FCI Berlin (medium-security)
FCI Berlin is a medium-security federal correctional institution for men in Berlin, New Hampshire, operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. It held about 806 people as of November 2025. It does not offer the Residential Drug Abuse Program. The institution's main number is 603-342-4000.
Location
Physical location: BERLIN, NH 3570
Mailing address: 1 SUCCESS LOOP ROAD, BERLIN, NH 03570
Visitation
There are many specific rules and procedures to be aware of when you're considering visiting the institution. Read more on our Visitation Guide.
For full, current visiting rules and scheduling, always check the institution's official page on the Bureau of Prisons website: Official BOP Page.
Daily life and programs
The Federal Correctional Institution, Berlin (FCI Berlin) is a medium-security U.S. federal prison for male inmates in Coos County, in far northern New Hampshire, roughly 115 miles north of Concord and about 95 miles northwest of Portland, Maine. Construction finished in the fall of 2010 at a cost of more than $270 million, but budget and staffing issues delayed activation, and the prison did not officially open until October 21, 2012, when it became the Bureau of Prisons' 118th facility and one of the newest institutions in the federal system. The complex was designed to hold up to 1,152 medium-security inmates in the main institution plus 128 minimum-security inmates in an adjacent satellite camp, and it was projected to employ around 320 staff and inject tens of millions of dollars a year into a former mill town that had lost much of its paper industry.
Operated under the Bureau of Prisons' Northeast Regional Office, FCI Berlin is a medium-security FCI that includes an adjoining minimum-security satellite camp. In practice, the facility's population has run well below its design capacity at roughly 770 total. This figure breaks down to about 746 in the main facility and 54 in the camp, with inmates housed largely in two-person cells across the institution's housing units. As a designated Medical Care Level 1 facility, the prison is intended for inmates who are generally healthy or have only limited, routine healthcare needs. Those requiring intensive or ongoing specialty care are typically designated elsewhere, and all inmate health visits carry the standard BOP co-pay. Furthermore, all medically able inmates are required to work unless they are enrolled full-time in education or vocational training. Standard institutional work assignments in areas such as food service, maintenance, and landscaping pay roughly $0.12 to $0.40 per hour.
Institutional programming encompasses education, vocational, recreational, religious, and mental-health services. The education department offers GED instruction in English and Spanish, alongside English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) classes, which are tracked into pre-GED, GED, Advanced GED, and Special Learning Needs levels. Opportunities for vocational training have been offered in fields including Administrative Assistant, Carpentry, Culinary Arts, Electrical (Residential and Commercial), and Janitorial Maintenance. With respect to drug treatment, prison-guide sources indicate that the intensive Residential Drug Abuse Program (RDAP) is not offered at FCI Berlin. Instead, drug abuse education and non-residential counseling are available. Because sources conflict on this point, the current RDAP status should be confirmed against the BOP directly. Physical recreation includes outdoor basketball, handball, a walking track, and softball, while indoor options feature cable weight machines, table tennis, and hobby crafts. The facility provides no free weights, maintaining adherence in line with BOP policy. Finally, the commissary carries a standard monthly spending limit, and guides note that the institution's remote northern-New-Hampshire location and harsh winters can make family visitation challenging.
The most clearly documented notable inmate tied to the main institution is Jasiel Correia, the former mayor of Fall River, Massachusetts, who was convicted in 2021 on corruption charges and designated to FCI Berlin before a later transfer to FCI Ashland. Creationist evangelist Kent 'Dr. Dino' Hovind was also incarcerated at FCI Berlin during his tax-related sentence. He litigated a suit captioned Kent Hovind v. FCI Berlin, which was dismissed in 2014, and he was released in 2015. Available sources do not clearly establish whether he was held in the medium-security FCI or the minimum-security satellite camp. In a separate, more recent development in 2025, leaked federal proposals to convert or use part of FCI Berlin for immigration detention drew public opposition, prompting the ACLU of New Hampshire to file a FOIA request seeking the expansion plans.
Notable inmates
| Name | Sentence | Offense | Dates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jasiel Correia | Six years in federal prison | Public-corruption convictions (extortion, bribery, and related fraud/tax charges) as former mayor of Fall River, Massachusetts; convicted 2021 | Designated to FCI Berlin after 2021 sentencing; later transferred to FCI Ashland; release scheduled 2026 |
| Kent Hovind[1] | Ten-year sentence; released from BOP custody in 2015 | Founder of Creation Science Evangelism; convicted 2006 on a 58-count indictment including federal tax offenses (failure to pay employment/withholding taxes and structuring) | Incarcerated at FCI Berlin circa 2013-2015 (filed Kent Hovind v. FCI Berlin, dismissed April 2014). NOTE: sources do not confirm whether he was housed in the medium-security FCI or the minimum-security satellite camp. |
References
- ↑ "Kent Hovind". '. Retrieved 2026-07-07.