National Guides

General information about prison visiting, communication, sending money, and visitor rights. These guides apply broadly across all states. For state-specific rules, visit the state pages.

Visiting Basics

How prison visiting works in the United States — the general rules, what to expect, and how to prepare

Your First Visit

A realistic walkthrough of what your first prison visit looks like, from start to finish

Staying in Touch

Phone calls, video visits, email, and mail — all the ways to communicate and what they cost

Sending Money

How to put money on someone's books, what it costs, and what they can actually buy with it

The Cost of Staying in Touch

How prison phone, video, messaging, and money-transfer costs work — the federal caps and their rollback, the states with free calls, and practical ways to pay less.

Know Your Rights

What rights you have as a visitor, what's monitored, and what to do when something goes wrong

Accessibility rights and practical arrangements for visitors with disabilities — requesting accommodations, sign language interpreters, the free 711 relay service, service animals, and screening with medical devices.

See something that needs updating?

Prison policies change frequently. If you find outdated information or an error on this page, you can report it.

Other ways to reach the site — and where requests about a person in custody go — are on the contact page.

What this site can and cannot do

This is an independent reference site. It is not a prison, and it is not a corrections department. It cannot look up where someone is held, schedule or approve a visit, accept visitation applications or other forms, pass messages or money to someone inside, or receive reports about conditions, medical care, or staff.

Those requests go to the facility or the state corrections department directly. The facility phone number and official page are listed above, and each state's guides link its inmate locator and its grievance and oversight contacts.

Please do not send Social Security numbers, dates of birth, identification documents, or completed forms. Nobody here can process them.