Why Deposits of $500+ May Be Delayed for Someone at Union Parish Work Release (LA)
Sent $500 or more and the money still hasn't shown up? It's probably not a mistake. Louisiana DOC runs an extra review on larger deposits, which can hold funds before your loved one can access them.
Louisiana DOC handles larger deposits differently. Any deposit totaling $500 or more triggers an investigation - regardless of how you sent the money. That review happens before funds become available, so the deposit can sit "in process" even when everything was filled out correctly and the payment went through.
Bottom line: If the total deposit is $500+, the money may not be usable until the DOC investigation is completed.
Sending a money order through JPay? Their timeline is straightforward: once they approve and receive your money order, it gets processed within ten business days. Keep in mind that "business days" means weekdays only - no weekends, no holidays - so the actual calendar time can stretch longer than you'd expect.
Timing tip: The ten-business-day window starts after JPay receives (and approves) the money order - and a separate DOC review can still delay when the funds actually post or become available.
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- ✓ Write the incarcerated person’s full name and ID number clearly on the money order paperwork.
- ✓ Keep the receipt or stub from where you bought the money order.
- ✓ Write down the date you sent it (and any tracking or reference number you were given).
That paperwork matters more than you might think. Your receipt and send date help you track whether JPay has had enough time to process within the ten-business-day window. And if the deposit hits $500 or more and gets held for DOC review, having documentation makes it much easier to confirm exactly what was sent, when, and for how much.
It's frustrating to see that a payment was sent - or even received - but your loved one's balance still hasn't updated. With Louisiana DOC, this often happens because deposits of $500 or more get investigated. The funds stay on hold until that review wraps up. So even if the money order itself is valid, the delay is coming from the DOC approval step, not from anything you did wrong.
- Confirm what you sent - verify the amount and the date you purchased/sent the money order, and keep the receipt.
- Track where it is in the process - check the status through JPay so you know whether it has been received and approved for processing.
- Ask about the $500+ review - if the total deposit is $500 or more, be ready for an investigation/approval delay before the funds become available.
- Have your documentation ready - if you need to follow up, you’ll want the receipt, send date, and any tracking/reference details so you can describe the payment clearly.
Heads-up: Larger deposits (over $500) commonly trigger extra DOC review. Keep your receipts and plan for the funds to take longer to become available than smaller deposits.
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