The fastest way to put money on the books of an inmate in the Tennessee Department of Correction is through the contracted vendor, JPay. Funds sent online or through the vendor's mobile app generally post to the inmate's TDOC account within twenty-four hours. Vendor fees scale with the deposit amount — typically two to twelve dollars per transaction — and most vendors cap a single transfer at $300 with a daily cap of $300–$500 across all senders. Phone deposits cost slightly more than online deposits; walk-in kiosk deposits at the facility lobby are usually the cheapest option after lockbox.
If you do not want to pay vendor fees, mail a U.S. Postal money order or a cashier's check directly to the facility's lockbox address. Make the instrument payable to the inmate's full committed name and write the TDOC ID number on the memo line. Personal checks and cash are never accepted by mail and are typically destroyed at the mail room — there is no return-to-sender process for cash. Lockbox deposits clear the inmate's account in five to ten business days; build that delay into your planning if you are sending commissary money before a holiday.
Related: trusted reentry directory.
Once funds post, the inmate can spend at the weekly commissary store on food, hygiene supplies, stationery, over-the-counter medications, and tablet content. TDOC also automatically deducts a portion of every deposit to satisfy court-ordered restitution, child support, room-and-board, and victim-compensation obligations. The deduction percentage varies but is usually fifteen to fifty percent of every dollar received until the obligation is paid in full. Spending caps for Tennessee state inmates generally run $200–$400 per month; county jails frequently cap weekly purchases at $50 to $100.
Related: family support resources.
Watch for scams. Inmates do not legitimately receive money sent to a personal phone number, a CashApp tag, a gift-card code, or a personal bank account that someone “inside” has provided. These schemes are almost always run by people outside the facility using contraband phones, and the funds never reach the inmate. Send money only through the vendor on the TDOC official website or through the lockbox address printed on the institution's contact page. If you spot a suspected scam, report the phone number to ViaPath and to the TDOC Office of Investigations.
Related: prison consulting services.
Related on InmateGuide: For facility-specific rules, see Bledsoe County Correctional Complex, Bledsoe County Jail, Claiborne County Jail, or browse all Tennessee facilities. Compare with Tennessee Visiting Rules and Hours, Tennessee Mail and Photos, Tennessee Phone Calls and Messaging. For an interstate overview, read our general sending money to an inmate guide.