Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison, Corcoran

California's most populated prison — a treatment-mission men's institution in Corcoran, about 3.5 road miles from the separate California State Prison, Corcoran.

Overview

The Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison opened in 1997 on 280 acres outside Corcoran and has grown into the largest prison in California by population — about 5,200 men at the June 2026 count, nearly 1,000 above any other CDCR institution, at roughly 152 percent of its design capacity. The treatment mission is structural: CDCR’s integrated substance-use disorder treatment programming runs here alongside academic, vocational, and prison-industry programs, across seven yards (Facilities A through G) spanning medium to maximum security.

Locals and some documents call it “Corcoran II” — a reminder that the town’s other prison came first. The two institutions are administered separately, with different addresses, phone numbers, mailboxes, and visiting departments.

What Makes the Substance Abuse Treatment Facility Different

• It’s the biggest, and that shapes everything: visiting traffic, mail volume, and the seven-yard structure, which splits inmate mail across four different P.O. boxes by facility letter — the wrong box delays mail, so confirm the person’s facility in CIRIS or with them before addressing anything.
• An on-site Family Liaison Service Specialist — a family-reunification case manager reachable through the main number — handles family-reunification and pre-release help.
• Video visiting is discontinued at SATF, per its posted visiting page — in-person visits, mail, and phone are the channels here.
• Free rides to the prison exist: Friends Outside runs free visitor transportation to the Corcoran prisons — for SATF, the published number is (559) 992-9756 — and Corcoran has an Amtrak San Joaquins station about four miles from the gate, one of the few California prisons with intercity rail in town.
• The visiting phone tree splits by yard: Facilities A, B, C and restricted housing use ext. 5738; D through G use ext. 5708 — and the visiting office prefers email (SATFVideoVisiting@cdcr.ca.gov) because of call volume.
• SATF hosts an annual Get on the Bus visiting event, the statewide program that brings children to visit incarcerated parents.

Visiting Hours and Procedures

CDCR posts SATF’s schedule and rules on the facility’s visiting status page.

Scheduling runs through CDCR’s Visitation Scheduling Application. Accepted visitor ID is specific: a photo driver’s license or DMV ID from any state, an armed forces ID, a U.S. immigration-enforcement (ICE) ID card, a passport, or a Mexican Consulate photo ID — an expired license with a paper renewal slip is rejected. The statewide approval process, dress code, and what you can bring are covered in Visiting in California.

Getting There and Parking

SATF is on Quebec Avenue outside Corcoran, reached via CA-43 in the southern Central Valley.

Distances are approximate, based on map routing. CDCR publishes no SATF parking details, and directs visitors to check Caltrans QuickMap before traveling. Kings County’s KART Route 13 publishes stops at both prisons’ administration lots — but the posted route map allows only prison employees past the earlier stops, so visitors must exit before the prison; the Friends Outside ride service covers that last leg.

Nearby Services

Corcoran’s services cluster on Whitley Avenue: the Corcoran Country Inn and Glory Inn & Suites motels, with a Taco Bell next to the former. Fuller services — chain hotels and groceries — are in Hanford, about 40 minutes north. The nearest verified emergency room is Adventist Health Hanford at 115 Mall Drive in Hanford, a 235-bed hospital with 24-hour emergency services, (559) 582-9000.

Learn More

For detailed information about visiting and communicating with someone at a California state prison:

• Visiting in California — CDCR approval process, dress code, scheduling
• Mail & Packages — What you can send and what gets rejected
• Phone & Video Calls — Call costs, tablets, and video visits
• Sending Money — How to add funds to a CDCR trust account
• Medical & Mental Health — Healthcare in CDCR facilities
• Transfers — What happens during transfers