Closed custody and medium security · State Prison · HI DCR

Halawa Correctional Facility

Aiea, Honolulu County, Hawaii

Visiting schedules change without notice. Always call before traveling.

Call Visiting Office: (808) 485-3550 Info last verified: June 2026

Hawaii's largest prison and the main facility for sentenced men, on Oahu in Aiea, with closed-custody and medium-security sections.

Statewide rules that apply at HI DCR facilities

These rules are set by HI DCR and apply at every unit. The full list — including all permitted and prohibited items and the approval process — is in Visiting in Hawaii.

Dress code

Dress modestly — Hawaii facilities enforce a visiting dress code that bars revealing, sheer, or provocative clothing, beachwear, and anything resembling what inmates or staff wear; closed-toe footwear is expected.
Each facility sets and enforces its own specifics and may turn a visitor away for dressing out of code, and electronics are not allowed inside, so confirm the dress code with the facility before traveling.

ID: Every visitor must be on the inmate's approved visitor list before visiting — the inmate submits the proposed list, DCR runs a background check, and the facility approves or denies. Bring a government-issued photo ID to each visit.
What to bring: Bring only what the facility allows — most personal items are not permitted in the visiting room. Money for an inmate's account at an in-state facility is sent through GTL / ViaPath ConnectNetwork, never handed over at a visit; the Saguaro prison in Arizona uses a separate money process.
Scheduling: Hawaii has no statewide online scheduler — each facility sets its own visiting days and hours and runs its own visitation hotline, so confirm with the specific facility. Video visits are available through tablets at the in-state facilities. The neighbor-island facilities (on Maui, Kauai, and the Big Island) are reachable from Oahu mainly by air. The roughly 800 men held at the Saguaro Correctional Center in Arizona visit on that prison's schedule, with video booked through the state's mainland branch. Women are held at the Women's Community Correctional Center (Kailua).

Full statewide rules: Visiting in Hawaii

Overview

Halawa Correctional Facility is a state prison for men operated by the Hawaii Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (DCR). It is in Aiea, on Oahu, and is Hawaii’s largest prison and the principal facility for sentenced men. Halawa serves as the high/closed-custody and medium-security hub for men in the state system.

Hawaii runs a unified jail-and-prison system: the state has no county jails, so DCR operates both the pretrial Community Correctional Centers and the sentenced-felon prisons. Within that structure there is no single named men’s reception prison. Sentenced men are classified through the island jails and Halawa, and many sentenced men are classified at Halawa before placement at Halawa or at another facility, such as the minimum-security prisons at Waiawa and Kulani or the contracted Saguaro Correctional Center in Arizona. Custody classification determines housing and the section a person is held in, which in turn affects visiting arrangements.

What Makes Halawa Correctional Facility Different

Halawa is the largest prison in Hawaii and the main facility for sentenced men. It is organized into two sections: the Special Needs Facility, which holds men at maximum/closed custody, and the Medium Security Facility. The two sections operate as distinct units within the same facility, and the section a person is housed in determines the visiting and access rules that apply.

The status of the Special Needs Facility and its visiting have been affected by renovation. Because that status can change, families confirm the current status of the Special Needs section, and whether it is accepting visits, on the facility’s official page or by calling the visitation line before arranging a visit.

Visiting

The statewide HI DCR rules above — the approved-visitor-list process, the dress code, ID, and item limits — apply at Halawa Correctional Facility. The facility’s own arrangements:

Getting There

Halawa Correctional Facility is at 99-902 Moanalua Road in Aiea, on Oahu, in Honolulu County. It sits in the urban Honolulu area near the Halawa and Aiea area. The nearest large commercial airport is the airport serving Honolulu on Oahu. Visitors confirm current entry procedures, the visitor-processing location, and what may be brought onto the grounds with the facility before arriving, because electronic devices and personal items are generally not permitted inside.

Mail

Hawaii does not use an off-site mail vendor for its in-state facilities. Incoming personal mail goes directly to the facility, where staff inspect it before delivery. Address personal mail with the person’s full name and inmate number, the facility name, and the facility’s mailing address:

[Inmate’s full name and number] Halawa Correctional Facility 99-902 Moanalua Road Aiea, HI 96701

Mail without the sender’s first and last name and a return address can be rejected, and envelopes with stickers, ink stamps, glitter, glue, drawings, bookmarks, or lipstick or kiss marks are rejected. Books, magazines, and other publications must be ordered directly from the publisher or an approved vendor; personal book mailings, food, and packages from family are not accepted. See the Mail & Packages guide for the full rules.

Phones, Video, and Money

Phone, tablet, and video services run through GTL (ViaPath), billed through ConnectNetwork. Tablets are issued to inmates and support video visits during assigned times, which is the practical way to visit remotely. Trust deposits are also made through ConnectNetwork, with a monthly limit. See the Phone & Video Calls and Sending Money guides for accounts, rates, and how to set up video visits.

Learn More

For detailed information about visiting and communicating with someone at a Hawaii facility:

Visiting in Hawaii — approval process, dress code, scheduling
Mail & Packages — what you can send and what gets rejected
Phone & Video Calls — accounts, call costs, video visits
Sending Money — how to add funds to an account
Medical & Mental Health — health care in Hawaii facilities
Transfers — what happens during transfers

Sources

This page is compiled from the following publicly available sources. Policies change without notice — confirm current details with the facility before relying on them.