Phone & Video Calls in Virginia (VADOC)

Phone Calls

Calls are placed by the incarcerated person to numbers set up in advance — a family member cannot call in. Virginia’s phone system runs through ViaPath (formerly GTL), branded ConnectNetwork, and the state’s per-minute rate has for years been low — around four cents a minute, one of the lower rates among state prison systems. VADOC does not post the rate on its site and calling from the new tablets may differ, so confirm the current per-minute cost in the ConnectNetwork account before relying on a figure. Calls in Virginia are not free — proposals to make them free did not become law.

Families fund calling by setting up a prepaid AdvancePay account to receive the person’s calls, or the person can use a debit account funded from their own money — see Sending Money. Calls are recorded and monitored, except properly verified attorney calls.

Video Visits

Video visits are offered through Assisting Families of Inmates (AFOI), a nonprofit, with ViaPath. They are paid — recently about twelve cents a minute, booked in 20- or 50-minute blocks, though VADOC’s posted page has at times shown an older, higher rate, so confirm the current price in the scheduler. A home video visit can be set up with just a video account, no VADOC visitor application, and works on a computer or Android device but not on an iPhone or iPad; a visit from an AFOI visitor center requires the standard visitor application. Video visits are monitored and are not used for legal visits. A separate, more expensive video product (JPay Video Connect) also exists at some facilities.

Tablets and Messaging

VADOC is transitioning its tablets from the older Securus/JPay system to ViaPath, with a pilot launched in early 2026 and a statewide rollout following. Tablets provide calling, secure messaging, and paid entertainment. Electronic messaging currently runs through JPay, bought with message “stamps,” with photos and video messages costing extra; prices are volatile and shifting as the vendor changes, so confirm the current cost in the app — at facilities already on the new ViaPath tablets, messaging is priced per message rather than by stamp. Messages are monitored.

If Someone Is in a Local or Regional Jail

A person serving a state sentence may be held in a local or regional jail, which contracts its own phone and video vendors — commonly Securus or ViaPath — usually at higher rates than the state system. Confirm where the person is held and that jail’s vendor and rates before setting up an account.

Verify Before Acting

For the general, nationwide overview of this topic, see the national guide: Staying in Touch.