Federal prisons are run by national governments in countries where subdivisions of the country also operate prisons.

In the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 federal prisons are operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons

Federal Bureau of Prisons

The Federal Bureau of Prisons is a federal law enforcement agency subdivision of the United States Department of Justice and is responsible for the administration of the federal prison system. The system also handles prisoners who committed acts considered felonies under the District of Columbia's...

. In Canada the Correctional Service of Canada

Correctional Service of Canada

The Correctional Service of Canada , or CSC, is the Canadian federal government agency responsible for the incarceration and rehabilitation of convicted criminal offenders sentenced to two years or more...

operates federal prisons. Prison sentences in these federal prisons may be handed down to convicts who have violated a federal law.