UK Prisons List 2026: All 143 Prisons by Category & Region

In shortMost people want one slice of the list: London, Category A or B, or open prisons. Each has its own page.

• London prisons: 10 establishments on the London prisons list.
• Category A prisons: the eight high security prisons and five long-term sites are in our Category A prisons guide.
• Category B prisons: 9 in England and Wales carry the HMPPS Category B group label, listed on the Category B prisons page.
• Open (Category D) prisons: see open prisons explained. Women's prisons: women's prisons in the UK.
• How many prisons are there? The count by nation is just below, and the how many prisons guide explains why sources differ.

In shortOur list holds 143 records across the UK as at 2026-10-03; there is no single UK-wide government list.

• UK records143As at 2026-10-03
• England and Wales123GOV.UK collection pages
• Scotland17
• Northern Ireland3

In England and Wales that is 123, matching the 123 establishment pages in the GOV.UK collection "Prisons in England and Wales". The three nations run separate prison services, so there is no single UK-wide list published by government, and this page stitches the three official sources together.

Counts differ between publications because they count different things. HMPPS performance tables rate 120 units, because they combine some sites (Grendon with Spring Hill, Usk with Prescoed, Hollesley Bay with Warren Hill) and count Peterborough's male and female sides as two.

Our list keeps one row per GOV.UK establishment page. The separate guide on how many prisons there are in the UK explains the differences and the population figures in full. Use this page as a map.

In shortTwo different labelling systems are mixed up on most prison lists: a prisoner's security category and a prison's functional group.

Two different labelling systems are mixed up on most lists of UK prisons, and it causes confusion.

In this guide the column called HMPPS functional group is always the second system. The full explanation of the first, including Category A and the open conditions rules, is in our guide to prison categories explained.

Security category of a prisoner

Category A, B, C or D for adult men, and Closed or Open for women and young offenders. The HMPPS Security Categorisation Policy Framework (re-issued 28 April 2025) says prisoners are categorised according to the risk they present to security, safety and public protection and must be held in a prison providing security appropriate to that risk.

Functional group of a prison

A role label HMPPS uses when it publishes Annual Prison Performance Ratings: Reception, Category C Trainer, Category C Trainer/Resettlement, Category C Resettlement, Category C Foreign National, Category B, High Security, Open and Female. A prison labelled Category B in the ratings is not 'a prison full of Category B prisoners' in any strict sense, and a Reception prison is not a category at all. Where official wording describes a prison's role we show it on the prison's own page.

In shortEngland has 117 establishments in our dataset; the table is alphabetical and links to each prison page.

Operational capacity is the HMPPS figure from the monthly population bulletin with a report date of 2026-08-24, the latest by-prison data we hold; it changes as wings open, close or are refurbished.

Where two sites are reported together by HMPPS (Grendon and Spring Hill) the joint figure is shown on both rows, so do not add those rows.

• Operators for private prisons are confirmed from the latest HMIP report or contract announcement, because several GOV.UK establishment pages were last updated in 2022 and are out of date (Altcourse moved from G4S to Sodexo on 1 June 2023).
• Confirm the current contractor in the latest inspection report before relying on a company name.
• Private-sector staff are employed by the operator, not by HMPPS, so the HMPPS pay structure covered on this site does not apply to them.

Wales has 6 prisons in our dataset, covering the South Wales and North Wales sites listed by GOV.UK. Five are public sector and one, HMP and YOI Parc in Bridgend, is privately operated. Prescoed is the Welsh open prison and is reported jointly with Usk, which is why both show the same capacity.

Public-sector prisons in Wales are managed by HMPPS through a region called HMPS Wales. Welsh prisons are part of the England and Wales prison service, so the same pay structure and the same security categorisation rules apply. Our prison officer jobs by region guide covers where vacancies are advertised.

The Scottish Prison Service says it has 16 publicly managed prisons and one run by a private sector operator under contract. Our list shows 17 establishments, including two community custody units (the Bella Centre in Dundee and the Lilias Centre in Glasgow).

Kilmarnock was formerly privately run and moved to SPS on 17 March 2024, according to the SPS Kilmarnock page. Castle Huntly is Scotland's only open prison.

SPS does not use HMPPS functional groups, security category definitions or operational capacity bulletins, so those columns read as SPS's own system or not published. Scottish pay and terms are separate; see prison officer pay in Scotland.

The Northern Ireland Prison Service runs 3 establishments, according to the Department of Justice: Maghaberry, which holds adult men and is described as high security; Magilligan, for men with six years or less to serve; and Hydebank Wood College and Women's Prison, which holds young people aged 18 to 21 and women.

Northern Ireland has no privately operated prisons in our dataset. The NI Prison Service is a separate employer with its own recruitment and pay, covered in prison officer pay in Northern Ireland. We do not publish NIPS capacity or inspection figures here because we have not verified them.

In shortIn England and Wales, most establishments sit in an HMPPS functional group; the few without one are listed last and we do not guess their group.

If you searched for a list of UK prisons by category, this is the section for England and Wales. HMPPS's Annual Prison Performance Ratings 2025/26 (published 30 July 2026) assigns most establishments to a functional group.

Our dataset has 119 of the 123 English and Welsh establishments in a group; 4 are not given one in the source and are listed last (Dartmoor, Millsike, Werrington and Wetherby). We do not guess their group.

Each group name links to a hub page for that group once published. Remember that the group says what role HMPPS gives the prison, and that individual prisoners in it can hold different security categories depending on sentence, risk and need.

• Reception (30): HMP & YOI Chelmsford, HMP & YOI Doncaster, HMP & YOI Hull, HMP & YOI Lincoln, HMP & YOI Norwich, HMP Altcourse, HMP Bedford, HMP Belmarsh, HMP Birmingham, HMP Bristol, HMP Bullingdon, HMP Cardiff, HMP Durham, HMP Elmley, HMP Exeter, HMP Forest Bank, HMP Hewell, HMP Holme House, HMP Leeds, HMP Leicester, HMP Lewes, HMP Liverpool, HMP Nottingham, HMP Pentonville, HMP Preston, HMP Swansea, HMP Thameside, HMP Wandsworth, HMP Winchester, HMP Wormwood Scrubs.
• Category C Trainer (15): HMP & YOI Deerbolt, HMP & YOI Swinfen Hall, HMP Ashfield, HMP Aylesbury, HMP Buckley Hall, HMP Bure, HMP Lindholme, HMP Littlehey, HMP Rye Hill, HMP Stafford, HMP Stocken, HMP The Verne, HMP Usk, HMP Whatton, HMP Wymott.
• Category C Trainer/Resettlement (26): HMP & YOI Hindley, HMP & YOI Isis, HMP & YOI Moorland, HMP & YOI Parc, HMP & YOI Portland, HMP & YOI Rochester, HMP & YOI Stoke Heath, HMP Berwyn, HMP Channings Wood, HMP Coldingley, HMP Cookham Wood, HMP Erlestoke, HMP Featherstone, HMP Guys Marsh, HMP High Down, HMP Highpoint, HMP Humber, HMP Northumberland, HMP Oakwood, HMP Onley, HMP Ranby, HMP The Mount, HMP Warren Hill, HMP Wayland, HMP Wealstun, HMYOI Feltham.
• Category C Resettlement (6): HMP & YOI Brinsford, HMP Brixton, HMP Five Wells, HMP Fosse Way, HMP Lancaster Farms, HMP Risley.
• Category C Foreign National (3): HMP Huntercombe, HMP Maidstone, HMP Morton Hall.
• Category B (9): HMP Dovegate, HMP Garth, HMP Gartree, HMP Grendon, HMP Isle of Wight, HMP Lowdham Grange, HMP Manchester, HMP Swaleside, HMP Woodhill.
• High Security (5): HMP Frankland, HMP Full Sutton, HMP Long Lartin, HMP Wakefield, HMP Whitemoor.
• Open (13): HMP & YOI Hatfield, HMP & YOI Hollesley Bay, HMP & YOI Prescoed, HMP & YOI Thorn Cross, HMP Ford, HMP Haverigg, HMP Kirkham, HMP Kirklevington Grange, HMP Leyhill, HMP North Sea Camp, HMP Spring Hill, HMP Standford Hill, HMP Sudbury.
• Female (11): HMP & YOI Askham Grange, HMP & YOI Bronzefield, HMP & YOI Downview, HMP & YOI Drake Hall, HMP & YOI East Sutton Park, HMP & YOI Eastwood Park, HMP & YOI Foston Hall, HMP & YOI Low Newton, HMP & YOI New Hall, HMP & YOI Styal, HMP Send.
• Female / Reception (1): HMP & YOI Peterborough.
• Not published (4): HMP Dartmoor, HMP Millsike, HMYOI Werrington, HMYOI Wetherby.

In shortFifteen of the 123 establishments in England and Wales are privately run; Birmingham and Lowdham Grange are public today.

Fifteen establishments in England and Wales are privately run, out of 123. They are listed below with the current operator, confirmed from the latest HMIP report or contract announcement because several GOV.UK establishment pages date from 2022 and are out of date. Check the latest HMIP report before quoting a company in print.

Our guide to private prisons in the UK covers the contracts and what they mean for staff.

Two changes catch people out. HMP Birmingham returned to the public sector in July 2019 and HMP Lowdham Grange returned on 1 August 2024, so both are public prisons today even though many online lists still show them as private.

HMPPS workforce statistics exclude private-sector prison staff, so officer numbers quoted for 'the prison service' normally mean public-sector prisons only.

In shortLondon has 10 establishments in our dataset as at 2026-10-03: 9 public and 1 private.

By HMPPS functional group the mix is 5 Reception, 3 Category C Trainer/Resettlement, 1 Female and 1 Category C Resettlement. The table below links every prison to its own page, with the town, the establishment type and who runs it, so you can scan the whole region at once.

• Largest by operational capacity at 2026-08-24: HMP Wandsworth at 1,478.
• HMPPS regions: HMPPS manages the public prisons here through its own prison regions (Women's Estate, London, Long term & High Security South and Youth Custody Estate), which do not map neatly onto this geographic grouping.
• What capacity means: the HMPPS operational capacity is the number a prison can hold taking account of control, security and the proper operation of the regime, not the number currently held.
• Pay zones: HMP & YOI Downview (outer London), HMP & YOI Isis (outer London), HMP Belmarsh (outer London), HMP Brixton (inner London), HMP High Down (outer London), HMP Pentonville (inner London), HMP Wandsworth (inner London), HMP Wormwood Scrubs (inner London) and HMYOI Feltham (outer London) sit outside the national pay zone according to the HMPPS pay page.
• Market supplement: the same page lists a market supplement (non-pensionable, Band 3 officers on Fair and Sustainable terms) at HMP & YOI Downview (£2,000 a year), HMP High Down (£2,000 a year) and HMYOI Feltham (£2,000 a year).
• More detail: see the London hub page for per-prison detail and the prison finder to filter by category.

In shortSouth East has 20 establishments in our dataset as at 2026-10-03: 19 public and 1 private.

By HMPPS functional group the mix is 4 Reception, 4 Category B, 3 Female, 3 Category C Trainer/Resettlement, 3 Open, 2 Category C Foreign National and 1 Category C Trainer.

The table below links every prison to its own page, with the town, the establishment type and who runs it, so you can scan the whole region at once.

• Largest by operational capacity at 2026-08-24: HMP Bullingdon at 1,112.
• HMPPS regions: HMPPS manages the public prisons here through its own prison regions (Women's Estate, Kent, Surrey & Sussex, South Central and Long term & High Security South), which do not map neatly onto this geographic grouping.
• What capacity means: the HMPPS operational capacity is the number a prison can hold taking account of control, security and the proper operation of the regime, not the number currently held.
• Market supplement: the same page lists a market supplement (non-pensionable, Band 3 officers on Fair and Sustainable terms) at HMP Aylesbury (£3,000 a year), HMP Bullingdon (£3,500 a year), HMP Coldingley (£2,000 a year), HMP Elmley (£3,500 a year), HMP Grendon (£1,500 a year), HMP Huntercombe (£1,500 a year), HMP Send (£2,000 a year), HMP Spring Hill (£1,500 a year), HMP Standford Hill (£1,500 a year), HMP Swaleside (£3,500 a year), HMP Winchester (£2,000 a year) and HMP Woodhill (£3,500 a year).
• More detail: see the South East hub page for per-prison detail and the prison finder to filter by category.

In shortSouth West has 11 establishments in our dataset as at 2026-10-03: 10 public and 1 private.

By HMPPS functional group the mix is 4 Category C Trainer/Resettlement, 2 Category C Trainer, 2 Reception, 1 Female, 1 Not published and 1 Open. The table below links every prison to its own page, with the town, the establishment type and who runs it, so you can scan the whole region at once.

• Largest by operational capacity at 2026-08-24: HMP Channings Wood at 776.
• HMPPS regions: HMPPS manages the public prisons here through its own prison regions (Women's Estate and South West), which do not map neatly onto this geographic grouping.
• What capacity means: the HMPPS operational capacity is the number a prison can hold taking account of control, security and the proper operation of the regime, not the number currently held.
• Pay: none of the prisons in this region is listed on the HMPPS pay page with a London pay zone or a market supplement, so public-sector officers here are on the national pay scale.
• More detail: see the South West hub page for per-prison detail and the prison finder to filter by category.

In shortEast of England has 12 establishments in our dataset as at 2026-10-03: 11 public and 1 private.

By HMPPS functional group the mix is 4 Category C Trainer/Resettlement, 3 Reception, 2 Category C Trainer, 1 Open, 1 Female / Reception and 1 High Security.

The table below links every prison to its own page, with the town, the establishment type and who runs it, so you can scan the whole region at once.

• Largest by operational capacity at 2026-08-24: HMP & YOI Peterborough at 1,304.
• HMPPS regions: HMPPS manages the public prisons here through its own prison regions (Hertfordshire, Essex & Suffolk, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire & Norfolk and Long term & High Security South), which do not map neatly onto this geographic grouping.
• What capacity means: the HMPPS operational capacity is the number a prison can hold taking account of control, security and the proper operation of the regime, not the number currently held.
• Market supplement: the same page lists a market supplement (non-pensionable, Band 3 officers on Fair and Sustainable terms) at HMP Bedford (£2,000 a year), HMP Highpoint (£2,000 a year) and HMP The Mount (£2,000 a year).
• More detail: see the East of England hub page for per-prison detail and the prison finder to filter by category.

In shortEast Midlands has 14 establishments in our dataset as at 2026-10-03: 12 public and 2 private.

By HMPPS functional group the mix is 3 Reception, 2 Category C Resettlement, 2 Category B, 2 Open, 2 Category C Trainer, 1 Female, 1 Category C Foreign National and 1 Category C Trainer/Resettlement.

The table below links every prison to its own page, with the town, the establishment type and who runs it, so you can scan the whole region at once.

• Largest by operational capacity at 2026-08-24: HMP Fosse Way at 1,960.
• HMPPS regions: HMPPS manages the public prisons here through its own prison regions (Women's Estate, East Midlands, Long term & High Security North and West Midlands), which do not map neatly onto this geographic grouping.
• What capacity means: the HMPPS operational capacity is the number a prison can hold taking account of control, security and the proper operation of the regime, not the number currently held.
• Market supplement: the same page lists a market supplement (non-pensionable, Band 3 officers on Fair and Sustainable terms) at HMP Stocken (£2,000 a year).
• More detail: see the East Midlands hub page for per-prison detail and the prison finder to filter by category.

In shortWest Midlands has 14 establishments in our dataset as at 2026-10-03: 11 public and 3 private.

By HMPPS functional group the mix is 4 Category C Trainer/Resettlement, 3 Category C Trainer, 2 Reception, 1 Category C Resettlement, 1 Female, 1 Category B, 1 High Security and 1 Not published.

The table below links every prison to its own page, with the town, the establishment type and who runs it, so you can scan the whole region at once.

• Largest by operational capacity at 2026-08-24: HMP Oakwood at 2,034.
• HMPPS regions: HMPPS manages the public prisons here through its own prison regions (West Midlands, Women's Estate, Long term & High Security South, East Midlands and Youth Custody Estate), which do not map neatly onto this geographic grouping.
• What capacity means: the HMPPS operational capacity is the number a prison can hold taking account of control, security and the proper operation of the regime, not the number currently held.
• Pay: none of the prisons in this region is listed on the HMPPS pay page with a London pay zone or a market supplement, so public-sector officers here are on the national pay scale.
• More detail: see the West Midlands hub page for per-prison detail and the prison finder to filter by category.

In shortNorth West has 15 establishments in our dataset as at 2026-10-03: 13 public and 2 private.

By HMPPS functional group the mix is 4 Reception, 3 Open, 2 Category C Trainer, 2 Category B, 2 Category C Resettlement, 1 Category C Trainer/Resettlement and 1 Female.

The table below links every prison to its own page, with the town, the establishment type and who runs it, so you can scan the whole region at once.

• Largest by operational capacity at 2026-08-24: HMP Forest Bank at 1,470.
• HMPPS regions: HMPPS manages the public prisons here through its own prison regions (Greater Manchester, Merseyside & Cheshire, Women's Estate, Long term & High Security North and Cumbria & Lancashire), which do not map neatly onto this geographic grouping.
• What capacity means: the HMPPS operational capacity is the number a prison can hold taking account of control, security and the proper operation of the regime, not the number currently held.
• Pay: none of the prisons in this region is listed on the HMPPS pay page with a London pay zone or a market supplement, so public-sector officers here are on the national pay scale.
• More detail: see the North West hub page for per-prison detail and the prison finder to filter by category.

In shortNorth East has 7 establishments in our dataset as at 2026-10-03: 6 public and 1 private.

By HMPPS functional group the mix is 2 Reception, 1 Category C Trainer, 1 Female, 1 High Security, 1 Open and 1 Category C Trainer/Resettlement. The table below links every prison to its own page, with the town, the establishment type and who runs it, so you can scan the whole region at once.

• Largest by operational capacity at 2026-08-24: HMP Northumberland at 1,356.
• HMPPS regions: HMPPS manages the public prisons here through its own prison regions (North East, Women's Estate and Long term & High Security North), which do not map neatly onto this geographic grouping.
• What capacity means: the HMPPS operational capacity is the number a prison can hold taking account of control, security and the proper operation of the regime, not the number currently held.
• Pay: none of the prisons in this region is listed on the HMPPS pay page with a London pay zone or a market supplement, so public-sector officers here are on the national pay scale.
• More detail: see the North East hub page for per-prison detail and the prison finder to filter by category.

In shortYorkshire and the Humber has 14 establishments in our dataset as at 2026-10-03: 12 public and 2 private.

By HMPPS functional group the mix is 3 Reception, 3 Category C Trainer/Resettlement, 2 Female, 2 High Security, 2 Not published, 1 Open and 1 Category C Trainer.

The table below links every prison to its own page, with the town, the establishment type and who runs it, so you can scan the whole region at once.

• Largest by operational capacity at 2026-08-24: HMP Millsike at 1,158.
• HMPPS regions: HMPPS manages the public prisons here through its own prison regions (Women's Estate, Yorkshire, Long term & High Security North and Youth Custody Estate), which do not map neatly onto this geographic grouping.
• What capacity means: the HMPPS operational capacity is the number a prison can hold taking account of control, security and the proper operation of the regime, not the number currently held.
• Pay: none of the prisons in this region is listed on the HMPPS pay page with a London pay zone or a market supplement, so public-sector officers here are on the national pay scale.
• More detail: see the Yorkshire and the Humber hub page for per-prison detail and the prison finder to filter by category.

In shortWales has 6 establishments in our dataset as at 2026-10-03: 5 public and 1 private.

By HMPPS functional group the mix is 2 Category C Trainer/Resettlement, 2 Reception, 1 Open and 1 Category C Trainer. The table below links every prison to its own page, with the town, the establishment type and who runs it, so you can scan the whole region at once.

• Largest by operational capacity at 2026-08-24: HMP Berwyn at 2,000.
• HMPPS regions: HMPPS manages the public prisons here through its own prison regions (HMPS Wales), which do not map neatly onto this geographic grouping.
• What capacity means: the HMPPS operational capacity is the number a prison can hold taking account of control, security and the proper operation of the regime, not the number currently held.
• Pay: none of the prisons in this region is listed on the HMPPS pay page with a London pay zone or a market supplement, so public-sector officers here are on the national pay scale.
• More detail: see the Wales hub page for per-prison detail and the prison finder to filter by category.

In shortScotland has 17 establishments in our dataset as at 2026-10-03: 16 public and 1 private.

By HMPPS functional group the mix is 16 SPS (own system) and 1 Open. The table below links every prison to its own page, with the town, the establishment type and who runs it, so you can scan the whole region at once.

• HMPPS regions: prisons here are not part of an HMPPS prison region as published in the June 2026 workforce statistics, because those cover England and Wales public-sector prisons only.
• What capacity means: the HMPPS operational capacity is the number a prison can hold taking account of control, security and the proper operation of the regime, not the number currently held.
• Pay: Scottish Prison Service staff are paid under SPS terms, not the HMPPS pay structure used elsewhere on this site.
• More detail: see the Scotland hub page for per-prison detail and the prison finder to filter by category.

In shortNorthern Ireland has 3 establishments in our dataset as at 2026-10-03: 3 public and 0 private.

By HMPPS functional group the mix is 3 NIPS (own system). The table below links every prison to its own page, with the town, the establishment type and who runs it, so you can scan the whole region at once.

• HMPPS regions: prisons here are not part of an HMPPS prison region as published in the June 2026 workforce statistics, because those cover England and Wales public-sector prisons only.
• What capacity means: the HMPPS operational capacity is the number a prison can hold taking account of control, security and the proper operation of the regime, not the number currently held.
• Pay: Northern Ireland Prison Service staff are paid under NIPS terms, not the HMPPS pay structure used elsewhere on this site.
• More detail: see the Northern Ireland hub page for per-prison detail and the prison finder to filter by category.

In shortMost online prison lists are out of date in at least three ways: operators, the estate itself and Dartmoor's closure.

Most lists of UK prisons online are out of date in at least three ways.

Scotland has changed too: Kilmarnock moved from a private operator to SPS on 17 March 2024. The old version of this page named only 37 prisons in five regions and left out the North East, East of England and Wales entirely, which is why we rebuilt it from the official lists.

In shortProspective officers should look at region and operator; serving officers weighing a transfer should look at pay zone and market supplement.

Prospective officer: the most useful columns are region and operator. Public-sector prisons recruit through HMPPS Prison and Probation Jobs; private prisons recruit through their operators. About 40 public prisons have their own recruitment pages on the HMPPS site, which we link from the prison pages where they exist.

Serving officer weighing a transfer: look at pay zone and market supplement. HMPPS's pay page lists inner London (Brixton, Pentonville, Wandsworth, Wormwood Scrubs) and outer London (Belmarsh, Downview, Feltham, High Down, Isis) as separate pay categories and says market supplements will be retained until at least March 2027.

Our market supplements guide and London pay guide give the amounts.

1. Pick your nation. England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate employers, pay and recruitment.
2. Narrow to a region using the region sections above, or use the free prison finder to filter by category.
3. Check the operator column. Private-prison staff are not on HMPPS pay terms.
4. Open the prison's page for the latest inspection, capacity, nearest station and pay zone.
5. Run your numbers in the free prison officer salary calculator for the pay zone that applies.