Prison and jail video visitation lets you see and speak with an incarcerated family member or friend through a screen, connecting from your phone, tablet, or computer while they use a kiosk or tablet inside the facility. To make it happen, you have to be approved as a visitor, register with the facility’s video vendor, schedule a slot, and connect at the booked time. As of April 6, 2026, federal rate caps limit a 30-minute video session to roughly $5.70 at larger jails and prisons, up to about $13.20 at the smallest rural lockups.1FCC. Incarcerated People’s Communications Services
Getting on the Approved Visitor List
Before you can schedule anything, the incarcerated person has to put you on their visitor list, and the facility has to clear you. You’ll submit your full legal name, date of birth, and identifying information so staff can run a background check. Processing runs anywhere from a few days at a small jail to two weeks or more at a large institution.
An active warrant or certain criminal convictions will get you denied. So will providing false information. Facilities treat visitation as a privilege, not a right, which gives administrators broad discretion over who gets approved and whose approval gets pulled later.2Justia US Supreme Court. Turner v Safley, 482 US 78 (1987)
Setting Up Your Vendor Account and Equipment
Each facility contracts with a specific video provider. The two biggest are Securus Technologies and ViaPath (formerly GTL). Once you’re cleared, you create an account with that vendor using the same name, date of birth, and contact details you gave the facility. The identities have to match. Sharing your login with someone else can get you permanently banned from the platform.
During registration you upload a clear photo of a valid, unexpired government ID — driver’s license, state ID, or passport. The system cross-checks it against your account, and during some visits the software runs a live facial scan to confirm you’re the approved visitor. A blurry upload or a mismatch between your face and the ID photo will stop you from connecting.
For hardware, you need a device with a working camera and microphone. A smartphone, tablet, or desktop with a webcam all work. Most vendors require their proprietary app on mobile and a specific browser like Chrome or Firefox on a computer; generic video-calling apps won’t connect. Vendors generally require a minimum of around 256 Kbps up and down, though 1 Mbps in both directions gives you noticeably fewer freezes. Wired ethernet is the most reliable option. If you’re on Wi-Fi, sit close to the router and run the vendor’s equipment test before your scheduled time.
Booking a Visit and What It Costs
Scheduling happens inside the vendor’s portal or app. The calendar shows open slots based on the facility’s visitation hours and the incarcerated person’s housing unit. Slots open several days ahead and the popular ones (evenings, weekends) fill fast. You pick the person from your approved list, choose a time, select a session length (usually 15 or 30 minutes), and pay at booking by credit card, debit card, or prepaid account balance. Most facilities cap how many visits a person can receive each week.
Prices used to range from about $5 to $15 for a 20- to 30-minute visit, with wide variation across facilities and heavy fees on top.3National Institute of Justice. Examining Video Visitation in Prison Under the FCC’s 2025 order implementing the Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act, per-minute caps took effect on April 6, 2026 and apply nationwide.1FCC. Incarcerated People’s Communications Services The ceilings for a 30-minute video session work out as follows:
- Prisons of any size: $0.25 per minute, or $7.50 for 30 minutes
- Large jails (1,000+ population): $0.19 per minute, or $5.70 for 30 minutes
- Medium jails (350–999): $0.19 per minute, or $5.70 for 30 minutes
- Small jails (100–349): $0.21 per minute, or $6.30 for 30 minutes
- Very small jails (50–99): $0.25 per minute, or $7.50 for 30 minutes
- Extremely small jails (under 50): $0.44 per minute, or $13.20 for 30 minutes
Those per-minute figures include a $0.02 facility cost additive providers can add above the base cap.4Federal Register. Implementation of the Martha Wright-Reed Act; Rates for Interstate Inmate Calling Services The highest rates hit the smallest rural jails, where fewer calls spread the provider’s fixed costs.
Just as important: the same FCC orders banned the ancillary charges that used to pile on top of the per-minute rate. Deposit fees, automated-payment fees, and third-party transaction fees are gone. Providers also can no longer pay site commissions to facilities in exchange for exclusive contracts, which the FCC found had been inflating prices for years.1FCC. Incarcerated People’s Communications Services The per-minute rate is the price. If you see unexplained fees on your account after April 2026, report them to the FCC.
What the Visit Itself Looks Like
Log in about 10 to 15 minutes before your scheduled time. The platform runs an equipment check and holds you in a virtual waiting room. You may be asked to hold your face up to the camera for a live identity scan. Once the incarcerated person reaches their station and both sides are confirmed ready, the video feed starts automatically.
A countdown timer shows exactly how much time remains. When it hits zero, the connection cuts, period. The clock runs from the moment the feed connects, not from when you logged in. Some vendors let you buy an extension at the time you book, but you can’t add time once the call is live.
Conduct Rules That Will End the Call
Facilities enforce strict rules during video visits, and a violation ends your session immediately. The ones people get caught by most often:
- Unauthorized people on camera. Only the approved visitor should be visible. If someone not on the list walks into the frame, the call terminates.
- Showing prohibited items. Holding up images of contraband, weapons, or anything staff reads as threatening ends the visit on the spot.
- Inappropriate gestures. Gang signs, coded hand signals, and sexually explicit behavior all trigger disconnection and can suspend your visiting privileges.
- Wrong environment. You’re expected to be in a well-lit, quiet room. Calling from a car or a bar can get you denied at check-in.
Many facilities apply a dress code to video visitors even though you’re at home. Common bans cover see-through or revealing clothing, anything with drug or violence imagery, and hoods or face coverings that obscure your identity. The specifics vary. Check the vendor portal or facility website before your first visit instead of finding out when staff kill the connection 30 seconds in. Repeat violations can suspend your privileges for six months to a year, and in serious cases permanently.
Monitoring and the Attorney-Client Exception
A standard video visit carries no expectation of privacy. The facility records audio and video, staff can watch and listen in real time, and recordings are kept on secure servers for months. They can be used in disciplinary proceedings or criminal investigations. When you accept the vendor’s terms of service, you consent to that monitoring.
Attorney-client calls are supposed to be different, but the protection isn’t automatic. The Sixth Amendment protects confidential communication with your lawyer, and federal judges have ordered facilities to stop recording attorney-client video sessions when violations came to light. No comprehensive federal statute currently exempts attorney-client video calls from recording, so in practice protection depends on each facility’s policy. If you or your attorney need a confidential video call, request an unmonitored legal call through the facility’s formal process rather than assuming a standard video visit will be private.
When the Call Drops
Dropped connections happen. The vendor’s servers, the facility’s internal network, and your own internet all have to hold up for the full 15 or 30 minutes, and sometimes they don’t. When a call drops because of a problem on the vendor’s side, you can usually submit a refund request or get a credit. Support reviews server logs to verify the interruption before processing anything.
If the problem was on your end, a refund is less likely. That’s why pre-visit testing matters. Close other apps and browser tabs eating bandwidth, confirm the app has camera and microphone permissions, and don’t switch between apps mid-call. After the visit ends, check your account dashboard for the visit log and your remaining balance. If a charge looks wrong, file a dispute through the vendor’s support portal while the transaction logs — kept for several months with exact start and stop times — are still fresh.