Primarily medium custody (men) · State Prison · DPS&C

Dixon Correctional Institute

Jackson, East Feliciana County, Louisiana

Visiting schedules change without notice. Always call before traveling.

Call Visiting Office: (225) 634-1200 Info last verified: June 2026

A medium-security men's prison near Jackson, north of Baton Rouge — a system medical hub with on-site dialysis, and home to Pen Pals, widely called the only prison-run animal shelter in the world.

Statewide rules that apply at every Louisiana state prison

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

Dress code

No denim or chambray, no gray, blue, or white sweatshirts, and no white t-shirts (these resemble inmate clothing); no camouflage or BDU-style clothing that resembles officer dress.
Undergarments required and not visible. Nothing transparent; no swimsuits, strapless, tube, halter, or tank tops, low-cut or midriff-baring tops, or spandex, Lycra, or leggings.
Skirts, shorts, and dresses no shorter than one inch above the knee, with no revealing slits or holes.
No house slippers, shower shoes, or flip-flops — footwear stays on. No hats or head coverings except for religious reasons; nothing gang-related or obscene.

ID: Bring a valid photo ID for every visitor 15 and older — a driver's license, state ID, military ID, or passport. (A statewide notice says 18 and older, but facility pages say 15, so bring ID for anyone 15 or older.)
What to bring: Leave wallets, purses, phones, and cash in your locked vehicle. Each prison allows limited items into the visit — at Angola, up to $300 cash per family and specified baby items; some prisons allow vending change and one debit card for the JPay kiosk.
Scheduling: The incarcerated person starts the application — the visitor mails or emails it to the facility (faxes are not accepted), and approval follows a background check. Each person keeps up to 10 approved visitors, changeable every four months; the approved-visitor list is usually not in place during the first 30 days of intake (though immediate family may be able to visit sooner); and two visits a month is the statewide norm.

Full statewide rules: Visiting in Louisiana

Overview

Dixon Correctional Institute, near Jackson north of Baton Rouge, opened in 1976 as Louisiana’s first medium-security prison. It holds men primarily in medium custody, with a small higher-custody population, and carries a notable medical role for the system — providing inpatient, outpatient, and emergency care including an on-site dialysis unit, along with mental-health services. Its programs span adult education and high-school equivalency, vocational trades (automotive, carpentry, collision repair, welding), substance-abuse and pre-release programming, a youthful-offender program, and agricultural operations.

Dixon is also home to Pen Pals, an on-site dog and cat shelter and adoption center run by incarcerated men in partnership with the Humane Society of the United States and the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine — widely described as the only prison-based animal shelter of its kind, where the men feed, clean, and provide training and socialization for animals up for adoption.

What Makes Dixon Different

The visiting calendar is narrow. Visits happen only on the first four weekends of the month, contact visits are limited to Saturday and Sunday, and admission stops at 3:00 p.m.
It is a medical-care facility. With inpatient care and on-site dialysis, Dixon houses some men partly for their health-care needs.
The Pen Pals shelter is a distinctive, publicly documented program — and the source of a program that places trained dogs in adoptive homes.
It is reachable from Baton Rouge — about 30 miles — though in a rural setting near Jackson and Clinton.

Visiting

The statewide DPS&C rules above — the approved-list application, the dress code, ID, and search rules — apply at Dixon.

A credit or debit card may be brought in for the JPay kiosk in the visiting area. The full approval process is in Visiting in Louisiana.

Getting There and Parking

Dixon is on Highway 68 near Jackson, north of Baton Rouge.

Distances are approximate, based on map routing. DPS&C publishes no specific visitor parking details for the facility.

Nearby Services

Jackson and nearby Clinton are small; the fuller range of food, gas, and lodging is in Zachary and Baton Rouge to the south. Lane Regional Medical Center at 6300 Main Street in Zachary runs a 24/7 emergency room — (225) 658-4000 — and explicitly serves the Jackson, Clinton, and St. Francisville area, about 30 minutes away.

Learn More

For detailed information about visiting and communicating with someone in a Louisiana state prison:

Visiting in Louisiana — the application, dress code, and search rules
Mail & Packages — letters only, addressed with the DOC number
Phone & Video Calls — the Securus and JPay systems
Sending Money — depositing to a spending account
Medical & Mental Health — healthcare, dialysis, and raising a concern
Transfers — intake, parish jails, and finding someone

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.