Visiting in New Hampshire (NHDOC)

This guide covers the three state prisons run by the New Hampshire Department of Corrections. New Hampshire’s county-run houses of corrections are separate institutions with their own visiting rules set by each county — the state overview explains which system holds whom.

Getting on the List

The application starts on the inside: the incarcerated person requests that a visitor be added, and the visitor completes a Consent for Background Investigation form that must be notarized. The completed form is returned to the incarcerated person, who submits it — NHDOC’s instructions say not to mail it to the department. The background check runs through the state criminal-records repository, and the department’s published estimate is about four weeks.

There is no limit on immediate family (spouse, children, parents, grandparents, grandchildren, siblings and their spouses, aunts, uncles — including step- and adoptive relations), plus up to 20 approved visitors who are not immediate family.

Published exclusions:

• A felony drug conviction or drug-offense violation within the past five years, or any pending drug charge
• Any past incarceration in a correctional facility, until five years after release
• Any other criminal conviction within the past year
• People on probation or parole — unless their supervising officer recommends approval in writing and the warden agrees in writing, a path published for immediate family only

A person denied under these criteria can submit a written exception request to the warden, who must answer in writing within 30 days. One structural rule affects families with more than one person inside: a visitor cannot be on two people’s lists unless they are immediate family of both, and a visitor removed from a list waits one year before joining a different person’s list.

Minors and the Safeguard Program

Visitors under 18 enter with an approved adult on the list, carrying a notarized minor-permission form that stays valid for up to one year. Children need their own identification — a photo ID, current or expired, or an original birth certificate.

When the incarcerated person’s record involves children, NHDOC may bar minor visits or require a Safeguard-trained chaperone: an already-approved adult who completes a free, virtual training class (applications go in at least 14 days before a class date; 2026 dates are posted on the Visit an Inmate page) and then becomes the only person permitted to bring minors to that visit. The Bureau of Victim Services administers the program at (603) 271-7351.

Family-specific allowances written into the rule: children five and under may be held during the visit, and a woman who gives birth while incarcerated receives two extra weekly visits with the newborn for up to eight months after delivery.

Scheduling

General-population visits are walk-in — the women’s facility’s posted memo states visits are processed in arrival order, and no NHDOC page describes an appointment requirement for in-person visits. Each prison posts a schedule assigning visiting blocks by housing unit, so the visiting day depends on where the person lives inside, not on the visitor. The department’s standard allowance is two visits a week; the administrative rule guarantees less at higher custody levels (at least two a month at C4, one a month at C5), so the real cadence depends on classification.

The general-population schedules share one pattern: weekdays. The men’s prison in Concord and the Berlin prison are closed Friday through Monday, and the women’s facility visits Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday — making Saturday at the women’s facility the only general-population weekend visiting in the system as of mid-2026. (The men’s prison’s Special Housing Unit runs a separate non-contact schedule that includes weekend slots.) Each facility page carries its current posted schedule. Short-notice changes are announced on NHDOC’s social media accounts, and the rule states schedules can change without warning.

Special visits — outside normal hours or for someone not yet on the list — exist by warden approval; the published examples include verified family emergencies, and out-of-state visitors can be granted special-visit permission.

Restricted-housing visits run differently. At the men’s prison’s Special Housing Unit they are non-contact and scheduled by phone, on a separate schedule that includes weekend slots; at the women’s facility, C5 visits are non-contact and requested through the unit lieutenant at least five days ahead, while the C4 special management unit keeps posted contact-visit blocks.

Contact Rules

Visits are contact visits at tables, with the physical-contact rules written into the administrative rule: a hug or embrace of three seconds or less at the start and end of the visit, and only handholding in between for visitors over 16. Children five and under may sit on the incarcerated person’s lap. NHDOC does not publish a visit duration limit or a cap on visitors per visit — the facility confirms both by phone.

What to Wear

The published dress code, which applies to every adult visitor (children under 10 are exempt from parts of it, and clergy and attorneys on official business have published exceptions):

• Undergarments are required
• Nothing see-through, low-cut, tank/halter/tube style, sleeveless, or midriff-baring
• No tight athletic wear; no spandex, sweat, yoga, or wind pants
• Skirts, dresses, and shorts that reach two or more inches above the knee fail, as do slits (kick pleats up to four inches pass)
• No hats, headbands, or hooded clothing of any kind — including hooded sweaters, sweatshirts, and long-sleeved T-shirts
• No zippered shirts of any kind, and no outdoor jackets, shawls, scarves, or loose open over-shirts — in winter, coats go into a locker or stay in the vehicle
• No clothing with holes, rips, or torn-out pockets; no overalls
• Nothing resembling inmate clothing, military or law-enforcement uniforms, or nursing scrubs
• No metal hair ornaments; jewelry is limited to a wedding ring set, one religious pendant, and medical-alert items

The Visiting Room Officer judges borderline clothing, deferring to the shift commander for a final decision when needed. Religious attire is authorized subject to search, and accommodation requests go to the warden in advance.

ID and Entry

Adults present a government-issued photo ID — the rule explicitly accepts current or expired documents, including out-of-country passports — and the ID is held by the security officer for the duration of the visit. Entering the property counts as consent to search under New Hampshire law; refusing a search means leaving, and refusal can bar future visits. Vehicles are locked with keys removed, and unlocked vehicles are subject to search.

The published rule lists what cannot come in rather than what can: cellphones, tobacco (which stays locked in the vehicle), and the general contraband list. Everything not authorized goes into the small lockers outside the visiting room or back to the vehicle. The published exception is infant care for mothers: two empty clear bottles and a sealed formula package per child, three diapers per child, a clear package of wipes, and a nursing cover. Breastfeeding with a cover is authorized in the visiting rooms. Giving anything to the incarcerated person requires the warden’s advance approval.

Video Visits

Video visiting runs through the GTL VisitMe portal (ViaPath), where visitors register and book sessions. NHDOC does not publish video-visit pricing; per the vendor’s materials, costs appear during scheduling. Phone and mail channels are covered in Phone & Video Calls.

The Family Connections Center

NHDOC’s Family Connections Center, operating since 1998 inside all three prisons, runs a separate child-focused visiting track. Its published offerings include weekly 20-minute video visits per child followed by parent coaching, Family Fun Days — enhanced in-facility visits with games and food for children and caregivers — virtual family counseling sessions with the child and caregiver, and recorded audiobooks sent home. Incarcerated parents qualify by completing an 18-hour parenting class and a 10-hour healthy-relationships class. For families with children, the FCC is the published route to visits beyond the standard visiting room.

If a Visitor Is Barred

A visitor who violates the rules can be debarred by the facility head, with written or in-person notice of the reasons and the duration, and every debarred person has a published right of appeal to the warden. Restoring visiting privileges after debarment takes a request to the commissioner, who issues a written decision. Behavioral-health staff can also bar a specific visitor, and providing false information on an application is published grounds for suspension.

Verify Before Acting

For the general, nationwide overview of this topic, see the national guide: Visiting Basics.