Maximum · State Prison · Idaho DOC

Idaho Maximum Security Institution

Kuna, Ada County, Idaho

Visiting schedules change without notice. Always call before traveling.

Call Visiting Office: (208) 338-1635 Info last verified: June 2026

Idaho's highest-security men's prison in the South Boise complex in Kuna, holding men under a death sentence and the state's execution chamber.

Statewide rules that apply at Idaho DOC prisons

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

Dress code

Dress modestly — Idaho facilities enforce a visiting dress code that bars revealing, sheer, or provocative clothing, gang-related items, and anything resembling what residents or staff wear.
Each facility may turn away a visitor who is dressed out of code, and electronics are not allowed inside, so confirm the specific facility's rules before traveling.

ID: Every visitor must be on the resident's approved visiting list before visiting — the resident requests an application, the visitor mails it to the institution, and approval usually takes about two to four weeks after a background check. 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 a resident's account is sent through Access Corrections, never handed over at a visit.
Scheduling: Idaho has no statewide online scheduler for in-person visits — each facility sets its own visiting days and hours, so confirm with the specific institution. Men enter the system through the Reception and Diagnostic Unit at the Idaho State Correctional Institution (Kuna); women through the Pocatello Women's Correctional Center. Residents held out of state at the CoreCivic prisons in Arizona (the Saguaro Correctional Center and the Central Arizona Florence Correctional Complex) apply through an online form and visit on that prison's schedule.

Full statewide rules: Visiting in Idaho

Overview

Idaho Maximum Security Institution (IMSI) is a maximum-security state prison for men operated by the Idaho Department of Correction. It is in Kuna, in Ada County, and is part of the South Boise prison complex, a cluster of state facilities on Pleasant Valley Road. The institution opened in November 1989 and houses Idaho’s highest-security men.

IMSI holds men in close custody and administrative segregation, men under a sentence of death, and operates a Secure Mental Health Facility for the Idaho Security Medical Program. Because the institution holds the highest custody levels in the men’s system, housing assignment determines the access and visiting rules that apply to a given resident.

What Makes Idaho Maximum Security Institution Different

IMSI is the men’s death row for Idaho, and it holds the state execution chamber, located in F-Block. Death-sentence content for the men’s system appears on this page.

Under House Bill 37, signed March 12, 2025, the firing squad becomes Idaho’s primary execution method effective July 1, 2026, with lethal injection as the backup method. Executions have been paused since 2025 while the F-Block chamber is retrofitted, and no executions were scheduled as of this page’s review date. These facts can change; the official page and current news coverage carry the most recent status of Idaho’s execution method and schedule.

Visiting

The statewide Idaho DOC rules — the approved-visitor-application process, dress code, ID, and item limits — apply at IMSI. The institution’s own arrangements:

Getting There

Idaho Maximum Security Institution is at 13400 S Pleasant Valley Rd in Kuna, in Ada County, in the South Boise prison complex. Several state facilities sit along the same road, so visitors confirm the correct institution and its entry procedures, the visitor-processing location, and what may be brought onto the grounds before arriving, because electronic devices and personal items are generally not permitted inside.

Mail

Idaho does not use an off-site mail vendor for its state prisons. Incoming personal mail goes directly to the facility, where staff inspect it before delivery. Personal mail goes to the Boise PO Box, not the Kuna street address:

[Resident’s committed name and IDOC number] Idaho Maximum Security Institution PO Box 51 Boise, ID 83707

The official facility page renders a name variant, “Idaho State Maximum Institution,” for mail; address mail with the resident’s committed name and IDOC number. Books and publications must come directly from the publisher or an approved vendor, and packages from family are not accepted. See the Mail & Packages guide for the full rules.

Phones, Tablets, and Money

Phone service runs through ICSolutions, and tablets run through ViaPath. Trust deposits are made through the statewide Idaho DOC money vendor. See the Phone & Video Calls and Sending Money guides for accounts, rates, and how to set up services.

Learn More

For detailed information about visiting and communicating with someone at an Idaho prison:

Visiting in Idaho — 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 a resident’s account
Medical & Mental Health — health care in Idaho prisons
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.