What is an Inmate Commissary?
Commissary, also known as Canteen, is the ‘store’ within a jail or prison where inmates can purchase items that they want or need to make their stay in jail or prison less of a burden.
Snacks and comfort foods, branded hygiene products they are used to, sneakers and t-shirts, prayer blankets, radios, headphones, television sets, tablets, stationary products and art supplies; depending on the facility, there are thousands of products to choose from.
Some jail and prison systems run their own commissary store, others contract out to companies that serve dozens or hundreds of jails, where inmates and/or their friends and families can purchase products through a website from home, or a kiosk or tablet within their facility.
What items can inmates purchase in jail and prison?
Food
• Cookies
• Pastries
• Candy
• Tuna and mackerel
• Coffee and Tea
• Soft drinks
• Energy drinks
• Pizza
• Hamburgers
• Chicken fingers
• Spices
Hygiene
• Shampoo
• Soap
• Shaving supplies
• Lotions
• Deodorant
• Oral care
• Toilet paper
• Nail care
Clothing
• Sweats
• Sneakers
• Shorts
• Underwear and bras
• Socks
• Jackets
• Hats
Electronics
• Televisions
• Radios
• Headphones
• Tablets
• Watches
Miscellaneous
• Playing cards
• Games
• Bibles
• Books
• Art supplies
• Stationery supplies
• Vaping products (only some states)
• Greeting cards
How much money can an inmate spend on commissary each month?
Generally, the maximum spend in jail is about $300 per month. Prisons allow a bit more as it is more of a permanent home, whereby jail is temporary. To find out how much an inmate in the Houston County Jail can spend each month, call 931-289-4614.
How often can inmates purchase commissary?
Some jails it's twice a week, others once a week or every other week. A lot of the online stores care pack companies are once a month. To find out the exact schedule for Houston County Jail, call 931-289-4614.
How can a friend or family member deposit money for an inmate in jail or prison?
Houston County Jail has its own methods for receiving money for inmates, and that information can be found above or by calling 931-289-4614 and asking, however all jails and prisons all receive money for an inmate’s trust and commissary account, as well as an account used for communications, pretty much the same way.
1. Mailing an inmate a money order or cashier’s check from a trusted source such as the Post Office, a local bank, or Western Union. The Money order should be be made out to either the inmate or the facility, with the inmate’s name and ID# on the memo line of the check.
When mailing a money order or cashier’s check, send it an envelope by itself. Never send it with a letter or photos for your inmate.
Never send personal checks or cash either.
2. Deposit cash or use a debit or credit card to send an inmate money using an ATM machine that is usually located in the lobby or visitation area of the facility.
3. Some jails have a reception desk or booth that is open during certain hours that they will list on their website. They will accept cash, money orders or cashier checks. Other facilities that don’t have a human manning the desk will have mail drop where you can leave a money order or check. No cash can be left in these boxes.
4. There are multiple companies that jails and prisons contract with which accept inmate deposits online, by mail or over the phone, or even in ATM machines you can find in check cashing stores and retail outlets across the country.
If one of these companies (listed in the next question) works with Houston County Jail, this information will be outlined above.
Who are the companies that jails use to send money to inmates?
There are many companies competing for the accounts of jail and prison inmates. Their intention is to alleviate the staffing and financial responsibility of handling inmate’s accounts. They usually charge a fee equal to 3-5% of the total deposit.
The companies, in alphabetical order, are:
Access Corrections
AllPaid (aka GovPayNet)
Care A Cell
Cash Bond Online
CIDNET
City Tele Coin
CommissaryDeposit.com
Correct Solutions Group
Correctpay
Ctel
Edevo
Express Account
gettingout
GTL
Inmate Canteen
InmateSales
JailATM
Jail Pack Store (McDaniel Supply)
Jailpayments.com
Jpay
NCIC
JailCanteen (Oasis)
Paytel
Pigeonly
Prodigy Sales
Reliance
Securus
Smart Communications
Tennessee Business Enterprise
Tiger
Touchpay
How do I send an inmate money by mail?
To send an inmate money by mail you first have to have the money converted to a money order, preferably from the US Post Office, or a Cashier’s Check. Never send cash, and never send a personal check.
To find the address for sending money to an inmate, call the jail at 931-289-4614.
Can I send an inmate money online?
Almost every facility contracts with a company that helps friends and families of inmates send them money. The list can be found above.
To find out who Houston County Jail contracts with for inmate deposits, call them at 931-289-4614.
How expensive are items on commissary?
Items on commissary are no more expensive than they would be at a local Walmart store.
What is a Commissary deposit?
A commissary deposit is the money that a person on the outside deposits in an inmate’s trust account, so they can have money to spend on commissary and communication services.
How much money can inmate have in his commissary account?
The limit that an inmate can have in their commissary account is usually about $300.00. To find out what the limit is for Houston County Jail, call 931-289-4614.
Can I send an inmate a package or care pack??
Many jails contract with companies that send food, hygiene products and/or clothing to inmates. These can be purchased and sent by friends and family on a weekly or monthly basis.
You can only send items from the one that your jail has a contract with.
An inmate carepack is a pack of snacks and/or hygiene products that friends or family members of an inmate can purchase online and have shipped to an inmate. The carepack company needs to have a contract with the facility before it can be shipped to the inmate.
Check this page, the Money Page or the Commissary Page for further information, or call the jail at 931-289-4614 to see which one that the Houston County Jail works with.
Here are the commissary package companies, in alphabetical order, that provide this service to jails in the United States:
Access Securepak
Care A Cell
Commissary order
Correct Pay
Express Account
icare
Inmate Canteen
Jail ATM
Jail Pack Store (McDaniel Supply)
My Care Pack
Oasis (jailcanteen)
Prodigy Solutions
Tiger
Union Supply Direct
Can an inmate buy gifts on commissary?
Not really. Other than the basic supplies mentioned above there are no gifts other than greeting cards that they can fill out and mail to a friend, family or loved one.
