State Prison · Idaho DOC

North Idaho Correctional Institution

Cottonwood, Idaho County, Idaho

Visiting schedules change without notice. Always call before traveling.

Call Visiting Office: (208) 962-3276 Info last verified: June 2026

A men's prison in Cottonwood, north Idaho, that runs the state's retained-jurisdiction ('rider') program of court-ordered evaluation and treatment.

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

North Idaho Correctional Institution (NICI) is a men’s prison in Cottonwood, Idaho, operated by the Idaho Department of Correction. The Idaho Department of Correction uses the term “resident” for people in its custody. The facility occupies a former military radar station and specializes in the state’s retained-jurisdiction program for men.

What Makes North Idaho Correctional Institution Different

NICI is the Idaho Department of Correction’s hub for the retained-jurisdiction program, commonly called the “rider” program. Retained jurisdiction is a sentencing alternative: a court sends a person to the Idaho Department of Correction for a defined period of programming and evaluation, and at the end of that period the sentencing judge decides whether to place the person on probation or commit them to continued incarceration. Programming at NICI is built around that evaluation, which includes cognitive and behavioral treatment and education.

Because a person on a rider is held for a court-set period rather than a fixed prison term, how long someone stays at NICI and what happens next are tied to the retained-jurisdiction process and the judge’s eventual decision. The Idaho Department of Correction runs the women’s version of the rider program at a separate facility.

Getting There

North Idaho Correctional Institution is at 236 Radar Rd in Cottonwood, in Idaho County, north Idaho. It is a considerable distance from the Idaho Department of Correction’s other prisons, most of which are clustered near Boise in Kuna, in the south of the state. Visitors confirm current entry procedures and what may be brought onto the grounds with the facility before arriving.

Visiting

The statewide Idaho Department of Correction rules — the approved-visitor-list process, the dress code, ID requirements, and item limits — apply at North Idaho Correctional Institution. Visiting is arranged with the facility. A visiting application must be submitted and approved before a visit, and approval normally takes a few weeks after the resident is classified and a background check clears. Days, hours, and whether a visit must be booked in advance are set per facility. See the Visiting in Idaho guide for the approval process, and confirm the current schedule with the institution before traveling.

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. Address personal mail with the resident’s committed name and IDOC number, the facility name, and the facility’s address:

[Resident’s full name and IDOC number] North Idaho Correctional Institution 236 Radar Rd Cottonwood, ID 83522

See the Mail & Packages guide for what can be sent, the rules for books and publications, and what gets rejected.

Phones, Tablets, and Money

Resident phone service runs through ICSolutions, and tablet services run through ViaPath. Trust deposits are handled through the Idaho Department of Correction’s money vendor. See the Phone & Video Calls and Sending Money guides for accounts, rates, and how to add funds.

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.