Are prison calls free? In most facilities, no — but the cost has fallen sharply, and free calling is spreading. The Federal Bureau of Prisons gives 300 free minutes a month to anyone taking part in approved rehabilitation programming, and at least six states have made calls from their state prisons free outright. Everywhere else, new FCC rules taking effect April 6, 2026 cap audio calls at between $0.10 and $0.19 per minute depending on facility size, so a 15-minute call will cost no more than about $2.85 even from the smallest county jail.1Federal Communications Commission. Incarcerated People’s Communications Services
Where Calls Are Already Free
The Federal Bureau of Prisons started covering phone costs during the pandemic under the CARES Act in March 2020 and kept paying after that funding ran out in 2022. On January 1, 2025, the BOP switched to a programming-based model. People who participate in First Step Act evidence-based recidivism reduction programs now get 300 free phone minutes each month, whether or not they qualify for earned time credits. Anyone who opts out of programming pays for their own calls.2Federal Bureau of Prisons. FBOP Updates to Phone Call Policies and Time Credit System
At the state level, at least six states have passed laws or adopted policies making calls from state prisons free. The trend began in 2021 and has picked up since. These changes typically cover state prisons and, in some cases, youth facilities. County jails are a separate matter and usually aren’t included. If you’re not sure where your state stands, call the state department of corrections directly, because the list keeps growing.
What You’ll Pay in 2026
Where calls aren’t free, the FCC’s 2025 IPCS Order sets interim rate caps that apply to all audio calls — local, in-state, and long-distance — starting April 6, 2026. Caps vary by the facility’s average daily population. The maximum per-minute charge, which includes a $0.02 facility cost additive, works out to:1Federal Communications Commission. Incarcerated People’s Communications Services
- Prisons of any size: $0.11 per minute
- Large jails (1,000 or more people): $0.10 per minute
- Medium jails (350–999): $0.12 per minute
- Small jails (100–349): $0.13 per minute
- Very small jails (50–99): $0.15 per minute
- Extremely small jails (under 50): $0.19 per minute
At these rates, a 15-minute call from a state prison costs at most $1.65. From the smallest county jails, the same call tops out at $2.85. A decade ago, some facilities charged $14 or more for the same conversation.
The caps are labeled “interim” for a reason. The FCC’s 2024 order set lower permanent caps, but telecom providers challenged them in court, and the commission issued the current rates while the rulemaking continues. Rates could move again.3Federal Register. Incarcerated People’s Communication Services – Implementation of the Martha Wright-Reed Act
International calls follow a different formula. Providers can charge the applicable domestic cap plus the wholesale per-minute cost the provider actually pays its international carrier, with no markup on that wholesale portion. Expensive destinations can still add up, but the pass-through model keeps rates far below the old norm, when some facilities charged $45 for a 15-minute international call.4Federal Register. Rates for Interstate Inmate Calling Services
Video Calls and Messaging
Many facilities also offer video visitation and electronic messaging through tablets. The 2025 FCC order brought video calls under rate caps for the first time, also effective April 6, 2026. Including the $0.02 facility additive, the per-minute caps are:1Federal Communications Commission. Incarcerated People’s Communications Services
- Prisons: $0.25 per minute
- Large jails: $0.19 per minute
- Medium jails: $0.19 per minute
- Small jails: $0.21 per minute
- Very small jails: $0.25 per minute
- Extremely small jails: $0.44 per minute
A 15-minute video call from a state prison runs up to $3.75 under these caps. Video remains two to three times more expensive per minute than audio at every facility size.
Electronic messaging — the email-style systems where people buy digital “stamps” to send and receive messages — is not yet capped by the FCC. Per-message fees typically run $0.25 to $0.50. Some facilities also charge monthly subscriptions for tablet content like streaming music or movies, running roughly $2 to $6 a month.
Fees That Can No Longer Be Added
The per-minute rate used to be only part of the bill. For years, providers paid correctional facilities “site commissions” — a cut of calling revenue, sometimes above 60%, in exchange for exclusive contracts — and those payments were built into what families paid. The FCC’s rules bar site commission payments entirely as of April 6, 2026, and preempt any state or local laws that required them.1Federal Communications Commission. Incarcerated People’s Communications Services
Families also used to face a web of add-on charges: fees for funding an account, automated payment fees, paper billing fees, and single-call surcharges. The FCC’s 2024 order banned these separately assessed ancillary charges, and the 2025 order kept that ban in place. Providers cannot tack on fees for automated payments or third-party financial transactions on top of the per-minute rate.
Setting Up and Funding a Calling Account
Before the person inside can call you, you’ll usually need an account with the facility’s contracted provider. Two companies dominate the market — ViaPath Technologies (formerly Global Tel*Link) and Securus Technologies — and together they serve roughly 80% of prisons and jails. A few smaller companies, including NCIC, handle the rest. The facility determines which site or app you’ll use.
Setup generally takes your name, contact information, and the incarcerated person’s ID number. Accounts are prepaid: you deposit money online, by phone, or at a lobby kiosk where available, and call charges draw against the balance. In some systems, the incarcerated person can also fund their own “debit” calling account from their commissary balance.
Under the FCC’s ancillary fee bans, providers can no longer charge convenience fees for automated payments or impose minimum or maximum deposit amounts. A $20 deposit that used to carry a $3 to $6 service fee should now come through clean. If you’re still being charged after the compliance deadline, you can file a complaint with the FCC.
One detail that catches families off guard: unused balances don’t vanish when someone is released or transferred, but getting a refund can take persistence. Policies vary by provider and facility. Contact customer service as soon as a transfer or release happens, because waiting months tends to complicate the process.
How the Calls Actually Work
All calls are outgoing. The person inside places the call from a designated phone to a number on their approved contact list; incoming calls to the facility aren’t possible. Facilities review and authorize the contact list, and changes are often processed on a set schedule, quarterly in many systems. If your number isn’t on the list, the call won’t connect.5Federal Communications Commission. Incarcerated People’s Communications Services
Calls come in two forms. Prepaid calls draw from a funded account and are almost always cheaper. Collect calls bill the recipient, who hears an automated message identifying the call as coming from a correctional facility and must accept the charges before the conversation starts. If you have a choice, go prepaid.
Most facilities cap individual calls at 15 to 30 minutes. A warning tone usually sounds about a minute before the call cuts off automatically.6Federal Bureau of Prisons. Program Statement 5264.08 – Inmate Telephone Regulations Expect a cooldown of 30 to 60 minutes before another call can be placed, so everyone has a turn at the limited number of phones.
Assume the Call Is Monitored
Nearly every call from a correctional facility is recorded and monitored. Signs by the phones notify callers that using the phone counts as consent, and the person on the outside hears an automated disclosure at the start of the call.6Federal Bureau of Prisons. Program Statement 5264.08 – Inmate Telephone Regulations Anything said can be used in investigations or disciplinary proceedings. Treat every call that way.
The one meaningful exception is attorney calls. Federal policy and most state systems provide a process for placing unmonitored calls to attorneys to protect attorney-client privilege. In federal prisons, the incarcerated person has to request an unmonitored legal call through proper channels, and staff will not listen once the call is verified as going to an attorney’s business number. Placing a legal call before that confirmation waives confidentiality for that call.