Dawson County Correctional Facility

A county-operated regional prison in Glendive that holds Montana Department of Corrections men under contract.

Overview

Dawson County Correctional Facility is a regional prison in Glendive, the seat of Dawson County, in eastern Montana. It is operated by Dawson County, not by the Montana Department of Corrections, and the Department of Corrections contracts with the county to hold about 140 men in DOC custody at the facility.

Because it is a contracted, county-operated prison rather than a state institution, several procedures here — incoming mail, phone service, and visiting — are arranged by the facility itself and differ from the statewide Montana DOC systems described in the state guides. Families confirm the current details with the facility before a first visit or before sending anything.

Montana assigns and reassigns custody and facility placement administratively, and a person held under contract at Dawson County may be moved to a state prison or another contracted facility. Confirm the person’s current location on the Montana ConWeb locator before traveling.

What Makes the Dawson County Correctional Facility Different

Dawson County Correctional Facility is one of Montana’s in-state contracted secure facilities: a prison run by a county that holds Montana DOC inmates under an agreement with the Department of Corrections. It is comparatively small, with capacity for about 140 men, and serves the state as additional secure bed space rather than as a flagship or reception institution.

The practical difference for families is that a contracted county facility operates its own systems. Its mail goes directly to the facility rather than through Montana’s off-site scanning vendor; its phone and video service is arranged by the facility rather than the statewide vendor; and its visiting days, hours, and check-in process are set locally. The statewide Montana DOC requirement that every visitor be approved still applies, but the day-to-day arrangements are the facility’s own. Families verify each of these directly with the facility, because the statewide guidance does not always describe what happens at a contracted prison.

Visiting

The Dawson County Correctional Facility is a county-operated prison that holds Montana DOC inmates under contract, and it sets its own visiting, phone, and mail arrangements rather than the statewide systems. Confirm the current details directly with the facility:

Getting There and Parking

Dawson County Correctional Facility is at 440 Colorado Blvd in Glendive, in Dawson County in eastern Montana. Glendive sits along Interstate 94 in the Yellowstone River valley, near the North Dakota state line; the city is reached from the interstate by way of local exits into Glendive. The drive from Billings is several hours to the west along Interstate 94.

Parking is on site. Visitors confirm current entry procedures, the visitor-processing location, and what may be brought onto the grounds with the facility before arriving, because items such as phones, smartwatches, cameras, and recording devices are typically not permitted inside.

Nearby Services

Glendive has limited lodging and dining, with a small range of motels, restaurants, and fuel stops in town and along the Interstate 94 corridor. Emergency medical care is available locally in Glendive, with larger hospitals farther west toward Billings. Visitors traveling a long distance generally find the most options for fuel, food, and overnight stays along the interstate.

Mail

As a contracted, county-operated facility, Dawson County receives incoming personal mail directly at the prison — it is not routed through Montana’s off-site TextBehind scanning vendor, which handles mail for the state-run prisons. Address personal mail to the person’s full name and AO Number at the facility:

Dawson County Correctional Facility
[Full first and last name], [AO Number]
440 Colorado Blvd
Glendive, MT 59330

Put the sender’s full name and return address on the envelope. Legal mail goes directly to the facility, where it is handled under the facility’s legal-mail procedure rather than scanned off-site. Books and publications must come directly from an approved vendor or retailer. Because a contracted facility sets its own mail rules, confirm the current mailing address, the correct way to list the AO Number, and the approved-vendor requirements with the facility before sending anything.

Learn More

• Visiting — Montana’s approved-visitor application, scheduling, and the rules that apply at every facility.
• Mail — how Montana scans incoming personal mail off-site and how to address letters, legal mail, books, and money.
• Phone & Video — calls, tablet messaging, and video visits through ICSolutions and GettingOut.
• Money — how to put money on an account and the vendors Montana uses.
• Medical — how health care works in Montana’s prisons and how to raise a medical concern.
• Transfers — how people enter the system, reception and assessment, and how transfers between facilities work.