Visiting in Virginia (VADOC)

This guide covers VADOC’s state prisons. Many people serving a state sentence in Virginia are held in local or regional jails instead, where the rules are set by that jail — see the last section.

Getting Approved

Every visitor — adult or minor — must apply online at the VADOC visitation application site; paper applications are not accepted, and as of 2023 the incarcerated person no longer maintains a visitor list. A central Central Visitation Unit reviews each application and runs a criminal background check on every visitor 15 and older. An approved application is valid for three years; VADOC asks that renewals be filed ahead of expiration (about 45 days for in-state visitors, 90 for out-of-state).

A visitor who is not an immediate family member may be approved to visit only one incarcerated person, and that choice can be changed only once every 12 months. A few rules on who can be approved:

• Certain convictions are absolute bars — for conveying a phone to a prisoner, aiding an escape, or delivering drugs or weapons into a prison — and anyone with a pending criminal charge is held until it resolves.
• Drug offenses carry waiting periods — generally three years before visiting an immediate family member, five years for anyone else.
• A former incarcerated person, probationer, or parolee must be specifically approved, and former DOC staff must be at least one year removed (two years in some cases, though video may still be allowed).

The reviewing office emails the applicant the decision, with the reason for any denial.

Minors

A visitor under 18 must be accompanied by a parent, legal guardian, or an approved adult visitor. If the accompanying adult is not the parent or legal guardian, a notarized permission statement from the parent or guardian is required and must be presented at every visit; it expires one year after it is signed. A minor will not be approved where a court order bars contact, where the incarcerated parent’s rights were terminated, or where the minor is a direct victim of the person’s offense.

Scheduling, Frequency, and Length

Approved visitors book each in-person visit through the online visitation scheduler, up to 14 days in advance — there are no walk-ins. A visitor is allowed one visit per weekend, and how many hours an incarcerated person may receive each month depends on their security level. General-population visiting runs at least six hours on a visiting day. Days and hours are set per facility — most prisons visit on Saturdays, Sundays, and state holidays — and each facility page on this site carries that prison’s schedule. VADOC advises arriving about an hour early for security screening. A newly received person gets no visits during their first 60 days at a reception center.

What to Wear

The published visitor dress code, which applies at every prison:

• Clothing must cover from the neck to the kneecaps. Underwear is required, and footwear is required — bare feet are not allowed.
• No form-fitting clothing — leggings, spandex, jeggings, or leotards — unless worn under clothing that meets the code; no tube, tank, or halter tops unless covered.
• Nothing that exposes the midriff, side, back, or cleavage, nothing see-through, and no mini-skirts, dresses, shorts, skorts, or culottes at or above the kneecap.
• Nothing resembling what incarcerated people wear, and nothing with gang, racist, or otherwise inappropriate symbols or language.
• No watches or wearable technology. Hats, coats, and scarves may be worn in or stored, but umbrellas must stay in the vehicle.

A visitor who is out of compliance is denied that day’s visit, a decision a shift commander or higher must approve.

ID, Searches, and What You Can Bring

Every approved adult visitor presents a valid government-issued photo ID, which is held until the visit ends; the name on it must match the application. On entry, visitors, their belongings, and their vehicles are subject to electronic scanning, a pat-down search, and a contraband-detection dog. A visitor who cannot clear screening, declines a search, triggers a canine alert, or appears under the influence is turned away — and may be offered a shorter video visit instead. A visitor who cannot undergo electronic scanning, including a pregnant visitor, can ask for an alternative search with medical documentation. A religious head covering is handled privately, and a transgender or intersex visitor may request a search by staff of their preferred gender at each visit.

No food, drinks, or vending are available in the visiting room, and visitors bring little beyond their ID — coats and bags go in a storage area. Medication a visitor must keep on them requires a doctor’s note and advance approval from the facility at least a week ahead. What else may be brought in varies by facility, so confirm with the prison before visiting.

Contact Visits and Video Visits

In-person visits are contact visits at every prison; the specific rules on physical contact are set by each facility. A visit may be made non-contact for a documented security reason or after a disciplinary violation. Virginia does not offer conjugal or overnight family visits.

Video visits are offered in addition to in-person visiting, through the nonprofit Assisting Families of Inmates with ViaPath. A home video visit can be booked without a VADOC visitor application — only a separate video account — while a visit from an AFOI visitor center requires the standard application. Video visits are paid, monitored, and not used for legal visits; home video currently works on a computer or an Android device but not on an iPhone or iPad. Costs are in Phone & Video Calls.

If a Visitor Is Suspended

Breaking a visiting rule can suspend a visitor — up to six months for a minor violation, up to three years for a serious one such as bringing in contraband. The visitor receives written notice with the length, and may appeal to the Facility Unit Head within 30 days, then to the Regional Administrator, whose decision is final.

If Someone Is in a Local or Regional Jail

These rules apply only at VADOC state prisons. Many people serving a state sentence in Virginia are held in a local or regional jail, which is run by a sheriff or jail authority and sets its own visiting rules, application process, and schedule. Confirm where the person is held with the Inmate & Supervisee Locator; if it is a jail, contact that jail directly for its rules.

Verify Before Acting

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