Colorado hosts two federal prison sites run by the Bureau of Prisons: the Florence Federal Correctional Complex in Fremont County, which contains four facilities spanning every security level, and Federal Correctional Institution Englewood near Denver, a low-security prison with a satellite camp and a pretrial detention unit. Together, the federal prisons in Colorado hold inmates ranging from nonviolent offenders nearing release to the highest-risk prisoners in the federal system.
The Florence Federal Correctional Complex
The Florence complex sits about two hours south of Denver and brings four distinct facilities under a single footprint. Each serves a different security level, but they share infrastructure and administrative staff.
ADX Florence
United States Penitentiary Florence ADMAX is the federal government’s only administrative maximum-security prison and is widely regarded as the most secure correctional facility in the country.1Department of Justice. Fact Sheet: Security at the Department of Justice Bureau of Prisons Administrative Maximum Security Facility ADX holds inmates the BOP considers too dangerous or too high-profile for any other facility, including people convicted of terrorism, espionage, large-scale drug trafficking, and those who committed serious violence at other prisons. Inmates spend most of the day alone in concrete cells with limited human contact and tightly controlled movement.
USP Florence High
The high-security United States Penitentiary at Florence holds inmates serving long sentences or those with documented histories of institutional violence.2Federal Bureau of Prisons. USP Florence ADMAX Reinforced perimeters, high staff-to-inmate ratios, and strict movement controls define the environment. It is less restrictive than ADX but substantially more intense than any medium- or low-security institution.
FCI Florence
Federal Correctional Institution Florence is the complex’s medium-security facility.3Federal Bureau of Prisons. FCI Florence Inmates here generally pose lower safety risks and have access to work assignments, educational courses, and vocational training aimed at reentry.
FPC Florence
Adjacent to FCI Florence sits a minimum-security satellite camp holding roughly 311 inmates.3Federal Bureau of Prisons. FCI Florence Housing is dormitory-style with no perimeter walls or fencing. Camp inmates are typically nonviolent offenders nearing the end of their sentences.
FCI Englewood
FCI Englewood is a low-security federal prison outside Denver. It carries a Littleton mailing address but technically sits in unincorporated Jefferson County.4Federal Bureau of Prisons. FCI Englewood The perimeter uses double fencing with electronic detection, and inmates generally have shorter sentences and lower risk profiles than those at Florence.
Englewood also includes a minimum-security satellite camp and an administrative detention center that holds federal pretrial and presentence detainees for the District of Colorado. The pretrial unit operates under different rules than the main institution because those detainees have not been convicted and retain certain rights related to legal access and attorney communication.
Programming at Englewood leans toward rehabilitation. The facility offers the Residential Drug Abuse Program, a nine-month treatment program built around cognitive behavioral therapy in a modified therapeutic community.5Federal Bureau of Prisons. Substance Abuse Treatment Eligible inmates convicted of nonviolent offenses can earn up to twelve months off their sentence for completing RDAP, with the reduction scaled to sentence length.6Federal Bureau of Prisons. Early Release Procedures Under 18 USC 3621(e) Vocational training in HVAC and computer technology is also available.
Finding Someone in a Colorado Federal Prison
The Bureau of Prisons runs an online Inmate Locator covering every federal inmate held from 1982 to the present.7Federal Bureau of Prisons. Inmate Locator The fastest search uses the inmate’s BOP Register Number, an eight-digit identifier in the format #####-###. Without that number, you can search by first and last name, with optional fields for middle name, race, sex, and age to narrow results when common names return multiple hits.8Federal Bureau of Prisons. Federal Inmates By Name The locator shows current facility assignment and projected release date, and it updates as transfers happen.
Sending Mail
Address correspondence with the inmate’s full legal name, Register Number, institution name, and the facility’s mailing address. Staff inspect incoming mail for contraband, and envelopes that lack proper identification may be returned.
Legal mail from attorneys receives special handling if the envelope is clearly marked with the attorney’s name and the words “Special Mail — Open only in the presence of the inmate.” Outgoing mail from inmates follows stricter formatting rules under BOP policy, and at facilities using the TRULINCS mailing label system, inmates must use computer-generated labels on all outgoing correspondence.9Federal Bureau of Prisons. Correspondence
Phone Calls and Email
Federal inmates make phone calls through the institution’s telephone system, funded through the inmate’s commissary account. Under rate caps set by the FCC through the Martha Wright-Reed Act, providers cannot charge more than $0.09 per minute for audio calls from prisons, with an optional $0.02 per minute added for facility cost recovery.10Federal Register. Implementation of the Martha Wright-Reed Act Rates for Incarcerated Peoples Communication Services
Email runs through TRULINCS on dedicated computer terminals inside the facility. The inmate adds a contact to their messaging list, staff approves the request, and the system sends an automated email through CorrLinks asking whether the outside contact accepts communication.11Federal Bureau of Prisons. TRULINCS Topics Once accepted, both sides can exchange text messages. Inmates pay for TRULINCS from commissary funds; outside contacts are not charged. Messages are not instant, and staff review can delay delivery by hours or longer.
Sending Money
Friends and family can deposit funds into an inmate’s commissary account, which the inmate uses for phone calls, email, and commissary purchases. The BOP authorizes Western Union as its primary electronic transfer service, with three options.12Federal Bureau of Prisons. Sending Funds Using Western Union
- Online or through the Send2Corrections app at send2corrections.com, using a credit or debit card and the inmate’s Register Number.
- In person at any Western Union agent location. Enter the inmate’s eight-digit Register Number followed by their last name with no spaces or dashes. The facility name is “Federal Bureau of Prisons” and the code city is “FBOP DC.” Cash and debit cards are accepted.
- By phone at 1-800-634-3422, option 2, using a credit or debit card.
The BOP also accepts U.S. Postal Service money orders mailed to a centralized processing address, though online transfers tend to post faster. Any instrument sent by mail must include the inmate’s full name and Register Number.
Visiting an Inmate
Visiting a federal inmate requires advance approval, and the process starts with the inmate, not the visitor. On arrival at a facility, the inmate receives a Visitor Information Form and mails copies to each person they want on their approved list.13Federal Bureau of Prisons. How to Visit a Federal Inmate The prospective visitor completes the remaining fields and returns the form. The BOP then runs a background check, which may include contacting law enforcement agencies or checking national crime databases.14Federal Bureau of Prisons. Visitor Information Visits can begin only after clearance.
Each facility sets its own schedule. Many prisons limit visits to either Saturday or Sunday, and the assigned day can vary by inmate, so check the specific facility’s visiting hours on bop.gov before traveling.
The BOP enforces a dress code. Prohibited items include revealing shorts, halter tops, see-through garments, crop tops, miniskirts, sleeveless shirts, and skirts more than two inches above the knee. Khaki and green military-style clothing is also barred because it resembles inmate uniforms. Showing up in prohibited clothing can result in being turned away. Visitors pass through metal detectors on entry and may be subject to pat-down searches.
First Step Act Time Credits
The First Step Act lets eligible federal inmates earn time credits toward earlier transfer to prerelease custody, meaning either a Residential Reentry Center or home confinement.15Federal Bureau of Prisons. First Step Act Overview Inmates earn credits by participating in recidivism-reduction programs and productive activities, which include the vocational, educational, and treatment programs offered at FCI Englewood and FCI Florence.
Not everyone qualifies. Inmates serving time for violent offenses, terrorism, espionage, human trafficking, sexual exploitation, or high-level drug offenses are statutorily barred from earning credits toward early release. The BOP uses a risk assessment tool called PATTERN to score each inmate’s recidivism risk, and inmates with scores that are too high may be blocked from applying their credits unless the warden grants an exception.16United States Sentencing Commission. First Step Act Earned Time Credits Inmates who cannot earn time credits can still participate in programming, but without the early transfer benefit.