Minimum to maximum security (men) · State Prison · Missouri DOC

Southeast Correctional Center

Charleston, Mississippi County, Missouri

Visiting schedules change without notice. Always call before traveling.

Call Visiting Office: (573) 683-4409 Info last verified: June 2026

A large multi-custody prison for men in Charleston, in the southeast corner of Missouri.

Statewide rules that apply at every Missouri state prison

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

Dress code

No tight, baggy, transparent, or revealing clothing; skirts, dresses, and shorts must reach the top of the kneecap; and shirts must cover the chest, cleavage, back, stomach, and shoulders.
No camouflage and no gang-related symbols or colors. Dress standards are enforced at the door, so confirm the specific facility's current rules before visiting.

ID: Every visitor must be on the incarcerated person's approved visitor list before visiting — apply online through the Missouri DOC visiting application, which requires the person's DOC ID number and a background check. Adults show a valid government photo ID; visitors age 13 to 18 show a school or government photo ID, and anyone under 18 must be accompanied by an approved adult.
What to bring: Bring as little as possible: a photo ID and, for the vending machines, coins in a clear bag (food brought into a food visit must be in clear containers). Phones, bags, and gifts are not allowed inside, and money for the person is sent through JPay, never handed over at a visit.
Scheduling: Apply for visits through the Missouri DOC online visiting application (web.mo.gov/doc/pubVisit); each prison sets its own visiting days, hours, and limits, so confirm them with the facility. Up to three visitors may visit at once, plus up to three children age five and under. A newly committed person is held at a reception and diagnostic center — Fulton, Bonne Terre (ERDCC), or St. Joseph (WRDCC) for men, and Vandalia (WERDCC) for women — until transfer to a permanent prison.

Full statewide rules: Visiting in Missouri

Overview

Southeast Correctional Center (SECC), on East Pedro Simmons Drive in Charleston, is a large multi-custody prison for men in the southeast corner of Missouri, a region known as the “Bootheel.” It spans minimum to maximum security in a single facility. It opened in 2002. Because it includes maximum-security housing, visiting and movement can be more controlled than at lower-security prisons, and arrangements vary by housing unit.

What Makes Southeast Different

It is a multi-custody prison spanning minimum to maximum security in one facility.
It includes maximum-security housing, so visiting, movement, and property can be more restricted than at lower-security prisons.
Some housing has non-contact visits, which differ from general-population contact visits — confirm the person’s housing and visit type.
It is in Charleston, in the southeast corner of Missouri, the region known as the “Bootheel.”

Visiting

The statewide Missouri DOC rules above — the approved visitor list, the dress code, ID, and item limits — apply at the Southeast Correctional Center. The facility’s own arrangements:

The full application process is in Visiting in Missouri.

Getting There and Parking

The prison is on East Pedro Simmons Drive in Charleston, in southeast Missouri.

Distances are approximate, based on map routing. Visitor parking is on site.

Nearby Services

The Charleston area has limited services; gas, food, and lodging are in Charleston and nearby Sikeston. The nearest 24-hour emergency room is Missouri Delta Medical Center, in Sikeston, about 25 miles away; Cape Girardeau, with larger hospitals, is about 35 miles away.

Mail

Personal mail does not go to the prison. Since 2022, Missouri routes incoming letters and photos to an off-site Securus digital-mail center in Tampa, Florida, where they are scanned and delivered to the person’s tablet; address them to [person’s name and DOC ID#], C/O Digital Mail Center–Missouri DOC, P.O. Box 25678, Tampa, FL 33622-5678. Legal mail still goes directly to the prison, and books come publisher-direct to the facility. Full rules are in Mail & Packages.

Learn More

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

Visiting in Missouri — the approved visitor list, dress code, and applying to visit
Mail & Packages — the off-site digital-mail center and what still goes to the prison
Phone & Video Calls — Securus calls, JPay tablets, and video visits
Sending Money — depositing through JPay
Medical & Mental Health — sick call, the co-pay, and grievances
Transfers & Finding Someone — reception, classification, and the offender search

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.