next morning. If you send late at night and the person doesn't see it right away, that's normal - just wait until morning.

Common Mistakes

• ✓ Using the wrong register number, or formatting the account number incorrectly (it must be the eight-digit register number with no spaces/dashes followed immediately by the last name, like 12345678DOE)
• ✓ Entering the wrong Company Name or City/State (it must be Federal Bureau of Prisons, Washington, DC)
• ✓ Using the wrong Receive Code (it must be 7932)
• ✓ Submitting without saving your receipt/confirmation number for reference if something goes wrong

1. Re-check the account number - Confirm you used the eight-digit register number with no spaces or dashes, followed immediately by the last name (example: 12345678DOE).
2. Confirm the MoneyGram fields - Company Name must be Federal Bureau of Prisons, City/State must be Washington, DC, and the Receive Code must be 7932.
3. Pull out your receipt and contact MoneyGram - Use your transaction details so they can track what was submitted.
4. If it still isn’t resolved, review BOP sending-money guidance and any posted facility policies - This helps you confirm you’re using the required fields and format for federal deposits.

Keep your receipt or confirmation number somewhere safe. Then check in with the person based on the posting windows: payments sent between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. EST usually post within 2–4 hours, while payments sent after 9:00 p.m. EST post at 7:00 a.m. the next morning. If the money still isn't showing after that window passes, you'll need that receipt to contact MoneyGram or follow up through BOP guidance.