Visiting in Arkansas (ADC)

Getting on the visiting list

No one who is not on the inmate’s approved visiting list may visit. The process starts with the inmate, who must mail the application — the “Visitation/Telephone Contact Request and Authorization Form” — to the prospective visitor. The form cannot be obtained online or from staff. The visitor completes it (incomplete forms are rejected) and mails it back to the inmate’s unit, marked “Attention: Visitation Clerk.” A criminal-history check is run on every applicant, the warden decides, and screening typically takes about one to two weeks. Results go to the inmate, who then notifies the visitor, so approval is confirmed through the inmate before a visit is planned.

A criminal record matters, and Arkansas’s rules are strict: a person with undisposed or outstanding charges (felony or misdemeanor) is denied; an immediate-family member with a past felony must wait a set period after completing their sentence before applying; and a non-immediate-family member with a felony record can be approved only by the Director’s office. A person may be on only one inmate’s list unless they are a confirmed immediate-family member of each.

Minors must have a completed form and the written permission of a parent or legal guardian, and must be accompanied by an approved adult. Visitors 12 and older must show a government-issued photo ID.

How often you can visit (the class system)

Arkansas ties visiting frequency to the inmate’s class (a status level from I to IV). Everyone starts in Class II for their first 60 days at a unit. After that:

• Class I: about one visit a week (described as up to four or five a month).
• Class II, III, and IV: two visits a month.

Inmates in restrictive housing are limited to a two-hour visit once a month, scheduled at least 24 hours ahead.

What to wear

Arkansas inmates wear white, so the dress code is built around not resembling them:

• No white clothing and no camouflage.
• Shoulders must stay covered — no sleeveless shirts, tank tops, or halter tops — and no shorts, miniskirts, or short dresses.
• No see-through clothing, leggings, or jeggings, and nothing low-cut or otherwise provocative.
• Metal items (underwire, buckles, snaps) can prevent a visitor from clearing the metal detector. Children 10 and under may wear shorts of an appropriate length.

The authoritative dress code is printed on the back of the visitation form; confirm anything you are unsure about with the unit.

What you can bring

Visitors bring very little: a clear plastic bag with a small amount of cash for the vending machines, prescription medication in the visitor’s name in its original container, a government-issued photo ID, car keys, and baby items (bottles, diapers, wipes). Some units are moving to coins or debit and credit cards only for vending, with the change-over date varying by unit, so confirm the accepted payment form. Phones, cameras, food, and all tobacco or vape products must stay locked in the vehicle. Bringing in drugs, a phone, a weapon, or tobacco can mean a permanent visiting ban and prosecution.

Scheduling and visit days

Visits are pre-scheduled, not walk-in. Appointment requests go through the state’s online portal (the TeleGov “Request Appointment” system: choose Division of Correction, then the unit, then a date and time), and all requests are pending review and approval. A visitor without internet access can call the unit’s Visitation Clerk. Routine visiting days are Saturdays and Sundays (which day can depend on the inmate’s class), with no visits on state holidays unless the holiday falls on a normal visiting day. ADC does not post each unit’s visiting hours online — the agency lists only general default times and directs families to call the unit to confirm.

Contact, non-contact, and video visits

• Contact visits are the norm for general-population inmates in good standing.
• Non-contact visits (through a glass window, no physical contact) are imposed as a disciplinary or security measure, and for inmates in restrictive housing.
• Death-row and maximum/super-maximum-custody inmates are limited to non-contact visits; Arkansas’s male death row is at the Varner Supermax Unit.
• Video visits are offered through Securus; the system is changing from on-site kiosks to a remote, app-based service — see Phone & Video Calls for the current cost and how to set it up.

Visitors who live more than 300 miles from the unit may request a weekday special visit with 24 hours’ notice. Attorney and clergy visits are arranged separately, during business hours, with advance notice.

Verify Before Acting

For the general, nationwide overview of this topic, see the national guide: Visiting Basics.