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California Institution For Men
California Institution For Men (CIM) contact, address, visiting, phone, mail and travel details. Confirm custody and current rules with the responsible agency.
Facility record · California
CIM · Chino · San Bernardino County
- SecurityLevels I–II
- Population2,283
- Occupancy104%
Jail411 holds no custody records. A listing here does not mean anyone is held at this address.
California Institution For Men (CIM) is a state prison in Chino, San Bernardino County, California. By capacity it is the 19th-largest of the 30 state prison records listed for California with a published capacity. It is one of 22 correctional facilities in San Bernardino County, and California operates 30 state prisons in total.
Contact & details
CDCR Infrastructure Master Plan, Appendix 1 (May 2026), period ending 30 April 2026
Finding someone first
Nothing below works without two things: confirmation that the person is at California Institution For Men, 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 California Institution For Men
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 · 13 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 CIM’s Visiting office.
Send it to: Mail the completed questionnaire to the Visiting Sergeant or Lieutenant, Attention: Visiting, California Institution for Men, P.O. Box 128, Chino, CA 91708. This is CIM’s official institution/staff mailbox.
What not to do: Do not mail the completed questionnaire back to the incarcerated person. Send it directly to CIM’s Visiting office at the institution/staff address above.
Do not use the housing-specific inmate mailboxes (Facilities A–D) for a visitor application. Those addresses route mail to incarcerated people, not Visiting.Book through the scheduling application
Use VSA to guarantee an appointment. CIM also accepts space-available walk-ins after the listed appointment blocks, but recommends scheduling ahead.
Open the Visitation Scheduling Application ↗
Walking in: Walk-ins start 2:00 p.m. Friday and 10:00 a.m. Saturday/Sunday. Call before relying on one; capacity limits can end or prevent visits.
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
Plan to arrive at least one hour before the appointment. Visitor processing may involve a wait, ID/pass checks, property search and metal detector; obey posted parking/traffic rules. https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/visitors/get-help/in-person-visiting-frequently-asked-questions/ https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/visitors/arrival-for-visiting/ https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/visitors/processing-of-visitors/
Parking: CDCR states all prisons provide separate visitor parking, including marked disabled spaces; a long walk or institution shuttle may be required. Follow local signs. https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/visitors/arrival-for-visiting/
Where to report: Report to the Friends Outside Visitor Center/Visiting Processing for ordinary visits and follow facility-specific directions after the person’s current housing is confirmed. Facility C is about two miles east of CIM’s main complex.
Bring the right things, and only those
Allowed in
- Only the published allowed-item list may enter. It permits limited vending money, a small clear bag, two keys, ID, specified photos/documents, and defined baby/medical items; weapons, drugs and unauthorized property are prohibited. https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/visitors/items-a-visitor-may-bring/
Identification: Adult visitors need current photo ID (driver license/state ID, military ID, ICE ID, U.S. or foreign passport, or Mexican Consulate photo ID). https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/visitors/identification-required-for-visiting/
How many may visit: General in-person visits are limited to five visitors at a time. Non-contact visits are limited to three visitors and are usually one to two hours. https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/visitors/types-of-visits/
Bringing a child: A minor must be with an approved adult and bring a certified birth certificate; guardians also need proof of guardianship, and another accompanying adult needs the original notarized annual consent form. https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/visitors/identification-required-for-visiting/
Video visits and cost: CDCR’s May 12, 2026 schedule lists CIM’s Securus phone transition for August 24 and tablet exchange August 25-31, with dates tentative. Published Securus video rate is $0.10/min and 30 free minutes/month; verify the currently active platform during transition. https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/family-resources/tablets/
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
California Institution For Men (CIM)
Facility A (WEST), California Institution for Men. Inmate's Housing, P.O. Box 368, Chino, CA 91708
Full committed name · CDCR number · housing
California Institution For Men (CIM)
Facility B (Reception Center Central), California Institution for Men, Inmate's Housing, P.O. Box 441, Chino, CA 91708
Full committed name · CDCR number · housing
California Institution For Men (CIM)
Facility C (EAST), California Institution for Men, Inmate's Housing, P.O. Box 500, Chino, CA 91708
Full committed name · CDCR number · housing
California Institution For Men (CIM)
Facility D, California Institution for Men, Inmate's Housing, P.O. Box 600, Chino, CA 91708
Full committed name · CDCR number · housing
California Institution For Men (CIM)
Legal Mail: P.O. Box 3100, Chino, CA 91708
Getting there, and staying
These Chino/Chino Hills properties are planning options, not endorsements. Confirm the drive to the correct CIM visitor entrance, exact room, accessibility features, parking, deposit and cancellation deadline. CIM’s Friends Outside Visitor Center says it provides visitor transportation. Call before travel for the current pickup point, eligibility, schedule, capacity and return-trip arrangement.
Confirm the last mile: Friends Outside Visitor Center transportation: (909) 597-5428. CIM main line: (909) 597-1821.
Where to stay
Rates and services change. Ask the property to confirm any accessibility need in the exact room reserved.
Somewhere to eat
| Place | What and when | Phone |
|---|---|---|
| McDonald’s14605 Ramona Drive, Chino, CA 91710 | Official page lists 4:00 a.m. drive-through and 4:30 a.m. lobby openings | (909) 393-3885 |
| IHOP12585 Central Avenue, Chino, CA 91710 | Official page lists 24-hour dining and takeout every day | (909) 613-1595 |
| Subway13641 Central Avenue, Unit L, Chino, CA 91710 | Official page lists an 8:00 a.m. opening and breakfast availability | (909) 315-8015 |
Local planning notes
Confirm the housing unit: Confirm the person’s current facility in CIRIS before travel. Facility C is about two miles east of CIM’s main complex, so the correct housing assignment changes where you need to go.
Road check: Check Caltrans QuickMap and CIM’s live visiting page immediately before leaving. VSA sends condition-related cancellation notices to appointment holders.
Inside the institution
Four separate facilities: A has eight dormitory units; B includes Palm Hall Administrative Segregation; C has four housing units and is about two miles east of the main complex; D has 12 housing units. https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/facility-locator/cim/
Restricted housing
Facility B includes Palm Hall as a designated Administrative Segregation Unit and receives CIM/CRC/camp cases, SHU-term transfers and court/institution transits. Segregated people are generally restricted to non-contact visits. https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/facility-locator/cim/ https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/visitors/types-of-visits/
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
CDCR and the federal Plata Receiver provide health care to all CDCR inmate-patients: DHCS provides mental-health and dental services, while the Receiver provides medical care. The statewide mental-health program provides access based on need. https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/dhcs/ https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/dhcs/mental-health-program/
Education, training and work
CIM publishes Adult Basic Education, ESL, GED/high school, literacy, college/correspondence, visual arts and extensive vocational/work training, including marine technology, deep-sea diving, laundry and food/beverage packaging. https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/facility-locator/cim/
Preparing for release
CIM offers pre-release programming, including Prison Fellowship Pre-release for people 12-18 months from release, life coaching, mentoring, parenting and substance-use/self-help programs. https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/facility-locator/cim/
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) · 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 San Bernardino County
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Can Jail411 tell me if someone is in custody right now?
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Does posting bond mean the person comes home?
Not always. A probation or parole hold, another county's warrant or an immigration detainer can keep someone in custody after bond is posted. Ask the jail what holds are on the booking before you pay.
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.