Southeast Regional Office at a glance
The Southeast Regional Office oversees the Bureau of Prisons’ institutions in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina and Puerto Rico. It sits on McDonough Boulevard in southeast Atlanta and reports to the Central Office in Washington, D.C. Its 21 institutions held 27,281 people in the population report of September 10, 2026, and every BP-10 appeal from them is decided here.
| Official name | Southeast Regional Office |
|---|---|
| BOP code | SER |
| Street address | 715 MCDONOUGH BLVD SE, ATLANTA, GA 30315 |
| Staff mail | 715 MCDONOUGH BLVD SE, ATLANTA, GA 30315 |
| Shipping | The shipping record repeats the street address |
| Phone | 678-686-1200 |
| Fax | 678-686-1229 |
| FOIA requests | 803-637-1454 · SERO-FOIA-S@BOP.GOV (the Bureau’s FOIA page, September 2026) |
| States (as the Bureau prints them) | Alabama · Florida · Georgia · Puerto Rico · Mississippi · South Carolina |
| Institutions | 21 |
| Population | 27,281 (September 10, 2026) |
| Reentry offices | Four — RRM Atlanta · RRM Miami · RRM Montgomery · RRM Orlando |
| Reports to | Central Office, Washington, D.C. |
On this page
What does the Southeast Regional Office do?
It oversees prisons from an office building and has no cells of its own. In the Bureau’s words, from its Offices page: “Six regional offices provide oversight and technical assistance to the facilities located in their respective region of the country. In addition to providing operational oversight, regional office staff conduct workshops, conferences, and specialized training programs for their region; assist state and local criminal justice agencies; and contract to provide offender placement in residential reentry centers.”
Under 28 C.F.R. § 503.1, “The Bureau of Prisons consists of a Central Office, located at 320 First Street, NW., Washington, DC 20534, a Staff Training Center, and six Regional Offices (Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, North Central, South Central, and Western).” Atlanta therefore stands between the wardens of 21 institutions and the Central Office; the sister offices are on our regional offices page.
A Bureau news story updated September 2, 2026 reports that the Southeast Regional Office and the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General led a multi-agency operation at FCI Bennettsville from August 3 to 6, 2026, recovering electronic devices, drugs, homemade weapons and gang-related intelligence. The story adds: “Forty inmates were transferred to other facilities in the Southeast Region as part of follow-up actions.”
Which federal prisons does the Southeast Regional Office oversee?
Twenty-one, holding 27,281 people on September 10, 2026. Florida has eight, South Carolina four, Alabama and Mississippi three each, Georgia two and Puerto Rico one. The state pages carry each institution in more depth: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Puerto Rico and South Carolina.
| Institution | Type and security | Population | Camp or satellite |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | |||
| FCI Talladega | Federal Correctional Institution · Medium | 946 | Camp: 289 |
| FCI Aliceville | Federal Correctional Institution · Low | 709 | Camp: 75 |
| FPC Montgomery | Federal Prison Camp · Minimum | 824 | — |
| Florida | |||
| USP Coleman I | U.S. Penitentiary · High | 1,175 | — |
| USP Coleman II | U.S. Penitentiary · High | 1,025 | — |
| FCI Coleman Medium | Federal Correctional Institution · Medium | 1,518 | — |
| FCI Marianna | Federal Correctional Institution · Medium | 865 | Camp: 259 |
| FCI Coleman Low | Federal Correctional Institution · Low | 1,607 | Camp: 508 |
| FCI Miami | Federal Correctional Institution · Low | 796 | Camp: 188 |
| FCI Tallahassee | Federal Correctional Institution · Low | 1,257 | — |
| FDC Miami | Federal Detention Center · Administrative | 1,407 | — |
| Georgia | |||
| FCI Jesup | Federal Correctional Institution · Medium | 1,049 | Camp: 130 · FSL: 494 |
| FCI Atlanta | Federal Correctional Institution · Low | 1,878 | — |
| Mississippi | |||
| FCI Yazoo City Low II | Federal Correctional Institution · Medium | 1,457 | — |
| FCI Yazoo City Medium | Federal Correctional Institution · Medium | 1,467 | — |
| FCI Yazoo City Low | Federal Correctional Institution · Low | 1,490 | Camp: 188 |
| Puerto Rico | |||
| MDC Guaynabo | Metropolitan Detention Center · Administrative | 1,043 | — |
| South Carolina | |||
| FCI Bennettsville | Federal Correctional Institution · Medium | 1,049 | Camp: 87 |
| FCI Edgefield | Federal Correctional Institution · Medium | 1,250 | Camp: 368 |
| FCI Williamsburg | Federal Correctional Institution · Medium | 1,573 | Camp: 118 |
| FCI Estill | Federal Correctional Institution · Low | 192 | — |
| Total | 21 institutions in 6 states | 24,577 | 2,704 |
Two complexes account for seven rows. FCC Coleman in Florida groups USP Coleman I, USP Coleman II, FCI Coleman Medium and FCI Coleman Low; FCC Yazoo City in Mississippi groups the two Yazoo City FCIs rated medium and FCI Yazoo City Low. On an envelope, use the institution’s name, not the complex’s.
Jesup is the one Southeast entry with two satellites in the last column: the Bureau’s report counts 130 at the camp and 494 at the satellite low, beside 1,049 at FCI Jesup itself.
Which RRM offices are in the Southeast Region?
Four. RRM Atlanta prints the Northern, Middle and Southern Districts of Georgia and the District of South Carolina. RRM Miami prints Southern and Middle Florida, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. RRM Montgomery prints the three Alabama districts and Northern and Southern Mississippi. RRM Orlando prints Middle and Northern Florida.
Middle Florida is printed under both Miami and Orlando, so a release plan into that district may come before either office. And the Virgin Islands, absent from the region’s printed state list and home to no Bureau institution, is served from Miami.
RRM Atlanta prints its street block at 719 McDonough Blvd S.E., on the same boulevard as this office. Referral to a halfway house begins with the unit team; our halfway house page covers the steps, and the RRM directory lists every reentry office.
How do I appeal to the Southeast Regional Director (BP-10)?
Send it to Atlanta so that it is received no more than 20 calendar days after the warden signed the BP-9 response. Under Program Statement 1330.18 (Jan. 6, 2014), a dissatisfied inmate may appeal “on the appropriate form (BP-10) to the appropriate Regional Director within 20 calendar days of the date the Warden signed the response” (at pp. 6–7), and the statement warns that “The deadlines have been made deliberately long to allow sufficient mail time” (at p. 7). Start with our BP-9 guide if the BP-9 has not been filed; the remedy policy page explains each level.
Do not look for the address in the regulations. PS 1330.18 at p. 7 tells the inmate to mail the appeal to the Regional Director and to “see 28 CFR part 503 for addresses of the Central Office and Regional Offices”, but 28 C.F.R. § 503.1 prints only the Central Office’s street address, and the current text of § 542.15(b)(3) points instead to “information on locating Bureau addresses”. The street address that works is the Bureau’s own location record, reproduced in the table above.
The region that counts is the one holding the person on the day the appeal is mailed. PS 1330.18 at p. 7: “The appropriate regional office to process the Appeal is the regional office for the institution where the inmate is confined at the time of mailing the Appeal, regardless of the institution that responded to the institution filing.” Someone transferred from Bennettsville to another Southeast prison still appeals to Atlanta; someone moved out of the region does not.
Atlanta must answer within 30 calendar days of logging the appeal. PS 1330.18 at p. 9 prints two sets of figures in consecutive sentences: responses are due in 20 days from the warden, 30 from the Regional Director and 40 from the General Counsel; extensions are allowed “once by 20 days at the institution level, 30 days at the regional level, or 20 days at the Central Office level.” No reply by the end of the period, extension included, may be treated as a denial at this level.
A rejected appeal is not always the end. Where a defect can be corrected, the rejection notice sets a time to resubmit, and PS 1330.18 at p. 8 treats “at least 10 calendar days at the CCM or regional offices” as reasonable. A rejection without a chance to fix it can itself be appealed to the next level (at p. 9).
A request the inmate reasonably believes would endanger them if it became known at the prison may go “directly to the appropriate Regional Director”, marked “Sensitive” with the reason explained in writing (PS 1330.18 at p. 6). Appeals from a discipline hearing officer also start here (at p. 6).
The statement’s only word on litigation is this: “In many cases, courts require a proper Appeal to the General Counsel before an inmate may pursue the complaint in court” (at p. 7). That BP-11 goes to Washington. For what may follow, see our § 2241 petition page.
How do I contact the Southeast Regional Office?
Call 678-686-1200 or fax 678-686-1229. The Bureau’s published mailbox for the office is SER-ExecAssistant-S@bop.gov.
Unlike some regional offices, this one has a single address in every Bureau record: the street, staff-mail and shipping entries all read 715 McDonough Blvd SE, Atlanta, Georgia 30315, in Fulton County. Staff correspondence goes there addressed to the named employee.
People in custody cannot receive anything here. Letters and money go to the institution, following our guides to writing to a federal inmate and sending funds. A request to move to another prison in the region starts with the unit team; our prison transfers page explains the process.
Why do some Southeast Region names not match the security level?
Because the Bureau renamed institutions after changing what they do, and one name still lags. Its news notice of April 4, 2024 renamed six penitentiaries, Atlanta and Yazoo City among them, explaining: “The missions and security levels for these facilities had been previously changed but for a variety of reasons the names of the facilities were not.” The same notice says the six “will be renamed as FCIs as each of them are either low or medium security facilities now.”
In Atlanta the former penitentiary is now FCI Atlanta, a low-security institution on the roster. At Yazoo City the names moved in a chain: the former penitentiary became FCI Yazoo City Medium, and the institution that used to carry that name became FCI Yazoo City Low II — which the roster nonetheless classifies as medium security, as the table above shows. FCI Yazoo City Low is unchanged. Our pages keep their older web addresses, so a link may not match the name beside it.
Security level, not the name, is what classification uses. Anyone expecting a designation or transfer to “Low II” should plan for a medium-security institution, checked against the roster on September 18, 2026. Our security levels page explains what each level means.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many prisons are in the Southeast Region?
Twenty-one, spread across Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina and Puerto Rico. They held 27,281 people in the Bureau’s population report of September 10, 2026. Florida has the most, eight, including the four institutions of FCC Coleman and the detention center in Miami.
Where does a BP-10 from MDC Guaynabo go?
To the Southeast Regional Office at 715 McDonough Blvd SE, Atlanta, Georgia 30315. Puerto Rico is on this region’s printed list and its one institution is in this region on the roster. The appeal must be received within 20 calendar days of the warden’s signature, so mail from the island early.
How long does the Southeast Regional Director have to answer?
Thirty calendar days after the appeal is logged in, under Program Statement 1330.18 at p. 9, with one written extension of 30 days allowed at the regional level. The institution and Central Office levels have different figures. If the time runs out with no answer, the person may treat it as a denial.
Why is FCI Yazoo City Low II rated medium security?
Because the name has not caught up with the mission. The Bureau’s roster classifies FCI Yazoo City Low II as medium security, the same level as FCI Yazoo City Medium next door at FCC Yazoo City. The name dates from the 2024 renaming at the complex. We checked the roster on September 18, 2026.
Which reentry office handles a release to Middle Florida?
Either may. The Bureau prints the Middle District of Florida under both RRM Miami and RRM Orlando. Northern Florida appears only under Orlando and Southern Florida only under Miami. The unit team at the institution starts the halfway-house referral, and the office then follows the district of the release address.
What happened at FCI Bennettsville in August 2026?
The Bureau reports that the Southeast Regional Office and the Inspector General led a contraband operation there from August 3 to 6, 2026, with federal, state and county partners. Teams recovered electronic devices, drugs and weapons, and forty people were then transferred to other Southeast Region institutions.
What if the regional office rejects a BP-10?
Read the rejection notice. If the defect can be fixed, the notice gives a time to resubmit, and Program Statement 1330.18 at p. 8 treats at least 10 calendar days as reasonable at a regional office. A rejection that allows no correction can be appealed to the next level, under p. 9 of the same statement.
Where we can help
We take on matters passing through Atlanta: remedies pressed from BP-9 to BP-11, transfers inside the region, and compassionate release requests a warden has turned down.
Discuss a Discipline or Custody Issue. You leave with an assessment of whether the Bureau followed its own policy, and what to file if it did not. A BP-9 is due 20 calendar days after the event it complains of. 28 C.F.R. § 542.14(a).
Call 843-620-1100 or contact us to arrange a paid one-hour consultation about a specific situation. Calls are answered 24 hours a day. See also our prison consulting and compassionate release pages.
Elizabeth Franklin-Best, P.C. is a federal criminal defense and post-conviction firm based in Columbia, South Carolina, practicing nationwide. Mentions of Southeast Region places on this page do not imply an office or a lawyer there.
Sources and currency
Bureau of Prisons documents
- RO Southeast, Federal Bureau of Prisons, 2026. Address, telephone, fax and mailbox; street, staff-mail and shipping records.
- Offices, Federal Bureau of Prisons, read September 18, 2026. The role of regional offices and the jurisdictions listed for this region.
- Our Locations, Federal Bureau of Prisons, 2026. The roster behind the institution table and the security levels.
- Population Statistics, Federal Bureau of Prisons. The September 10, 2026 report.
- Administrative Remedy Program, Program Statement 1330.18, Federal Bureau of Prisons, 2014. Sensitive requests and DHO appeals at p. 6; the 20-day appeal at pp. 6–7; mail time, the Part 503 reference, the processing office and the courts sentence at p. 7; resubmission at p. 8; rejections, response times and extensions at p. 9.
- Multi-Agency Operation Conducted at FCI Bennettsville, Federal Bureau of Prisons, updated September 2, 2026.
- Name Changes Approved for Seven FBOP Facilities, Federal Bureau of Prisons, April 4, 2024.
- RRM Atlanta, RRM Miami, RRM Montgomery and RRM Orlando, Federal Bureau of Prisons, 2026. Printed districts and street blocks.
Regulations
- 28 C.F.R. § 503.1, Structure of the Bureau of Prisons.
- 28 C.F.R. § 542.15, Appeals; the address reference at (b)(3).
- 28 C.F.R. § 542.18, Response time.
Sources reviewed September 2026. Confirm anything load-bearing with the office or the institution before relying on it.
Reviewed for legal accuracy by Elizabeth Franklin-Best, Esq., Principal Attorney·September 2026