USP Canaan: inmate search, visiting and mail

Find someone at USP Canaan

We do not hold a list of the people at USP Canaan. To check whether someone is held there, search their name or 8-digit register number in the BOP inmate locator; the result shows the facility. It covers people in federal custody from 1982 to the present. Our federal inmate search guide explains the search step by step.

The BOP's population report dated October 8, 2026 counts 1,283 people at USP Canaan. People are transferred between federal prisons, so confirm the location before you travel or send anything.

About USP Canaan

USP Canaan is a U.S. Penitentiary run by the Federal Bureau of Prisons in Waymart, Pennsylvania (Wayne County). The BOP lists its security level as High and says it holds men, with a satellite camp. It is in the BOP's Northeast Region.

Visiting

You can only visit if the person has put you on their approved visiting list and the BOP has cleared you. The person mails you a Visitor Information Form after they arrive; you fill it in and send it back. Federal law gives each person at least four hours of visiting a month, and the warden can limit visit length or the number of visitors.

Visiting days and times differ by institution and can be cancelled for safety reasons. Read the USP Canaan visiting regulations (PDF) and call 570-488-8000 before you leave. More in how to visit someone in prison.

Mail address

Inmate mail to USP Canaan
Inmate's full committed name and register number
USP Canaan
P.O. Box 300
Waymart, PA 18472

Inmate mail to the satellite camp
Inmate's full committed name and register number
USP Canaan
P.O. Box 200
Waymart, PA 18472

Use the person's committed name (no nicknames) and register number. Letters are opened and inspected by staff, except specially marked legal mail. Packages from home need written approval first; books and magazines must come straight from the publisher. See how to send mail to an inmate.

Sending money

Never send money to USP Canaan's address. All federal inmate deposits go through the BOP's national systems, whatever prison the person is in:

• MoneyGram (receive code 7932) or Western Union (code city FBOP, DC). The account number is the 8-digit register number with no spaces, then the last name (for example 12345678DOE).
• By mail: a money order or cashier's check (no cash or personal checks) to Federal Bureau of Prisons, the person's committed name and register number, Post Office Box 474701, Des Moines, Iowa 50947-0001.

Wait until the person has physically arrived at the BOP facility. Full steps in how to send money to an inmate.

Phone calls and email

Calls are monitored, and usually the person in prison pays for them. Email runs through TRULINCS: text only, up to 13,000 characters, and both sides must agree to monitoring. More in phone calls with someone in prison.

Questions

Sources

We opened each of these pages on October 14, 2026. Rules and numbers change, so check the source before you act.

• USP Canaan, Federal Bureau of Prisons. Address, phone, mail address, security level and population report (BOP location data, read on bop.gov).
• USP Canaan visiting regulations (PDF), Federal Bureau of Prisons. The visiting rules and schedule for this institution.
• Find an inmate, Federal Bureau of Prisons. Records from 1982 to the present, search by number or name, and what "Released" or "Not in BOP Custody" means.
• General Visiting Information, Federal Bureau of Prisons. The approved visiting list, who can be on it, dress code and visiting hours.
• Stay in touch (communications), Federal Bureau of Prisons. Phone calls, TRULINCS email, mail, packages and the three ways to send money.
• About Our Facilities, Federal Bureau of Prisons. What FCI, USP, MDC, FDC, FMC, FPC and ADX stand for.