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The federal system works differently from any state system, because one rule covers all 118 institutions the guide lists. Under the Bureau of Prisons rule at 28 CFR 540.42, each warden sets the visiting schedule, with visiting at a minimum on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, though some institutions limit visitors to one weekend day. That means there is no single federal visiting calendar: each institution posts its own Visiting Regulations PDF on its bop.gov location page,

Staying close to someone inside an Alabama prison starts with knowing one thing: there is no single statewide visiting schedule. The Alabama Department of Corrections lists 26 facilities, from community based facilities to maximum security prisons, and under ADOC Administrative Regulation 303 each warden sets that facility's own visiting days and hours. Every visit is pre-scheduled, so the most important step is calling the facility itself before you travel. The guide gives t

Alaska does things a little differently, because the Department of Corrections runs one unified system covering both jails and prisons. The guide covers 14 institutions, from Anchorage Correctional Complex to Yukon-Kuskokwim Correctional Center in Bethel, each with its address and phone number. There is no statewide visiting schedule: each institution posts its own Visiting page at doc.alaska.gov/institutions, and the guide's advice throughout is to call the facility and conf

Planning a visit to an Arizona prison takes a little patience, and the guide lays out exactly why. The Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry lists 15 prisons, nine state-run and six contract facilities, and becoming a visitor begins with the ADCRR Application to Visit, which carries a $25 background fee and takes about 60 days to process. Visiting days and hours are not printed as one statewide list; instead they are posted per unit as 2026 calendars o

Arkansas families have one of the clearest visiting routines in the country, and the guide spells it out in full. Routine visits run Saturdays and Sundays, 11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m. and 2:00–4:00 p.m., with no holiday visits unless the holiday falls on a visiting day. Class I residents receive one visit weekly, while Classes II through IV receive two a month, and visits allow up to four visitors. Appointments are requested at telegov.egov.com/docrequest, by Wednesday at 11:59 p.m.

With 31 adult institutions, California's prison system is the largest in this set, and the guide helps families find their way through it. In-person visiting at adult institutions runs Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, with times varying by facility and scheduled through the Visitor Scheduling Application, known as VSA. Families can check the Facility Visiting Status page or call 1-800-374-8474 for the latest information. The guide lists every institution, from Avenal State Priso

Colorado's guide is the most detailed on visiting hours in this set, because the Department of Corrections posts days and hours for each of its 21 facilities, including the two private prisons it lists. Most visits run on weekends, but the pattern differs by facility: Arkansas Valley Correctional Facility visits Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., with processing beginning at 10:00 a.m., while Denver Women's Correctional Facility visits Friday, Saturday

Connecticut runs both its prisons and its pretrial jails under one department, and the guide covers the facilities currently open, leaving out the closed ones. There is no statewide visiting schedule: each facility's current PDF schedule is posted on the Connecticut DOC Visiting page, and there are no visits on state holidays, so the facility's own schedule is the one to check. The guide lists each facility with its address, phone number, and warden, from Bridgeport and Hartf

Delaware is a small system with a clear visiting setup, and the guide gives exact appointment details for each of its four institutions. At Delores J. Baylor Women's Correctional Institution, visits run by housing unit, all by appointment: Units 5 through 9 visit Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, and Units 3 and 4 visit Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, at 8:30–9:30 a.m., 10:30–11:30 a.m., 12:30–1:30 p.m., and 2:30–3:30 p.m., scheduled one week ahead by calling (302) 577-5837, Monda

Florida's guide covers 77 institutions, annexes, units, and re-entry centers across the state, with each facility's address, phone number, and warden listed. If your loved one is in Florida custody, the first step is approval: you must become an approved visitor by completing the Visitation Application, form DC6-111A. Everyone aged 12 or older must apply, and you mail the form to the Classification Department at your loved one's current location, or e-mail it to that location

Georgia's guide draws from the Georgia Department of Corrections Locations directory, covering state prisons, county correctional institutions, transitional centers, and detention and treatment centers; county jails are excluded. For each facility, the guide lists its address, phone number, population served, and visiting days and hours where posted. Statewide, visits fall on Saturdays, Sundays, and state holidays, in two-hour blocks scheduled through the GDC visitation porta

Hawaii is different from most states in one important way: its Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation runs both prisons and the island jails, called community correctional centers. The guide covers eight facilities, from Halawa Correctional Facility in Aiea to the community correctional centers on Oahu, Hawaii, Maui, and Kauai, plus the Women's Community Correctional Center in Kailua, Hawaii's only women's prison. It also notes that about 1,400 Halawa men are housed at

Idaho's guide, from the Idaho Department of Correction under Director Bree Derrick, lists nine in-state facilities, most of them clustered around Kuna, plus two out-of-state facilities in Arizona: Saguaro Correctional Center in Eloy and Central Arizona Florence Correctional Center in Florence, both listed by the department as out-of-state facilities. Each entry gives the facility's address, phone number, contact e-mail, and warden. There is no statewide visiting schedule in I

Illinois's guide covers all 28 facilities on the department's Correctional Facilities list, under Director Latoya Hughes, with the warden, address, phone number, and visiting hours for each. The first rule to know is that every in-person visit must be signed up for in advance; there are no surprises at the gate. For mail, the general rule is that mail for people in custody uses the same address as business mail, with the person's name and IDOC number included. There are excep

Indiana's guide covers all 18 adult facilities linked from the department's Find a Facility page, under Commissioner Lloyd Arnold, with each facility's address, phone number, and personal-mail address. The mail rule is the detail families most need to get right. Personal mail goes to the person by full legal name and DOC number, with the facility name, at P.O. Box 460, Phoenix, MD 21131. Attorney-client mail and packages still go directly to the facility, and after July 31, 2

Iowa's guide covers the state's nine correctional institutions, under Director Dr. Beth Skinner, with each facility's address, phone number, and warden. The visiting system here is centralized and refreshingly straightforward: in-person and video visits are free for approved visitors, and both are scheduled through the Ameelio app. Every adult visitor submits their own Visitor Application, and electronic applications are not accepted. You print, sign, and mail the application

Kansas's guide, from the department under Secretary of Corrections Jeff Zmuda, lists the state's correctional facilities and the Wichita Work Release Facility, with addresses, phone numbers, and visiting information from each facility's page. There is no statewide schedule: each facility's visit page on the department's site lists its hours, and visits are scheduled through IC Solutions at least 72 hours ahead. One rule shapes the whole process. Once a resident is eligible fo

Kentucky's guide covers all 14 adult institutions run by the Division of Adult Institutions, under Commissioner Cookie Crews, with each institution's address, phone number, and warden. The list runs from Bell County Forestry Camp in Pineville to the Kentucky State Penitentiary in Eddyville and the Kentucky Correctional Institution for Women in Pewee Valley, with complexes at West Liberty, Central City, LaGrange, Beattyville, Sandy Hook, Burgin, Wheelwright, and Fredonia in be

Staying close to someone inside a Louisiana facility starts with knowing the ground rules. The Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections lists eight state-operated adult institutions, and visiting works the same way at each of them in one important respect: visitors must be on the person's approved visiting list, and the facility will not confirm that list by phone, so check with your loved one first. Visitors aged 18 and older must show photo identification at ev

For families in Maine, the first step is getting approved. Only visitors on a resident's approved visiting list may visit, and at Maine State Prison in Warren, clearance can take up to six weeks, so it helps to apply early. Applications are available on each facility's page, and the guide lists the address and phone number for every facility. Visiting looks different from place to place. At Bolduc Correctional Facility in Warren, visits run two hours on Saturdays, Sundays, an