Billy Moore Unit

Small Rusk County TDCJ men's prison near Overton, state-operated since September 2025, with G1-G2 custody housing and weekend visitation.

Overview

The Billy Moore Unit is one of TDCJ’s smaller prisons — TDCJ lists it at about 500 beds. It sits in Rusk County, about three miles north of Overton in East Texas, and houses men classified at the G1 and G2 custody levels.

The unit operated for years under private contract as the Billy Moore Correctional Center. The 89th Texas Legislature funded TDCJ to assume operations of several formerly private units, and the Billy Moore Unit became state-operated on September 1, 2025.

What Makes the Billy Moore Unit Different

• A small low-custody men’s unit, about 500 beds, holding G1 and G2 housing
• State-operated since September 1, 2025, after years run under private contract as the Billy Moore Correctional Center
• Hosts the Rusk County Second Chance Initiative dog-training program, along with faith-based housing, mentoring, and literacy and life-skills programming
• Distinct from the Choice Moore Unit in Bonham (Fannin County); TDCJ lists the two as “Moore, B.” and “Moore, C.,” and the inmate locator shows the exact unit a person is assigned to

Visiting Hours and Procedures

The statewide rules above — approval, ID, prohibited items, and dress code — apply at the Billy Moore Unit. What follows is specific to this unit.

Visitors must be on the incarcerated person’s approved visitors list, and visits are scheduled in advance through the TDCJ Online Visitation Portal. The visiting format follows the incarcerated person’s classification, so the room assignment and whether a visit is contact or non-contact can differ from one family to the next on the same weekend.

Because the unit transitioned to TDCJ operation on September 1, 2025, the posted day and time can differ from the schedule families followed under the prior operator. Confirm the current unit-specific schedule with TDCJ before traveling.

Getting There and Parking

The Billy Moore Unit is in a rural part of Rusk County, about three miles north of Overton in East Texas. The drive starts on highways but finishes on farm-to-market roads, and services thin out over the last stretch.

The trip is by private vehicle. There is no fixed-route bus to the unit, and the final approach is on farm-to-market roads where gas, food, and other services are limited.

Phones, Mail, and Video

Contact has a sequence to it. A phone number must be on the incarcerated person’s approved contact list before calls can connect, and after intake or a transfer that approval can take time to process. Calls are placed by the incarcerated person on TDCJ’s Securus phone system; a prison cannot be called into. Account setup, rates, and video options are covered in Phone & Video Calls.

Learn More

For detailed information about visiting and communicating with someone at a Texas state prison:

• Visiting in Texas — TDCJ approval process, dress code, scheduling
• Mail & Packages — what you can send and what gets rejected
• Phone & Video Calls — Securus accounts, call costs, video visits
• Sending Money — how to add funds to a TDCJ trust account
• Medical & Mental Health — healthcare in TDCJ facilities
• Transfers — what happens during transfers