To get on an inmate’s visiting list, you fill out and mail back the FDC Philadelphia visitation form, Bureau of Prisons Form BP-A0629, that the inmate sends you from inside the facility. The inmate fills in the top of the form with their name, register number, and the institution address, then mails a blank copy to each person they want to visit. You complete the rest, sign it, and mail it to FDC Philadelphia so staff can run a background check and decide whether to approve you.
How You Get the Form and What Happens Next
The process runs in a fixed order. The inmate submits a proposed visiting list to staff. Staff hand the inmate blank copies of BP-A0629. The inmate fills in their own identifying information and mails a copy to each proposed visitor. You complete your portion, sign, and mail it back. Staff run a background investigation and either approve or deny you.
FDC Philadelphia does not contact visitors about the outcome. The inmate learns the decision and passes it along. Once approved, your name goes on the inmate’s electronic visiting list and stays there unless the inmate transfers or the approval is revoked.
What to Have Ready Before You Fill It In
Gather these before you sit down with the form:
- Your full legal name and home address, matching your government-issued ID exactly.
- Your date of birth and place of birth.
- Citizenship status. U.S. citizens provide a Social Security number. Non-citizens provide an Alien Registration number or passport number.
- Your driver’s license number and the state that issued it, or the equivalent details from another government photo ID.
- Your relationship to the inmate: family, friend, associate, clergy, attorney, or other.
- If you have any criminal convictions: the number, dates, locations, and nature of each offense.
- If you are on probation, parole, or supervised release: your supervising officer’s name, address, and phone number.
The form has 14 numbered fields. The inmate fills the top portion. The rest is yours.
Filling Out the Form Section by Section
Personal Identification
Print clearly. Illegible handwriting is one of the easiest ways to delay approval. Fields 1 through 6 cover your name, date of birth, home address, citizenship, and Social Security or alien registration number. Field 14 asks for your driver’s license number and state of issuance. The name and date of birth you write must match your photo ID exactly, because staff cross-reference these against government databases and small discrepancies can stall the application.
Relationship to the Inmate
Field 7 asks how you know the inmate. The Bureau of Prisons sorts visitors into three tiers: immediate family (parents, siblings, spouse, children), other relatives (grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, in-laws), and friends or associates. Immediate family members are placed on the list unless there is a strong reason to exclude them. Other relatives and friends get closer review.
Friends and associates generally must have known the inmate before incarceration. The Warden can waive that prior-relationship requirement, especially for inmates with no other visitors, but the default rule is that the relationship predates confinement. An inmate’s list can ordinarily include no more than ten friends and associates, and the Warden can make exceptions.
Criminal History and Supervision
Field 11 asks whether you have ever been convicted of a crime. Answer honestly. The background check will find anything you leave out, and an omission is treated far more seriously than the conviction itself. Lying on a federal form can be prosecuted under 18 U.S.C. ยง 1001, which carries penalties of up to five years in prison.
A criminal record does not automatically disqualify you. Bureau of Prisons policy is that a conviction alone is not enough to deny visitation. Staff weigh the nature, severity, and recency of the offense against the security needs of the facility. A decades-old misdemeanor is viewed differently from a recent drug trafficking conviction.
Field 12 asks whether you are currently on probation, parole, or supervised release. If you are, give your supervising officer’s full contact information. Staff will ordinarily reach out to that officer for written authorization before approving your visits.
Signature and Contact
Sign and date the form at the bottom. Your signature certifies that everything you wrote is true. If spaces are provided for a phone number and email address, fill them in. Staff occasionally need to reach visitors to clarify something, and being easy to contact keeps the process moving.
Where to Mail the Completed Form
The inmate pre-fills the institution address on the form. For FDC Philadelphia, that address is:
Inmate Name and Register Number
FDC Philadelphia
Federal Detention Center
P.O. Box 562
Philadelphia, PA 19105
Put the inmate’s name and register number on the envelope so the mailroom can route it correctly. Certified mail or tracked delivery is a simple way to confirm it arrived. Forms are not accepted in person at the front entrance.
How Long Approval Takes
Once staff have your form, they run your information through law enforcement databases, which may include the National Crime Information Center. The check surfaces active warrants, protection orders, sex offender registrations, and criminal history. For visitors who are not immediate family, staff may request additional background information before deciding.
There is no officially published processing time. Allow several weeks, and don’t book travel around an assumed approval date. The inmate will hear first and it is on them to tell you. Once approved, your name appears on the electronic visiting list and visits can be scheduled.
If You’re Denied
A denial is not necessarily permanent, and notice to the inmate often does not include a specific reason. Two paths exist:
- The inmate can appeal through the Bureau of Prisons Administrative Remedy Program, starting with an informal attempt to resolve the issue with unit staff and escalating through the Warden, the Regional Director, and the General Counsel.
- You can write directly to the Warden of FDC Philadelphia explaining why the denial should be reconsidered. This is separate from the inmate’s administrative remedy.
Common reasons for denial include active warrants, a recent serious criminal history, current supervision status without authorization from a supervising officer, or a determination that the visit would threaten institutional security. If the problem was missing information rather than a disqualifying factor, submitting a complete and accurate form may resolve it.
Adding a Child to the Visiting List
A parent or legal guardian must sign the BP-A0629 form for any visitor under 18. Leaving that signature off can keep the child off the list. For verified immediate family members under 18, such as the inmate’s own child, staff may waive completion of the full questionnaire portion (fields 1 through 14), but the parent or guardian signature is still required.