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Avenal State Prison
Avenal State Prison (ASP) contact, address, visiting, phone, mail and travel details. Confirm custody and current rules with the responsible agency.
Facility record · California
ASP · Avenal · Kings County
- SecurityLevels I–II
- Population3,795
- Occupancy157%
Jail411 holds no custody records. A listing here does not mean anyone is held at this address.
Avenal State Prison (ASP) is a state prison in Avenal, Kings County, California, operated by California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. By capacity it is the 12th-largest of the 30 state prison records listed for California with a published capacity. It is one of 5 correctional facilities in Kings County, and California operates 30 state prisons in total.
Contact & details
February 2026 federal directory dataset
Finding someone first
Nothing below works without two things: confirmation that the person is at Avenal State Prison, and their CDCR number. Book a visit without them and you will be turned away; post a letter without the number and the mailroom cannot route it.
CDCR's public search covers people in CDCR custody. A disclaimer must be accepted before searching, and CDCR states the tool is informational rather than an official record. County jail populations are held separately.
CIRIS — California Incarcerated Records and Information Search ↗
Visiting Avenal State Prison
This is what the institution publishes, in the order you will meet it: when visits run, how to get approved, how to book, when to arrive, and what you may carry in.
When visits run
Visiting open · 26 August 2026Get approved
You must be approved before booking. The incarcerated person first sends you a signed CDCR Form 106 Visiting Questionnaire. Complete that copy, then mail it directly to ASP’s Visiting office.
Send it to: Mail the completed questionnaire to the Visiting Sergeant or Lieutenant, addressed to the attention of “Visiting”: P.O. Box 903, Avenal, CA 93204
What not to do: Do not mail the completed questionnaire back to the incarcerated person. Send it directly to ASP’s Visiting office at the staff-mail address below.
Most prisons use a DIFFERENT address for mail to staff than for mail to an incarcerated person. Use the staff address. A questionnaire sent to the inmate mail address does not reach Visiting.Book through the scheduling application
Approved visitors must request an ASP visit through CDCR’s Visitation Scheduling Application (VSA). ASP says visit requests sent by email will not be reviewed.
Open the Visitation Scheduling Application ↗
Best practice: Request the visit as soon as the window opens, keep the confirmation, and check the live status again before travel.
Walking in: Walk-ins are possible during ASP’s posted walk-in periods but remain subject to capacity and current institutional restrictions.
Non-contact and restricted-housing visitsNon-contact visiting is not a choice — it is what applies while someone is in reception (newly admitted to CDCR, or just transferred between prisons) or is segregated.
Arrive, and report to visitor processing
May arrive 30 minutes before processing; check status/roads and posted pauses/cutoffs.
Parking: No facility-specific layout published; follow on-site signs/staff.
Where to report: Process through ASP visitor processing center; contact visiting staff for accommodations/guidance.
Bring the right things, and only those
Allowed in
- Property limited to specified clear bag, keys, ID, comb/brush, tissues, glasses, limited photos/documents, baby supplies, and coin limits.
Identification: Valid government photo ID: driver license, ID card, passport, or consular ID.
How many may visit: No fixed cap published; confirm in VSA/with ASP staff.
Bringing a child: Certified birth certificate required each visit; overnight rules require immediate-family escort and notarized permission when escort is not parent/guardian.
Video visits and cost: No current video fee published; confirm in VSA/with staff.
Phone calls, money and mail
Phone calls
You cannot call in. CDCR states that it is up to the incarcerated person to initiate the call, and that calls are limited to 15 minutes. That single fact explains most of what families find confusing: the switchboard will not connect you, there is no voicemail, and a call arriving from an unfamiliar number is normal. What you can do from the outside is make sure the call can reach you — that your number is not blocked by your carrier, that it is not a VoIP or virtual number the system will refuse, and that whatever account arrangement the facility uses is set up and funded before he tries. For anything urgent, a message goes through the institution rather than the phone system.
Putting money on the books
Before anything else you need the person's CDCR number, from California Incarcerated Records and Information Search (CIRIS), and their current location from CDCR's facility locator. CDCR then lists three routes. Electronic funds transfer through one of its vendors: GTL/ConnectNetwork, JPay, or Access Corrections. A lock box deposit, which CDCR states carries no fee when sent by money order, personal check or cashier's check: complete the Money Order Deposit Form with the sender's name and address, make the payment payable to JPay, and mail it to JPay, 2202 South Figueroa St, Box #3001, Los Angeles, CA 90007. CDCR caps this at $999.99 per money order, holds personal checks for ten business days, and warns that any letter or note enclosed with a payment will be discarded. Or send a check or money order to the institution itself. Vendor fees vary by amount and method, so check the vendor's own figure before you send.
Writing to someone here
Anyone may write to a person in a California state prison. Incoming letters are opened and inspected for contraband, then forwarded. CDCR asks that the envelope carry the person's full committed name and CDC number, the institution name, the P.O. box and housing assignment where known (CDCR states housing is preferable), and the city, CA and ZIP. The housing assignment is the part most people do not have: get it, and the CDCR number, from California Incarcerated Records and Information Search (CIRIS), from the institution's Public Information Officer, or from CDCR's Identification Unit. Note that the address mail goes to is not always the institution's street address, so confirm it before posting anything you cannot replace.
Full committed name · CDCR number · housing
Avenal State Prison (ASP)
Facility A, P.O. Box 901, Avenal, CA 93204
Full committed name · CDCR number · housing
Avenal State Prison (ASP)
Facility B, P.O. Box 902, Avenal, CA 93204
Full committed name · CDCR number · housing
Avenal State Prison (ASP)
Facility C, P.O. Box 903, Avenal, CA 93204
Full committed name · CDCR number · housing
Avenal State Prison (ASP)
Facility D, P.O. Box 904, Avenal, CA 93204
Full committed name · CDCR number · housing
Avenal State Prison (ASP)
Facility E, P.O. Box 905, Avenal, CA 93204
Full committed name · CDCR number · housing
Avenal State Prison (ASP)
Facility F, P.O. Box 906, Avenal, CA 93204
Full committed name · CDCR number · housing
Avenal State Prison (ASP)
All Staff: P.O. Box 8, Avenal, CA 93204
Full committed name · CDCR number · housing
Avenal State Prison (ASP)
Personnel Department: P.O. Box 39, Avenal, CA 93204
Getting there, and staying
Avenal itself has no hotel of note. Kettleman City, about nine miles away at I-5 Exit 309, is the usual overnight stop; Coalinga is about 15-16 miles. KART Route 12 serves the city of Avenal, but KART’s current route page does not list Avenal State Prison as a stop. Do not plan on the bus reaching the visitor entrance; arrange a reliable last-mile ride and a return ride before traveling.
Confirm the last mile: Kings Area Regional Transit: (559) 852-2717.
Where to stay
Somewhere to eat
| Place | What and when | Phone |
|---|---|---|
| Super Burger800 Skyline Blvd, Avenal, CA 93204 | (559) 386-9177 | |
| Chaguitos Tacos809 Skyline Blvd, Avenal, CA 93204 | often listed as open 24 hours | (559) 386-3199 |
| Tacos Y Tortas Chalio's 2836 Skyline Blvd, Avenal, CA 93204 | often listed as open 24 hours | (559) 386-9010 |
| La Nueva Reyna121 E Kings St, Avenal, CA 93204 | also listed as (559) 386-4603 | (559) 386-9697 |
Local planning notes
Fuel up in Avenal or at Kettleman City on I-5. Several Avenal taquerias and some gas stations are listed as open late or 24 hours, which matters for an early visiting slot or a late release.
Inside the institution
Six semi-autonomous facilities, A through F, organised into three complexes inside one secure perimeter. Overwhelmingly open-dormitory rather than cellblock: 100 cell beds and 2,324 dormitory beds.
Restricted housing
Avenal reported that it no longer maintains a segregated or restricted-housing area. Where segregated placement is required, the person is generally transferred to another prison, typically Pleasant Valley State Prison.
Health care, programs and release preparation
These services differ by institution. The details below describe what this prison reports, not a systemwide promise that every person qualifies for every program.
Health care
Three combined medical and mental-health clinics, six dental operatories, and an Outpatient Housing Unit for people needing help with daily living but not inpatient care. Mental health is delivered through the Correctional Clinical Case Management System. Integrated Substance Use Disorder Treatment includes Medication-Assisted Treatment and Cognitive Behavioral Intervention.
Education, training and work
Golden Hills Adult School, WASC accredited. Basic education, GED, high-school diploma and college coursework. Career technical education in auto body, auto mechanics, building maintenance, carpentry, computers, electrical, electronics, HVAC, industrial painting, machine shop, masonry, plumbing, small-engine repair and welding, with NCCER, Microsoft, ASE and AWS certification available. CrossFit 1 Kings Way opened May 2025 as California's first prison CrossFit affiliate run entirely by incarcerated coaches.
Preparing for release
Designated CDCR Reentry Hub. Work covers parole planning, social skills, connecting people to community services and preparing for transition back into the community. 18 Inmate Leisure Time Activity Groups run across Facilities A-F.
Reported figures
These are the institution’s own returns to the state, and every group is dated. They have to be: the figures come from separate documents on separate cadences, and reading the whole set as one snapshot would be wrong.
Capacity and population
as at 30 April 2026How the population is housed
as at 30 June 2024Staffing
as at 30 June 2024Education and training
as at 30 June 2024CDCR Infrastructure Master Plan, Appendix 1 (May 2026) (Public record) · CDCR weekly population report (August 12, 2026) (Public record) · California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, SB601 Reporting (CC BY 4.0)
Guides that go wider than this institution
These cover the same ground across every facility in the directory, which is what you want if the person may be moved, or if you are helping someone in a different state.
Other facilities in Kings County
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What should I confirm before visiting?
The person's current facility, the visiting schedule, approval requirements, accepted identification and arrival instructions. Check the facility page and its official sources before you travel.
What if I find something that needs correcting?
Send us the page and the detail that needs attention. Include the official source when you have one. Do not send private booking documents or other sensitive personal information.
Plan the next step.
Practical guides for calls, visits, mail, money and release.