How to Fill Out and Submit a Department of Corrections Visiting Application

A department of corrections visiting application is the questionnaire and background-check authorization that facility staff use to decide whether to add you to an incarcerated person’s approved visitor list. In the federal system and in most state systems, the incarcerated person starts the process by mailing you a blank form; you fill in your personal information, disclose any criminal history, sign the release that lets the warden pull your record, and send the completed form back to the institution. Staff then run a background check and notify the inmate of the decision. Get a field wrong, leave something blank, or omit a conviction, and you add weeks to the wait or lose the approval outright.

How To Get The Form

In the federal Bureau of Prisons, an inmate receives a stack of blank Visitor Information Forms (BP-A0629) when they arrive at a new facility. They complete their portion first, then mail a copy to each person they want on their list. You fill in the remaining fields and send the finished form back to the institution’s address printed on it.¹ State departments of corrections work the same way, though many now let you download the application from the facility’s website or complete it through an online portal. If you don’t know where to start, call the specific facility’s visiting office or check its website.

What The Application Asks For

The questionnaire collects enough information to run a criminal background check and verify your identity. On the federal form, the required fields include your full legal name, date of birth, home address and zip code, phone number, race, sex, and your relationship to the inmate.² You also need to provide a Social Security number if you are a U.S. citizen, or an Alien Registration number or passport number if you are not. Most forms also ask for your driver’s license number and the state that issued it.

Two sections cause more trouble than the rest. The first is criminal history. The form asks whether you have ever been convicted of a crime and, if so, wants the number of convictions, dates, locations, and the nature of each offense. It also asks whether you are currently on probation, parole, or any other supervision, and if you are, it wants the name and contact information for your supervising officer.² Treat these questions as a truthfulness test. Investigators will cross-reference what you write against criminal databases, and omitting a conviction doesn’t hide it; it just makes you look deceptive.

The second is the release authorization at the bottom of the form, which you sign to give the warden permission to pull your criminal record from law enforcement agencies.² Without that signature, your application goes nowhere. The form also warns that making false statements can carry a fine of up to $250,000, imprisonment of up to five years, or both under 18 U.S.C. § 1001.

How Your Relationship To The Inmate Is Classified

Your relationship to the incarcerated person affects how the application is handled. Federal regulations sort visitors into categories:

Immediate family — mother, father, step-parents, foster parents, siblings, spouse, and children — are placed on the approved list unless strong circumstances prevent it.
Other relatives such as grandparents, uncles, aunts, in-laws, and cousins can be added if the inmate requests regular visits and there is no reason to exclude them.
Friends and associates are limited to ten people, and the visitor ordinarily must have had an established relationship with the inmate before incarceration, though exceptions exist for inmates with few other potential visitors.

Separate categories cover attorneys, clergy, employers, and civic group members, and the facility may ask for official credentials or assignment documentation before granting access.³

If You Are Not A U.S. Citizen

If you don’t have a Social Security number, you can typically use an Alien Registration number or a foreign passport number on the form. On visit day, many facilities accept a valid foreign passport with a photo, a U.S. immigration identification card, or a consular-issued photo ID. The address on your photo ID should match the address on your application; a mismatch can hold up or sink approval. If your only ID is from outside the United States, call the facility ahead of time to confirm what they will accept at the front desk.

Applications For Minors

Children under 16 cannot visit a federal facility unless a responsible adult accompanies them and keeps them supervised throughout the visit.³ For anyone under 18, a parent or legal guardian must sign the Visitor Information Form before the application can be processed. If the child is a verified immediate family member of the inmate, the facility may waive the detailed questionnaire portion (items 1 through 14), but the guardian’s signature is still required.⁴ Visitors under 16 who come with a parent or legal guardian are generally exempt from the photo ID requirement that applies to adults.

When someone other than a legal parent brings a child, most facilities require written authorization from the custodial parent, and some states want it notarized, naming both the escort and the specific inmate the child will visit. Bring the child’s birth certificate or court-issued guardianship papers to prove the relationship.

Submitting The Completed Form

In the federal system the submission works as a loop: the inmate mails the blank form to you, you complete it, and you mail the finished form back to the institution’s address listed on the form. The inmate is responsible for sending you the form, and the institution handles the background investigation from there.⁵ State prisons increasingly accept applications through secure online portals where you upload scans of your ID with the completed questionnaire. Some state portals take about 20 to 30 minutes and can’t be saved as a draft, so gather every piece of information before you start.

No matter how you submit, check every field before the form leaves your hands. A form returned for missing information adds weeks to the wait. If you are mailing a paper copy, use a method that provides delivery confirmation, and keep a photocopy of everything you send.

The Background Check And Timeline

Once the facility receives your completed form and signed release, staff may forward your information to law enforcement agencies and run it through national criminal databases, including the National Crime Information Center.¹ The check is more thorough for friends and associates than for immediate family. If little or no background information is available on you, visiting may be denied until the facility gathers what it needs.⁵

Processing times vary. Some state systems advertise 60-day turnarounds, and systems with online portals sometimes respond within days. Federal facilities don’t publish a standard timeline. The inmate is typically notified of the approval or denial and is responsible for letting you know the outcome, though some facilities also send written notice to the applicant’s mailing address.⁵ If several weeks pass with no word, call the facility’s visiting office for a status update.

Why Applications Get Denied

A criminal record alone does not automatically disqualify you. Federal regulations direct staff to weigh the nature, extent, and recency of any convictions against the institution’s security concerns.³ Some situations make denial far more likely, though:

Active warrants or fugitive status. Expect an automatic rejection, and remember that showing up at a correctional facility with an open warrant puts your own freedom at risk.
Current parole or probation. Many facilities bar visitors under active criminal justice supervision. Where exceptions exist, you typically need written approval from your supervising officer and from the warden or superintendent.
False or incomplete information. Omitting a conviction, using a fake name, or misstating your relationship to the inmate is grounds for immediate denial, and the federal form warns of criminal penalties under 18 U.S.C. § 1001.²
History of introducing contraband. Attempting to bring drugs, weapons, phones, or any prohibited item into a facility, at any point, at any institution, is one of the fastest routes to a permanent ban.
Active no-contact or protective order. If a court has issued one between you and the incarcerated person, the facility will almost certainly deny the application to enforce it.

Former felons who have completed their sentences can often apply, but many state systems impose a waiting period of roughly one to three years from the end of the sentence, depending on whether you served time in custody or completed probation. Immediate family members sometimes qualify for earlier review. If you have a past felony, call the facility before filling out the form and ask about eligibility so you don’t waste the application.

If Your Application Is Denied

Most correctional systems have an administrative appeal process, though deadlines and procedures vary. In some state systems you must submit a written appeal letter within 30 days of the denial, addressed to a designated official such as a deputy division director. The reviewing authority takes a fresh look at the information and responds in writing. If the denial is upheld, you may be eligible to reapply after a set period, often one year.

Federal facilities handle appeals through the warden’s office, with less formal codification; you write to the warden explaining why the denial should be reconsidered. Whatever the system, address the specific reason for the denial. If the denial was based on a criminal record, explain what has changed since the conviction. If it was based on missing information, provide it. A vague request for reconsideration without new facts rarely changes anything.

Keeping Your Approved Status

Approval is not permanent. If your name, address, phone number, or criminal history changes after you are approved, you have to report the change to the facility. Failing to update your information can get you removed from the visiting list or force you to submit a new questionnaire. Any conduct violation during a visit, such as attempting to pass items to the inmate, disruptive behavior, or ignoring staff instructions, can lead to suspension or permanent revocation of your visiting privileges. The facility also retains the right to restrict visiting at any time for institutional security, staffing constraints, or emergency lockdowns.³

One last point worth knowing before visit day: approval only clears you to enter. Facilities enforce dress codes, prohibit cell phones and most other personal items, and set their own visiting hours and day-of-week restrictions. Federal law under 18 U.S.C. § 1791 provides a penalty of up to twenty years in prison for providing prohibited items to an inmate.⁵ Check the specific facility’s rules on clothing, scheduling, and permitted items before you drive out.

1
Federal Bureau of Prisons. How to Visit a Federal Inmate
2
Federal Bureau of Prisons. Form BP-A0629 – Visitor Information
3
eCFR. 28 CFR Part 540 Subpart D – Visiting Regulations
4
Federal Bureau of Prisons. Visiting Regulations Program Statement
5
eCFR. 28 CFR 540.51 – Procedures