How to Put Money on an Inmate's Account at Northwestern: Kiosk, Mail, Online, and Tablet Funds
Getting money to someone at Northwestern is straightforward once you pick the right account: commissary, phone, or tablet. Here are the options families use most often, plus a few quick checks so your deposit ends up in the right place.
Northwestern has two Inmate Banker Kiosks in the main facility lobby, open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Need to make a deposit outside business hours? The lobby kiosks are your around-the-clock option.
The kiosks accept cash or cards. During the transaction, you'll choose where the money goes: either to a phone number for calls or to the inmate's commissary account.
Quick tip: Before you hit "submit," double-check whether you're funding the phone number or the commissary account. It's easy to breeze through the screens since the kiosks are available any time, but you want the money landing in the right place.
Mailing a money order? Address it with the inmate's full name and send it to: Inmate Name, 141 Fort Collier Road, Winchester, Virginia 22603.
- ✓ Mail money orders through the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). The facility accepts them and deposits them to the inmate’s commissary account.
- ✓ Put the sender’s full first and last name and complete address on the money order.
- ✓ Make sure the money order shows the inmate’s full name.
Heads up: If the money order is missing the sender's full name and address, or the inmate's full name, it may not get credited to the correct commissary account.
You can also make deposits online through connectnetwork.com. Search for "NW Regional VA – Adult Detention" and confirm the site ID is 7 to make sure you've picked the right location.
A common mix-up: phone money and commissary money are not the same thing. At the kiosk, you can fund either a phone number for calls or the inmate's commissary account. If your goal is snacks, hygiene items, or other commissary needs, make sure you're selecting the commissary account, not the phone number.
Tablets are a separate category entirely. Northwestern provides inmate tablets, and while some features are free, paid options include games, movies, music, video visits, phone calls, and messaging. Tablet funds have to be added online, and that money can only be used on the tablet and its features.
Don't assume you can move money around. Money placed on a phone number cannot be transferred to the commissary account. Tablet funds are also separate and can only be used on the tablet.
Commissary (canteen) ordering runs on a weekly schedule. Inmates need to submit their order by 10:00 PM on Tuesday to receive items that Thursday.
- Decide what you are funding: commissary, a phone number for calls, or tablet features.
- Use the matching deposit method: kiosks can fund phone or commissary, mailed USPS money orders go to commissary, and online deposits are used for online funding (including tablet money).
- Time commissary deposits with ordering: if you want the funds available for this week’s canteen order, aim to have money in place before Tuesday at 10:00 PM.
Find an Inmate at Northwestern Regional Adult Detention Center
Search for a loved one and send messages and photos in minutes.
