Minimum through close custody (men) · State Correctional Facility · VTDOC

Northern State Correctional Facility

Newport, Orleans County, Vermont

Visiting schedules change without notice. Always call before traveling.

Call Visiting Office: (802) 334-3364 Info last verified: June 2026

Vermont's largest in-state facility — the main home for long-term sentenced men, near the Canadian border in Newport, with weekend visiting by last name.

Statewide rules that apply at every Vermont facility

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

Dress code

No clothing with holes, rips, or torn pockets; nothing resembling a uniform; no sweat suits, hats, headbands, or hoods.
Nothing see-through, tight-fitting, low-cut, midriff-baring, or tank/halter/tube style.
No skirts, dresses, or shorts with slits reaching two inches or more above the knee; no metal hair ornaments.
Staff judgment is final; children 10 and under get a partial exception at staff discretion.

ID: A government-issued photo ID whose name and address match the visiting list. Children can use any government-issued photo ID, a Social Security card, or a birth certificate.
What to bring: Nothing comes into the visiting room except bottles, pacifiers, or sippy cups for children 2 and under — lockers hold everything else, and tobacco stays in the vehicle.
Scheduling: The incarcerated person submits the visitor list (up to 10 names, changeable every 90 days). Visits are walk-in during the posted block for their housing unit (alphabetical by last name at two facilities) — one visit a week, up to two hours — and arrivals in the last 30 minutes of a period are not processed.

Full statewide rules: Visiting in Vermont

Overview

The Northern State Correctional Facility is where most of Vermont’s long-term sentenced men live: the state’s largest in-state facility at 433 beds, holding about 420 men at the most recent posted count — three-quarters of them sentenced, including people serving anything from months to life. Custody levels run from minimum to close, and a significant share of the population is completing required risk-reduction programming before community release. The Community High School of Vermont operates a branch inside.

The Kids-A-Part family program — long established at the women’s facility — began expanding to NSCF in 2025, making it the first men’s facility with the child-centered visit support described in Visiting in Vermont.

What Makes Northern State Correctional Facility Different

The visiting schedule runs on the alphabet: the incarcerated person’s last name determines the weekend block — A-C and D-K on Saturday, L-Q and R-Z on Sunday. The splits have changed over the years, so confirm before traveling.
The no-contact rule is posted in plain words here: “Physical contact between adult visitors and inmates is not permitted.”
No bathrooms during visiting — the posted tips say to use the reception-area bathroom before the visit starts, a small detail that matters with children on a two-hour visit.
Close-custody visits are weekday-only and inmate-initiated — one two-hour visit, Monday through Friday between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., requested from the inside and supervisor-approved.
It is genuinely remote: over two hours from Burlington, with the city of Newport minutes away and the Canadian border about nine road miles north.

Visiting Hours and Procedures

The statewide rules above — the 10-name list, dress code, ID, and screening — apply at NSCF. What follows is specific to this facility.

Video visits run through ICSolutions at a published 16 cents per minute. The full approval-list process, dress code, and the statewide entry rules are in Visiting in Vermont.

Getting There and Parking

NSCF is on Glen Road, about three miles from downtown Newport, in Orleans County at the top of the Northeast Kingdom.

Distances are approximate, based on map routing. DOC publishes no visitor parking details.

Nearby Services

Newport’s East Main Street strip at I-91 Exit 27 has the basics, including the Newport City Inn & Suites with a 24-hour front desk, and restaurants down by the Lake Memphremagog waterfront. North Country Hospital at 189 Prouty Drive runs a 24/7 emergency department — (802) 334-7331 — about 15 minutes from the facility.

Learn More

For detailed information about visiting and communicating with someone in a Vermont facility:

Visiting in Vermont — the 10-name list, the no-contact rule, and entry
Mail & Packages — addressing mail to the facility
Phone & Video Calls — the ICSolutions system and the two free weekly calls
Sending Money — deposit channels and rules
Medical & Mental Health — healthcare and raising concerns
Transfers — placement, the 30-day list rule, and the Mississippi facility

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.