Do Inmates Keep the Same ID Number After a State Transfer?

In most cases no. Each state department of corrections runs its own offender management system with its own numbering format. When an inmate is transferred from Hawaii to Arizona, or any state-to-state transfer for that matter, the receiving state typically assigns a new identification number within its own system. The Hawaii-issued number and the Arizona-issued number are separate identifiers that exist in separate databases.

This can create real confusion for families trying to track a loved one, add funds to a phone or commissary account, or send mail. Using the wrong number for the wrong state will produce no results or worse, pull up a completely different person.

The reason interstate transfers happen at all is usually overcrowding. When a state correctional system does not have enough beds to house inmates at a specific custody level, they sometimes contract with other states to rent available space. Hawaii has done this for years, housing inmates on the mainland because the islands do not have enough facility capacity for the population. Arizona is one of the states that has accommodated those overflow populations.

When a transfer like this happens, the inmate will have an active number in both systems but the Arizona number is the one that matters for anything related to their current housing, phone account, commissary, and mail. The Hawaii DOC should still be able to locate them by the original number and confirm where they were transferred.

InmateAid can help you search across multiple state systems to locate an inmate and pull the correct current identification number so you are working with the right information for whichever state they are housed in.