Federal Inmate Locator Scraper (BOP)

Here is one real result, with every field the actor returns:

{
  "inmateNumber": "00123-871",
  "inmateNumberType": null,
  "firstName": "JOHN",
  "middleName": "LEE",
  "lastName": "SMITH",
  "suffix": null,
  "fullName": "JOHN LEE SMITH",
  "sex": "Male",
  "race": "Black",
  "age": 79,
  "facilityName": "Detroit",
  "facilityCode": "CDT",
  "facilityType": "RRM",
  "facilityUrl": "https://www.bop.gov/locations/ccm/cdt/",
  "projectedReleaseDate": null,
  "actualReleaseDate": "02/17/1994",
  "status": "Released",
  "facilityAddress": "4026 E. ARKONA RD.",
  "facilityCity": "MILAN",
  "facilityState": "MI",
  "facilityZip": "48160",
  "facilityPhone": "734-508-9048",
  "facilityEmail": "CDT-CCM-S@bop.gov",
  "facilityRegion": "North Central Region",
  "facilitySecurityLevel": "N/A",
  "facilityGender": "n/a",
  "facilityTypeDescription": "Residential Reentry Office",
  "facilityLatitude": 42.09890703288096,
  "facilityLongitude": -83.66957902908325,
  "source": "Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator",
  "observedAt": "2026-08-10T14:39:17.173Z"
}

The most complete BOP inmate locator scraper available. It returns every field the federal locator exposes for each inmate, and enriches each record with the full address, phone, email and GPS coordinates of the facility holding them, from a name or register-number search.

📥 Input · 📤 Output · 💰 Pricing · ▶️ Examples

Table of contents

• What it does
• Quickstart
• Input reference
• Output reference
• Example output record
• Run via API and CLI
• Fetch results
• Billing and limits
• FAQ and troubleshooting

What it does

The actor queries the Federal Bureau of Prisons public inmate locator by name (last name, optionally with a first name) or by federal register number, and writes one normalized record per matching inmate to the run's dataset. Each record carries the register number, name parts and full name, sex, race, age, in-custody or released status, projected and actual release dates, and the facility name, code and type. It then joins the BOP facility directory so every record also carries the facility's street address, city, state, zip, phone, email, region, security level, type description and GPS coordinates. Missing source values are returned as null.

Data covers federal inmates from 1982 onward. The locator returns up to 100 matches per search; add a first name, sex or age to narrow a common name.

Quickstart

Open the actor, paste this into the input, and press Run. It returns up to 10 federal inmates named John Smith.

{
  "maxInmates": 10,
  "nameLast": "Smith",
  "nameFirst": "John"
}

Provide a last name (optionally with a first name) or a register number. When a register number is set, the name fields are ignored.

Input reference

Field	Type	Required	Default	Description
nameLast	string	no*	Smith	The inmate's last name to search for. Required unless you provide a register number.
nameFirst	string	no	John	First name to narrow a common last name.
inmateNumber	string	no	(none)	A federal register number (for example 12345-678) for an exact lookup. When set, the name fields are ignored.
sex	enum	no	(any)	Male, Female, or empty for any.
race	string	no	(any)	Race filter (for example White, Black, Asian, Native, Multi).
age	string	no	(any)	Exact age to narrow results.
maxInmates	integer	no	10	Maximum inmate records to collect (1 to 100). The locator returns up to 100 matches per search.

*Provide either nameLast or inmateNumber.

Output reference

One dataset item per inmate. Types: string, integer, number, or null when the source value is absent.

Field	Type	Description
inmateNumber	string	Federal register number.
inmateNumberType	string	Register number type, when present.
firstName	string	First name.
middleName	string	Middle name.
lastName	string	Last name.
suffix	string	Name suffix.
fullName	string	Assembled full name.
sex	string	Sex.
race	string	Race.
age	integer	Age in years.
facilityName	string	Facility name (or IN TRANSIT).
facilityCode	string	Facility code.
facilityType	string	Facility type code (for example FCI, RRM).
facilityUrl	string	Link to the facility page.
projectedReleaseDate	string	Projected release date, when in custody.
actualReleaseDate	string	Actual release date, when released.
status	string	In custody or Released.
facilityAddress	string	Facility street address.
facilityCity	string	Facility city.
facilityState	string	Facility state.
facilityZip	string	Facility zip.
facilityPhone	string	Facility phone.
facilityEmail	string	Facility contact email.
facilityRegion	string	BOP region.
facilitySecurityLevel	string	Security level.
facilityGender	string	Facility gender designation.
facilityTypeDescription	string	Human-readable facility type.
facilityLatitude	number	Facility latitude.
facilityLongitude	number	Facility longitude.
source	string	Data source label.
observedAt	string	ISO 8601 timestamp of when the record was collected.

The facility fields are null when the inmate has no assigned facility (for example while IN TRANSIT).

Example output record

Real record from the same live run (input {"nameLast": "Smith", "nameFirst": "John", "maxInmates": 10}), an in-custody inmate in transit with no assigned facility:

{
  "inmateNumber": "00531-196",
  "inmateNumberType": null,
  "firstName": "JOHN",
  "middleName": null,
  "lastName": "SMITH",
  "suffix": null,
  "fullName": "JOHN SMITH",
  "sex": "Male",
  "race": "White",
  "age": null,
  "facilityName": "IN TRANSIT",
  "facilityCode": null,
  "facilityType": null,
  "facilityUrl": null,
  "projectedReleaseDate": "UNKNOWN",
  "actualReleaseDate": null,
  "status": "In custody",
  "facilityAddress": null,
  "facilityCity": null,
  "facilityState": null,
  "facilityZip": null,
  "facilityPhone": null,
  "facilityEmail": null,
  "facilityRegion": null,
  "facilitySecurityLevel": null,
  "facilityGender": null,
  "facilityTypeDescription": null,
  "facilityLatitude": null,
  "facilityLongitude": null,
  "source": "Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator",
  "observedAt": "2026-08-10T14:39:17.173Z"
}

Run via API and CLI

Start a run and wait for it to finish, then read the dataset. Replace <TOKEN> with your Apify API token.

Run synchronously and get dataset items in one call:

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/scrapers_lat~inmate-locator-bop-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=<TOKEN>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"nameLast":"Smith","nameFirst":"John","sex":"Male","maxInmates":25}'

Start a run asynchronously:

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/scrapers_lat~inmate-locator-bop-scraper/runs?token=<TOKEN>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"inmateNumber":"12345-678"}'

Apify CLI:

apify call scrapers_lat/inmate-locator-bop-scraper \
  --input '{"nameLast":"Smith","nameFirst":"John","maxInmates":10}'

Fetch results

Every run writes to a dataset. Fetch items as JSON, CSV, or Excel by changing format:

# JSON
curl "https://api.apify.com/v2/datasets/<DATASET_ID>/items?token=<TOKEN>&clean=true&format=json"

# CSV
curl "https://api.apify.com/v2/datasets/<DATASET_ID>/items?token=<TOKEN>&clean=true&format=csv"

# Paginate large datasets
curl "https://api.apify.com/v2/datasets/<DATASET_ID>/items?token=<TOKEN>&offset=1000&limit=1000"

<DATASET_ID> is returned as defaultDatasetId in the run object. Use offset and limit to page through large result sets. clean=true drops empty and internal fields.

Billing and limits

• Pay per result. You are charged per inmate record returned (result event). See the pricing tab for the current per-result price.
• No charge on failure. If a run errors or has no input, the actor writes a single item with a populated error field and does not charge for it. Empty (no-match) searches cost nothing.
• Spend cap respected. Set maxTotalChargeUsd on the run; once reached, the actor stops emitting and charging further billable results.
• Free Apify plans are capped at 10 records per run. Upgrade for higher maxInmates.
• Source match ceiling. The BOP locator returns up to 100 matches per search. Add a first name, sex or age to narrow a common name.

FAQ and troubleshooting

A run returned 0 records. Why? No federal inmate matched the search. Check the spelling of the last name, or search by register number. No-match searches are not charged.

Which inmates are covered? Federal inmates in the Bureau of Prisons system from 1982 onward. It does not include state or county jail inmates.

Why is the facility information missing on some records? Inmates who are released or IN TRANSIT may have no assigned facility, so the facility fields are null. Missing values are never invented.

How do I look up one specific person? Set inmateNumber to their federal register number for an exact lookup; the name fields are then ignored.

How do I narrow a common name like "Smith"? Add a nameFirst, and optionally sex or age. The locator returns at most 100 matches per query.

Is this an official BOP tool? No. This actor is independent and has no affiliation with the Federal Bureau of Prisons. It reads only data that is publicly available through the BOP inmate locator. Use the results in accordance with the source's terms.

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Independent tool, not affiliated with the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Accesses only publicly available inmate locator data. Use the results in accordance with the source's terms.