Finding out which prison a friend or relative is being held in isn’t always straightforward. There’s no public directory or enquiry line you can just search. Prisoners are moved between establishments fairly regularly – often as they progress through their sentence and their security category changes from A, B, C to D, sometimes to attend a specific course or programme, and occasionally for their own safety or after breaking prison rules.
The prison service doesn’t publicise these moves, largely for security and privacy reasons, so if you’ve lost touch you’ll need to go through the official channel.
The quickest way now is the government’s online Find a Prisoner (opens in a new tab) service. You fill in a short form with the prisoner’s name (and any other names they may have used), their date of birth or approximate age, and their prisoner number if you know it. The prisoner has to agree to be “found” before you’re told anything, so it isn’t instant and it isn’t guaranteed – but you should get a reply within about 4 weeks.
Solicitors can’t use the online form. Instead they should email findaprisoner@justice.gov.uk with the same details, plus confirmation that the prisoner is their client.
If you already know the prisoner’s number, you can skip all this and simply write to them at their last known prison, showing the prisoner number clearly on the envelope and in the letter itself. Even if they’ve since been moved, this will almost always be forwarded on to them.
It can also help to know roughly where your friend is being held – for example, somewhere near Bristol – and the prison location map below should help with that.
Click Here (opens in a new tab)