The Massachusetts Department of Correction runs the search for people in Massachusetts state prisons. Here is how to use it, what it covers, and where to look if the person is not there.
- Agency
- Massachusetts Department of Correction
- Official search
- VINELink (Massachusetts)
Open the VINELink (Massachusetts)
How to search the Massachusetts DOC inmate list
The Massachusetts Department of Correction runs its own search: VINELink (Massachusetts). Search by the person's full legal name. If you have their department ID number, use it: it finds one person, even when the name is common.
Massachusetts state prisons we list
We do not copy the Massachusetts prison inmate list yet. These are the state prisons in our Massachusetts directory, with address, phone and visiting basics. Use the department's search above to find a person.
- Boston Pre-Release Center State prison in Roslindale
- Bridgewater State Hospital State prison in Bridgewater
- Lemuel Shattuck Hospital Correctional Unit State prison in Jamaica Plain
- MCI - Concord State prison in Concord
- MCI - Framingham State prison in Framingham
- MCI - Norfolk State prison in Norfolk
- MCI - Shirley State prison in Shirley
- Massachusetts Alcohol and Substance Abuse Center - Plymouth State prison in Plymouth
- Massachusetts Treatment Center State prison in Bridgewater
- North Central Correctional Institution State prison in Gardner
- Northeastern Correctional Institution State prison in West Concord
- Old Colony Correctional Center State prison in Bridgewater
- Pondville Correctional Center State prison in Norfolk
- Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center State prison in Lancaster
- Westboro Reception Unit / Secure Treatment Center State prison in Westborough
State prison, county jail or federal prison?
The Massachusetts Department of Correction holds people serving state prison sentences. Someone arrested in the last few days is almost always in a county jail instead, and will not show up in the state prison search yet. For a recent arrest, start with the county: open our Massachusetts page and pick the county where the arrest happened.
People sentenced for federal crimes are held by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, which has its own search. See federal inmate search (BOP).
After you find them
- Visits: most prisons require you to be on the person's approved visitor list first. How visiting works.
- Money: how to send money and how commissary works.
- Mail and calls: sending mail, phone calls and video visits.
- Release and transfer alerts: VINE notifications.
Questions
Someone was just arrested in Massachusetts. Will they be in the Massachusetts DOC search?
Usually not. People who were just arrested are held in a county jail first. They are moved to a state prison only after a sentence to state prison. Check the county jail where the arrest happened.
Is searchinmates.org part of the Massachusetts Department of Correction?
No. searchinmates.org is a private website. It is not affiliated with the Massachusetts Department of Correction or any government agency. The department's own search is the source of record.
Sources
We opened each of these pages on October 14, 2026. Rules and numbers change, so check the source before you act.
- VINELink (Massachusetts), Massachusetts Department of Correction. The department's own search.
- Correctional Institutions, Bureau of Justice Statistics. How jails (run locally) differ from prisons (run by a state or the federal government).
searchinmates.org is a private website, not a government site, and is not affiliated with any agency named here. This page is general information, not legal advice. Removing a record from our site is always free: request removal.