Visiting in Idaho (Idaho DOC)
How to get on an Idaho prison's approved visitor list, how visits are arranged facility by facility, where men and women enter the system, and the separate process for residents held out of state in Arizona.
Getting on the approved visitor list
No one may visit until they are on the resident’s approved visitor list. The process starts with the resident, who requests the visiting application forms from inside the facility and sends them to the people they want to add. Each prospective visitor completes the application and returns it to the institution, where it is reviewed through a background check.
- The resident requests visiting application forms and sends them to each prospective visitor.
- The visitor completes the application and returns it to the institution where the resident is held. For in-state facilities, the application is mailed to that facility.
- The institution runs a background check. Approval normally takes about 2 to 4 weeks, and the resident must be classified before a visiting application is processed.
A newly admitted resident must complete classification before visiting applications are processed, so visits cannot be arranged immediately after intake.
Scheduling a visit
Idaho does not use a single statewide online scheduler for in-person visits. Each prison sets and posts its own visiting schedule, and visits are arranged with that institution. The Idaho Department of Correction publishes per-facility visiting information on each facility’s page.
Because days and hours are set at the facility level and change over time, the institution’s own page and staff are the authoritative source for the current schedule.
Where men and women enter the system
Where a person first enters the Idaho prison system depends on their gender:
- Men: all men enter through the Reception and Diagnostic Unit (RDU) at the Idaho State Correctional Institution in Kuna, which processes new commitments before transfer to a permanent facility.
- Women: all women enter through the Reception and Diagnostic Center at the Pocatello Women’s Correctional Center, the statewide women’s intake point.
New residents must be classified before visiting applications are processed, so visits are arranged at the facility where the person is housed after intake rather than at the reception unit.
Residents held out of state in Arizona
As of spring 2026, the Idaho prison system is over capacity, and roughly 700 men are held out of state — all in facilities run by CoreCivic in Arizona:
- the Saguaro Correctional Center in Eloy, and
- the Central Arizona Florence Correctional Complex in Florence, a newer placement that began receiving Idaho men in 2026.
For anyone held at these facilities, the CoreCivic process governs visiting, mail, phone, and money rather than the standard in-state Idaho process. Visitors apply through an online Idaho Department of Correction visitor application at https://forms-idoc.idaho.gov/Forms/VisitorApplication rather than mailing an application to the facility, and visits take place on CoreCivic’s schedule. Scheduling and confirmation are arranged through the Arizona facility; the Central Arizona Florence Correctional Complex directs families to email cafccvisitation@corecivic.com to set up a visit.
Video visits
Video visiting is available through resident tablets at Idaho’s in-state prisons. The Idaho Department of Correction completed deployment of resident tablets across all facilities in late 2025. The department’s visiting page does not name a separate video-visiting vendor, so the facility is the authoritative source for whether video visits are currently offered, how to register, and the schedule.
For residents who have recently transferred to the Arizona facilities, tablet and video services — including video visiting — are set up over the first weeks after arrival and are not available immediately.
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.