Find an Inmate at Federal Correctional Institution Miami

Federal Correctional Institution Miami Overview

Federal Correctional Institution Miami is a Bureau of Prisons facility that holds sentenced male federal inmates at a low-security custody level. The institution sits at 15801 SW 137th Avenue in the southwestern part of Miami-Dade County. A minimum-security satellite camp operates alongside the main institution and houses men who meet the criteria for minimum-custody federal status. Both the FCI and the camp fall under the same BOP administrative umbrella and share the same general address and phone number, though each holds a distinct population with its own housing and program assignments.

The institution was dedicated on March 26, 1976, making it one of the older federal correctional facilities in South Florida. The Bureau of Prisons describes FCI Miami as a low-security institution, which means it houses federal inmates who present a lower escape risk and have shorter or lower-severity federal sentences than medium- or high-security populations. Low-security inmates typically live in dormitory or cubicle housing rather than individual cells and participate in work assignments, educational programs, and other structured activities during their sentences. The satellite camp at the same location is minimum-security, the least restrictive BOP custody level, and generally houses inmates who are near the end of their sentences or who are otherwise assessed as presenting minimal supervision needs.

The BOP facility page for FCI Miami provides official information on visiting regulations, mail procedures, phone access, and administrative contacts for the institution.

FCI Miami Population and Capacity

The Bureau of Prisons publishes facility population data through its public API. As of May 28, 2026, FCI Miami held a combined total of 1,013 federal inmates: 827 people at the main FCI and 186 at the satellite camp. A designated rated capacity figure for this facility was not located in publicly available BOP sources. Because the FCI and camp serve different custody levels, their populations are tracked and reported separately even though they share the same administrative unit. The figures below reflect BOP data for May 28, 2026.

The combined population of 1,013 at the time of that data pull reflects the total number of federal inmates assigned to the FCI Miami administrative unit. BOP population figures can shift as inmates are transferred, released, or newly designated to a facility, so the official BOP Inmate Locator and the BOP facility page remain the authoritative sources for current counts. Capacity figures in federal facilities may also reflect functional operating capacity rather than a single fixed design number, and the BOP has not published a rated capacity for this institution in its publicly available data pages.

How to Look Up an Inmate at Federal Correctional Institution Miami

The BOP Inmate Locator is the correct system for finding someone held at FCI Miami or its satellite camp. The county jail roster run by Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation Department covers people in county custody only. The Florida Department of Corrections Offender Search covers sentenced state prisoners only. Neither of those tools covers federal inmates. The BOP Inmate Locator covers federal inmates incarcerated from 1982 to the present. It can search by several identifier types or by name. An important note: if a search returns a result showing "Released" or "Not in BOP Custody" with no facility listed, the person may have completed their federal sentence but could still be under supervised release, in another agency's custody, or in a different part of the criminal justice system.

1. Open the BOP Inmate Locator at bop.gov/inmateloc/.
2. Choose the "Find By Number" tab if you have a BOP Register Number (formatted as five digits, a hyphen, and three digits), a DCDC Number, an FBI Number, or an INS Number. Choose "Find By Name" if you have only the person's name, and optionally enter race, approximate age, and sex to narrow results.
3. Run the search and review the results. The locator returns name, register number, age, race, sex, projected release date, and the facility where the person is assigned.
4. Confirm the listed facility is FCI Miami or the FCI Miami Satellite Camp. If the result shows a different BOP facility, the person may have been transferred. If the result shows "Not in BOP Custody," the person may have completed their sentence or moved to another system.

There are no public mugshot galleries for federal inmates held at FCI Miami. The BOP Inmate Locator returns identifiers and location data, not booking photos. The BOP's policy differs from county jail rosters that routinely publish booking photographs. Families looking for booking photos should understand that federal inmates do not have publicly browsable mugshot galleries through any BOP or federal government tool.

The BOP Inmate Locator searches by register number, FBI number, DCDC number, INS number, or name and covers the federal inmate population from 1982 to the present.

For information about how federal and county custody differ in Miami-Dade, see the Jail Inmate Records page, which explains when to use the county roster versus federal and state locators.

BOP Inmate Locator Search Fields

The BOP Inmate Locator offers two search paths. The number path is faster and more precise when an identifier is available. The name path is useful for family members who do not know the register number. The table below describes the fields available in each path based on the official BOP locator page.

Results show the person's name, register number, age, race, sex, projected release date, and current facility. The BOP warns that projected release dates may not be current because First Step Act sentence review and recalculation can change them. If the release date shown differs from what you expect, contact the facility or the BOP directly for confirmation.

Note: A BOP Register Number (also called a federal register number) is the primary identifier assigned to every person in federal custody. Mail and deposits for federal inmates must include this number.

Federal Correctional Institution Miami Address and Contact

The physical address for FCI Miami and its satellite camp is 15801 SW 137th Avenue in southwestern Miami-Dade County. The main phone number reaches the institution's general line. An executive assistant email is also available for administrative communications. The BOP facility page at bop.gov/locations/institutions/mia/ lists visiting regulations, the inmate mail address, and other operational details. Always call the facility before traveling to confirm visiting hours and rules, as they can change based on security conditions or institutional programming.

Visiting Someone at Federal Correctional Institution Miami

Visiting a federal inmate at FCI Miami follows Bureau of Prisons rules, which differ substantially from county jail visiting procedures in Miami-Dade. All visitors must be on the inmate's approved visiting list before arriving. The inmate initiates the approval process by submitting the visitor's information to the institution. Visitors who have not been approved in advance will not be admitted. Each facility sets its own visiting hours within BOP guidelines, and those hours can be modified for security reasons, special housing placements, weather, lockdowns, or other institutional conditions.

The BOP did not publish specific visiting day and hour schedules for FCI Miami in the data available for this research. Because visiting hours can change and may differ for inmates in special housing units versus the general population, the BOP advises visitors to consult the facility's official visiting regulations and to call 305-259-2100 before traveling. Arriving without confirmation is not recommended, as a schedule change or security event could prevent entry even for approved visitors.

Dress code and prohibited items rules apply at all BOP facilities. Visitors who violate dress code or attempt to bring prohibited items can be turned away or face more serious consequences. Contact the institution for the current dress code guidelines and the list of items not permitted in the visiting area.

Mail, Phone, and Money at Federal Correctional Institution Miami

Mail and money rules at federal BOP facilities differ from those at Miami-Dade county jails. Personal mail for inmates at both the FCI and the satellite camp is sent to a PO Box address, not the physical facility address. Do not send mail or money directly to the 15801 SW 137th Avenue physical address for personal inmate correspondence. Staff mail uses the physical address. Shipping of packages uses the physical address but must follow BOP rules for approved items and packaging.

Money for federal inmates is not sent to the facility itself. The Bureau of Prisons processes inmate funds centrally through the national inmate trust fund lockbox system. Sending money to the facility address or in any form not authorized by BOP can result in it being returned or rejected. The BOP facility page and the FCI Miami page at bop.gov provide the current instructions for depositing funds into an inmate's trust account.

All incoming mail at BOP facilities is subject to inspection. Legal mail has specific handling rules that differ from personal mail. Attorneys and legal representatives should contact the institution regarding privileged legal mail procedures before sending confidential communications.

Note: Always include the inmate's full name and BOP Register Number on mail to ensure it is routed to the correct person and not returned.

Federal Designation and Intake at FCI Miami

Federal inmates arrive at FCI Miami through the BOP designation process, which operates differently from the street-arrest booking that county jail inmates go through. After a person is convicted of a federal offense and sentenced by a U.S. District Court judge, the Bureau of Prisons receives the judgment and commitment order and assigns the person to a specific institution based on factors including security level, program needs, medical requirements, sentence length, and proximity to the person's release community. This process is called designation. The U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) handles the transport of federal prisoners from court-ordered custody to their designated BOP facility.

FCI Miami receives sentenced male inmates designated at the low-security level. Federal pretrial detainees in the Southern District of Florida are typically held at the Federal Detention Center Miami downtown rather than at FCI Miami. Once a person is designated to FCI Miami, the BOP Inmate Locator should reflect that facility assignment, though there may be a short delay during transport and processing before the locator updates. The satellite camp receives minimum-security designations through the same BOP process, and camp residents are often inmates who have progressed through the federal system and earned a lower-custody status closer to release.

Unlike county jail bookings, which are tied to the moment of arrest, federal designation happens after conviction. The pretrial phase for most federal defendants in Miami-Dade takes place at the Federal Detention Center Miami, the downtown BOP facility that serves the Southern District of Florida. Readers who are looking for someone who has been federally charged but not yet sentenced should search the BOP Inmate Locator for the Federal Detention Center Miami.

About Federal Correctional Institution Miami

FCI Miami opened in 1976 and has operated as a Bureau of Prisons low-security institution for five decades. The institution is part of the BOP's Southeast Region and serves the Southern District of Florida, one of the busiest federal judicial districts in the country given Miami-Dade's location as a major international port, financial center, and border-adjacent community. Federal offenses prosecuted in the Southern District often include drug trafficking, immigration violations, financial crimes, and public corruption, which shape the population profile of local BOP facilities over time.

The institution operates under BOP-wide standards that govern medical care, programming, educational opportunities, work assignments, religious services, and inmate rights. BOP facilities are required to comply with the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) standards, and the BOP publishes PREA audit results. Conditions, programming availability, and visiting rules can change over time based on institutional staffing, population levels, policy changes, and external events. Families and attorneys should consult the official BOP facility page and contact the institution directly for current information rather than relying on older published descriptions.