Putting money on someone’s account in an Orange County jail
How to put money on someone’s account, from the Sheriff’s Department’s cashier and mail pages.
The short answer
Cash, government checks made out to the person, and money orders can be deposited to an account. Make money orders payable to “County of Orange – Sheriff’s Department” and write the person’s name and booking number on the memo line or a separate line. An account can hold at most $500.
Where to pay in person
- Intake Release Center, 550 North Flower Street, Santa Ana: 24 hours a day, (714) 647-6085
- Theo Lacy Facility, 501 The City Drive South, Orange: daily 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., (714) 935-6905
Money is available to use about 30 minutes after the transaction is completed.
Official: Cashier & Bail Information (OC Sheriff’s Department), checked
By mail
- Money orders can be paid in at a jail cashier or mailed to the person.
- Government checks must be mailed, and the person has to endorse them before they are deposited.
- Personal, cashier’s, corporate and payroll checks are not accepted by mail.
Send mail to the jail where the person is housed. The addresses:
- Intake Release Center: 550 N. Flower Street, Santa Ana, CA 92703
- Central Men’s and Women’s Jails: 550 N. Flower Street, Santa Ana, CA 92703
- Theo Lacy Facility: 501 City Drive South, Orange, CA 92868
- James A. Musick Facility: 13420 Alton Parkway, Irvine, CA 92618
Official: Cashier & Bail Information; Inmate Mail (OC Sheriff’s Department), checked
What is not accepted
- Personal checks, cashier’s checks and traveler’s checks are not accepted for accounts.
Official: Cashier & Bail Information (OC Sheriff’s Department), checked
Money the person had when arrested
Money someone had when arrested goes into their property; they can ask the cashier, with an Inmate Message Slip, to move it into their account.
Official: Inmate Services FAQs (OC Sheriff’s Department), checked
Online deposit services
The Sheriff’s Department’s cashier and mail pages, which we checked on October 26, 2026, describe deposits at the jail cashiers and by mail. They don’t name an online deposit service, so we don’t list one. If a website offers to take deposits for an Orange County jail, check with the jail cashier first.
Bail is a separate payment: see paying bail or posting a bond.
Where to go next
- Commissary What the money can buy and when orders arrive.
- Bail and bonds Where and how bail is paid.
Sources
Orange County Sheriff’s Department
Every fact above links to the official page it comes from, with the date we checked it. We quote official wording only where the exact words matter. See how we check facts.