Visiting in Vermont (DOC)

Getting on the List

Vermont’s visiting list comes from the inside: the incarcerated person submits up to 10 names to their caseworker, with each visitor’s exact address and date of birth, and may change the list every 90 days. There is no visitor-side application. The published standard favors approval — authorization “should normally be approved” unless it would jeopardize safety or security — but DOC publishes no processing timeline, so the practical confirmation comes from the person inside.

Published exclusions and conditions:

• Victims of the person’s offense cannot be listed without written permission arranged through DOC’s Victim Services unit
• People under DOC supervision need their own probation or parole officer’s written approval
• Current DOC employees and contractors are barred (with a superintendent exception for incarcerated relatives), and former ones need the superintendent’s permission
• A certified religious visitor can be added on top of the 10, and religious visits don’t count against the weekly visit

After an in-state transfer, the list stays active for 30 days at the new facility, then must be resubmitted.

Minors

A visitor under 18 comes with their legal guardian, or with an approved adult carrying the guardian’s notarized written permission naming that adult. Children need identification too — any government-issued photo ID, a Social Security card, or a birth certificate works. An unaccompanied minor is published grounds for turning the visit away, and a person convicted of a crime involving child abuse cannot receive minor visitors without the superintendent’s approval.

Scheduling

Vermont visits are walk-in — no appointment system. Each facility posts a schedule assigning visiting blocks by housing unit (or, at the Newport and Swanton facilities, alphabetically by the incarcerated person’s last name), and approved visitors simply arrive during the right block and sign in. The published frame: one visit per week, up to two hours, with each facility required to offer at least six hours of visiting weekly.

Two timing rules matter: a visitor arriving with 30 minutes or less left in a period is not processed, and at least one facility asks visitors to arrive no more than 15 minutes early. Because the schedules hang on housing-unit assignments and carry no posted dates, calling the facility before a first or long-distance trip is the practical check.

Special visits exist by superintendent approval — with two business days’ notice for visits outside normal hours — and the published examples include out-of-state travelers needing a one-time visit outside the rules, people still awaiting list approval in extraordinary circumstances, and family attending program events.

The Contact Rule

Vermont’s visits happen at tables with no barrier — but the current handbook prohibits physical contact between incarcerated people and any visitor over age 11. Hands stay on top of the table, and even contact with younger children is limited (“excessive” contact with a child 11 or under is published grounds for ending the visit). Up to three visitors may attend at a time. The older visiting directive describes these as contact visits; the handbook’s no-contact rule is the newer document, so arriving expecting a hug risks the visit. Non-contact (barrier or video) visits apply in restrictive housing and for documented security reasons.

What to Wear

The published list:

• Nothing with holes, rips, tears, or torn pockets
• Nothing resembling a correctional or law-enforcement uniform; no sweat suits
• No hats, headbands, or hooded clothing; no metal hair ornaments
• Nothing see-through, tight-fitting, low-cut, or midriff-baring; no tank, halter, or tube tops
• No skirts, dresses, or shorts with slits reaching two inches or more above the knee

Staff judgment is final, and children 10 and under get a discretionary pass on shorts and sleeveless clothing. Non-compliance is published grounds for denial.

ID and Entry

Adults need a government-issued photo ID, and the name and address on it must match the visiting list — a mismatch needs a satisfactory explanation at the desk. Everyone passes a walk-through metal detector (a hand wand and pat search cover documented medical implants), refusal means denial, and vehicles on the property are subject to search. Vermont’s published search rule has one firm limit: visitors are never strip searched.

Nothing goes into the visiting room except bottles, pacifiers, or sippy cups for children two and under — lockers hold everything else, and tobacco stays in the vehicle.

Children and Family Programs

Vermont wrote family visiting into law in 2025: the Family Support Program statute requires free parenting and family support at every facility, including child-friendly visitation spaces for in-person and virtual visits. Under that umbrella, Kids-A-Part — run by the nonprofit Lund at the women’s facility in South Burlington and at the Newport men’s facility — offers child-centered visit spaces, parenting support, and help for caregivers. Families with children should ask the facility’s caseworker what family-program visits are available beyond the standard weekly visit.

Video Visits

Video visiting runs through DOC’s communications vendor, ICSolutions, priced at a published 16 cents per minute plus applicable taxes. Registration runs through icsolutions.com; DOC publishes little else about scheduling mechanics, so the vendor account is where availability shows. Details on the phone system — including the two free calls per week — are in Phone & Video Calls.

If Someone Is in Mississippi

Vermont houses a group of men at a contract facility in Mississippi, where visiting follows that facility’s rules and Vermont’s posted guidance is dated — the practical channels are covered in Transfers.

If a Visit Is Denied or Suspended

A visit denial or removal from a list generates an incident report, and the visitor receives a letter stating the reasons, with a copy to the incarcerated person. The superintendent can suspend a visitor for a set or indefinite period — a suspension applies at every Vermont facility — and the written notice must explain that the visitor may appear before the superintendent to petition for restoration. Visitors convicted of bringing in weapons, drugs, or escape materials are banned outright.

Verify Before Acting

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