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California Men's Colony
California Men's Colony (CMC) contact, address, visiting, phone, mail and travel details. Confirm custody and current rules with the responsible agency.
Facility record · California
CMC · San Luis Obispo · San Luis Obispo County
- SecurityLevels I–III
- Population2,140
- Occupancy82%
Jail411 holds no custody records. A listing here does not mean anyone is held at this address.
California Men's Colony (CMC) is a state prison in San Luis Obispo, San Luis Obispo County, California. By capacity it is the 9th-largest of the 30 state prison records listed for California with a published capacity. It is one of 6 correctional facilities in San Luis Obispo 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 Men's Colony, 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 Men's Colony
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 · 23 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 CMC’s Visiting office.
Send it to: Mail the completed questionnaire to California Men’s Colony, Attention: Visiting, P.O. Box 8101, San Luis Obispo, CA 93409-8101. This is CMC’s official staff mailing address.
What not to do: Do not mail the completed questionnaire back to the incarcerated person. Send it directly to CMC’s Visiting office at the staff address above.
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
Use VSA for all scheduled CMC visits. Approved visitors may attempt the published walk-in windows, but space, processing cutoffs and the Friday count closure control access.
Open the Visitation Scheduling Application ↗
Walking in: Walk-ins start 2:30 p.m. Friday and 11:15 a.m. Saturday/Sunday. CMC says walk-ins may not enter the gatehouse during the 30 minutes before the walk-in start.
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
Visitor processing starts at the posted visiting start time and continues until one hour before the posted end time. Adults complete a pass; visitors and possessions undergo security screening.
Parking: Use marked visitor parking and follow CMC signs to the correct entrance. CMC has physically separate East and West complexes, but current Minimum Support Facility visits are conducted on East, so confirm housing and processing location before leaving the car.
Where to report: Ordinary visitors report to the entrance/processing point directed for the person’s current housing. CMC currently routes West Minimum Support Facility visits to East Facility.
Bring the right things, and only those
Allowed in
- Only specifically authorized items may enter. Visitors and property are searched; drugs, weapons, and unapproved items are prohibited.
Identification: Adults must present valid, current, unexpired photo identification; accepted forms include state driver licenses/IDs, military ID, ICE ID, U.S. passport, or qualifying foreign passport/consular ID.
How many may visit: General-population in-person visits allow up to five visitors; non-contact visits allow up to three and are usually one to two hours.
Bringing a child: Adults list accompanying minors on the visiting pass. Minors undergo security screening, and CDCR allows specified infant/toddler supplies.
Video visits and cost: Weekend video visiting at adult institutions has ended. CDCR says eligible tablet users receive 15 minutes of free video calling every two weeks, while audio calls from California state prisons are free to both parties.
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 Men's Colony (CMC)
Incarcerated Persons (IP) Mailing Address: California Men's Colony, P.O. Box 8101, ATTN: I/P First and Last Name, CDCR Number, Housing, San Luis Obispo, CA 93409-8101
Full committed name · CDCR number · housing
California Men's Colony (CMC)
Staff Mailing Address: P.O. Box 8101, San Luis Obispo, CA 93409-8101
Getting there, and staying
These San Luis Obispo properties are planning options, not endorsements. Confirm the route to CMC, exact room, accessibility features, parking fee, deposit and cancellation deadline directly. SLO Regional Transit Authority Route 12 lists California Men’s Colony as a call-in stop in both directions. The stop is untimed, so call Rider Information before travel to request/confirm service and coordinate the return pickup.
Confirm the last mile: SLO RTA Rider Information: (805) 541-2228. Route 12 links CMC with downtown San Luis Obispo, Cuesta College, Morro Bay and Los Osos.
Where to stay
San Luis Obispo lodging can fill during university and coastal events. Verify cancellation terms before using a nonrefundable rate.
Somewhere to eat
| Place | What and when | Phone |
|---|---|---|
| Denny’s208 Madonna Road, San Luis Obispo, CA 93405 | Official page lists 24-hour service, round-the-clock breakfast and takeout | (805) 543-3138 |
| Courtyard Bistro1605 Calle Joaquin Road, San Luis Obispo, CA 93405 | Official page lists paid breakfast daily 6:00–10:00 a.m. | (805) 786-4200 |
| Hampton Inn breakfast1530 Calle Joaquin, San Luis Obispo, CA 93405 | Complimentary hot breakfast for registered guests; confirm weekend start time | (805) 594-1445 |
Local planning notes
Road check: Check Caltrans QuickMap and CMC’s live status page immediately before travel. VSA sends cancellation notices to appointment holders; walk-in visitors should call first.
Inside the institution
East has Facilities A-D and H with cell housing; H is a 50-bed Mental Health Crisis Bed unit. West has E-G and M in dorm housing; M houses incarcerated firefighters.
Restricted housing
CDCR’s institution-level tables identify restricted housing at CMC. A person’s current RHU, non-contact, medical or mental-health assignment can change the visit location, contact rules, length and visitor limit; confirm eligibility with Visiting.
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
The official page identifies a 50-bed, 24-hour Mental Health Crisis Bed unit and CCCMS/EOP mental-health care; CCHCS publishes a patient inquiry contact.
Education, training and work
Dozens of classrooms and vocational shops on East, with educational, vocational, self-help and work opportunities across CMC.
Preparing for release
Rehabilitative and work programs include the firefighter and service-dog programs and are oriented toward skill-building and return to the community.
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 Luis Obispo County
Clear information.
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Can Jail411 tell me if someone is in custody right now?
No. Jail411 does not hold live custody records. Use the official locator for the county, state, federal or ICE system that has the person; start here if you do not know which.
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.