Prison Phone Systems and Services: Rates, Fees & Accounts

Prison phone systems are the voice, video, and messaging services that connect people in custody with family, friends, and attorneys. They are run by a small group of private companies under exclusive contracts with each facility, every non-privileged call is recorded, and federal rate caps limit what you can be charged. The newest caps take effect April 6, 2026, and will hold prison audio calls to $0.11 per minute and video calls to $0.25 per minute.¹

Who Runs the Phones

Three companies dominate the market: ViaPath Technologies (formerly Global Tel Link), Securus Technologies, and ICSolutions. Each negotiates an exclusive agreement with a federal, state, or local corrections agency, so the people inside a given facility and the families they call have no choice of carrier. If the service is unreliable, switching providers is not an option until the contract expires and the facility rebids.

In exchange for exclusivity, the provider installs and maintains the hardware at no upfront cost to the agency: wall-mounted phones, secure servers, video kiosks, the connecting infrastructure, and the monitoring software used by staff.

What Services These Systems Offer

Correctional telecommunications now go well beyond phone calls. Most facilities offer a combination of voice calls, video visits, electronic messaging, and tablet-based services.

Video visitation lets families have face-to-face conversations through streaming software without traveling to the facility. In some locations, video visits have partially or fully replaced in-person visitation. Electronic messaging works like a simplified email system, but every message passes through a review process where staff can flag content. Messages are typically purchased in bundles of digital credits.

Many facilities now hand out restricted tablets that give incarcerated people access to messaging, educational content, music, and entertainment. These devices run locked-down operating systems that block the open internet and social media. Content pricing varies: music downloads can cost anywhere from $0.99 to $9.99 per track, audiobooks from $0.99 to $19.99, and streaming entertainment around $0.03 to $0.05 per minute depending on the contract.

What a Call Will Cost in 2026

Under the FCC’s 2025 IPCS Order, per-minute caps take effect April 6, 2026. Rates vary by facility type and population size, with larger facilities getting lower caps because higher call volume reduces per-unit costs. Each cap includes a $0.02 per-minute additive the facility can use to recover its own costs of making the service available.¹

The effective caps (including the facility cost additive) beginning April 6, 2026 are:

Prisons (any population): $0.11/minute audio, $0.25/minute video
Large jails (1,000+ daily population): $0.10/minute audio, $0.19/minute video
Medium jails (350–999): $0.12/minute audio, $0.19/minute video
Small jails (100–349): $0.13/minute audio, $0.21/minute video
Very small jails (50–99): $0.15/minute audio, $0.25/minute video
Extremely small jails (under 50): $0.19/minute audio, $0.44/minute video

The caps apply to intrastate, interstate, and international calls alike, though providers may add a surcharge on international audio calls to cover the cost of terminating calls to foreign destinations.¹

Fees That Should No Longer Appear on Your Bill

For years, providers padded revenue with add-on charges: automated payment fees, live-agent transaction fees, paper statement fees, and account maintenance charges that could add several dollars to every deposit or call. The 2024 IPCS Order eliminated separate ancillary charges entirely, folding those costs into the per-minute caps, and the 2025 Order kept that prohibition in place.¹ If you see itemized fees beyond the per-minute rate on your account, that is worth investigating.

Site commissions were another driver of high prices. These were revenue-sharing payments from providers back to corrections agencies, with a cut of every call going to the facility. The FCC found that site commissions are not a legitimate cost of providing phone service and prohibited them. Starting April 6, 2026, providers cannot make site commission payments, and state or local laws requiring them are preempted by the federal rule.¹

Opening and Funding an Account

Before anyone in custody can call you, you need an account with the provider that holds the contract at their facility. Start by identifying the company. The facility’s website or intake materials usually name the provider, and you can also call the facility directly to ask.

You will need the incarcerated person’s full legal name and the identification number assigned by the corrections agency. Registration happens on the provider’s website, where you enter your contact information, phone number, and billing address. Most providers offer two account structures:

Prepaid collect account, often called “AdvancePay.” You fund a balance tied to your specific phone number. When the incarcerated person calls your number, the system draws from that balance. Only calls to your number can use the funds.
Debit account. The incarcerated person holds the balance and can use it to call any approved number on their contact list. Funds are deposited into their account rather than tied to a single recipient.

Double-check every detail during registration. A wrong digit in the phone number or ID can block calls until customer service corrects it, and that process can take days.

Providers accept credit cards, debit cards, and electronic transfers through their website or mobile app. Funds typically appear within minutes for card payments; cash deposits made at retail locations can take longer. Low-balance alerts through the provider’s app prevent your balance from running out mid-call. Review your transaction history regularly. Under the current rules, you should see only per-minute charges with no separate fees. If a call drops because of a technical problem on the provider’s end, most companies allow you to request a credit through customer service. Keep notes on when the drop occurred; providers are more responsive when you can point to a specific time and date.

Monitoring and Why Calls Get Cut Off

Nearly every communication through these systems is recorded and monitored. When a call connects, an automated message warns both parties that the conversation is being recorded. Voice recognition verifies that the caller matches the registered account, and metadata like call duration and the recipient’s location is logged. These measures apply to all non-privileged communications.

The most common cause of involuntary disconnection is three-way call detection. If you accept a call-waiting tone, attempt to merge another caller onto the line, or have call forwarding active, the system will typically terminate the call immediately. In many facilities, the incarcerated person can also face disciplinary consequences. Answering machines, toll-free numbers, and 900 numbers are also blocked. Disabling call waiting and call forwarding on your line prevents most accidental disconnections.

Attorney Calls Are Treated Differently

Calls between an incarcerated person and their attorney are supposed to be shielded from monitoring. Federal Bureau of Prisons regulations prohibit staff from monitoring a properly placed call to an attorney and require each warden to inform incarcerated people how to set up unmonitored legal calls.² The warden also cannot restrict how often someone calls their attorney when other communication methods like mail or visits are inadequate.³

State facilities have their own rules, but the principle is the same: attorney-client calls require special handling. The attorney’s number typically must be registered and flagged so the call routes through an unmonitored channel. Without that registration, the call gets recorded like any other. Recording a privileged attorney call can violate the federal Wiretap Act, which treats each recorded conversation as a separate violation and allows civil lawsuits for damages.⁴ Attorneys should confirm with the facility that their number is properly flagged before the first call.

Accessibility for Deaf, Hard-of-Hearing, and Speech-Disabled Users

Federal rules require providers to make services accessible to incarcerated people who are deaf, hard of hearing, deafblind, or have a speech disability. The specific services depend on the facility’s average daily population and whether broadband is available.⁵

Facilities with a daily population of 50 or more and broadband access must offer the widest range of services, including Video Relay Service for ASL users, Internet Protocol Captioned Telephone Service, IP Relay, TTY-based relay, and Speech-to-Speech relay. Facilities of the same size without broadband must still provide captioned telephone service, TTY relay, and Speech-to-Speech. The smallest facilities (under 50 people) need only offer TTY-based relay and Speech-to-Speech. Providers must also supply screen-equipped devices capable of running the necessary software.⁵

Providers cannot charge for relay service calls made through VRS, IP Relay, TTY, or Speech-to-Speech, and they cannot charge for access to the devices needed to use those services. For captioned telephone service or ASL point-to-point video, the charge cannot exceed what the facility charges for a standard voice call of the same length. TTY-to-TTY calls are capped at 25 percent of the equivalent voice call rate.⁵

Getting Your Money Back from an Unused Account

Money you deposit remains your property until it is spent. The provider cannot touch the balance for at least 180 consecutive days of inactivity. Any activity during that window, including adding funds, making a call, or contacting the provider to say you want to keep the account, resets the clock.⁶

After 180 days of continuous inactivity (or longer if state law requires), the provider must make a reasonable effort to refund your remaining balance. If the refund attempt fails, the funds go to the state under unclaimed property laws rather than back to the provider.⁶ If someone is transferred or released, request a refund promptly. The process is straightforward while the account is active and harder once inactivity timelines start running.

Filing a Complaint

If a provider is overcharging you, billing fees that should no longer exist, or failing to meet accessibility requirements, you can file a complaint with the FCC. The fastest route is the online consumer complaint portal. Select “Billing” under phone issues, then “Incarcerated People” as the sub-issue. You can also call 1-888-225-5322 (ASL users: 1-844-432-2275) or mail a written complaint to the FCC’s Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau in Washington, D.C.⁷

Include your account details, the provider’s name, the facility, and documentation. Screenshots of billing statements showing charges above the rate caps or prohibited ancillary fees strengthen the complaint. The FCC tracks complaint volume by provider and facility, and patterns have historically contributed to enforcement actions and rule changes.

1
Federal Communications Commission. Incarcerated People’s Communications Services
2
eCFR. 28 CFR 540.102 – Telephone Monitoring
3
eCFR. 28 CFR Part 540 Subpart I – Telephone Regulations for Inmates
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 2511 – Interception and Disclosure of Wire, Oral, or Electronic Communications Prohibited
5
Federal Communications Commission. Frequently Asked Questions – Communications Services for Incarcerated People with Disabilities
6
eCFR. 47 CFR 64.6130 – Interim Protections of Consumer Funds in Inactive Accounts
7
Federal Communications Commission. Incarcerated People’s Communications Services