Facility record · California
Calipatria State Prison
CAL · Calipatria · Imperial County
- SecurityLevels I–IV
- Population2,539
- Occupancy140%
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Calipatria State Prison (CAL) is a state prison in Calipatria, Imperial County, California. By capacity it is the 27th-largest of the 30 state prison records listed for California with a published capacity. It is one of 4 correctional facilities in Imperial 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 Calipatria 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 Calipatria 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 · 12 August 2026Get approved
You must be approved before booking. The incarcerated person first sends you a signed CDCR Form 106 Visiting Questionnaire. Complete that exact copy, then mail it directly to CAL’s Visiting office.
Send it to: Mail the completed questionnaire to Calipatria State Prison, Attention: Visiting, P.O. Box 5001, Calipatria, CA 92233-5001. This is CAL’s official institution/staff mailbox.
What not to do: Do not mail the completed questionnaire back to the incarcerated person. Send it directly to CAL’s Visiting office at the institution/staff address above.
Do not use the housing-specific incarcerated-person mailboxes: Facilities A–D use P.O. Boxes 5004–5007, and MSF/FH/ASU uses P.O. Box 5008. Those are not the Visiting office mailbox.Book through the scheduling application
Use VSA for ordinary visits. The request period opens eight days before the visit and closes five days before it.
Open the Visitation Scheduling Application ↗
Walking in: Walk-ins are first come and space available: Friday 2:30–4:30 p.m. and Saturday/Sunday 11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m. Do not wait in the visiting parking lot before the walk-in entry time.
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: Join the visitor vehicle line along Blair Road in arrival order. Do not cut the line. At the announced entry time, staff admit vehicles to the visiting lot for check-in and processing.
Where to report: Approach CAL at 7018 Blair Road and join the visitor vehicle line along Blair Road in arrival order. Scheduled visitor vehicles may enter Friday at 11:30 a.m. and Saturday/Sunday at 8:30 a.m.
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.
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
Calipatria State Prison (CAL)
Inmate Funds, P.O. Box 5003, Calipatria, CA. 92233-5003
Full committed name · CDCR number · housing
Calipatria State Prison (CAL)
Facility A, P.O. Box 5004, Calipatria, CA. 92233-5004
Full committed name · CDCR number · housing
Calipatria State Prison (CAL)
Facility B, P.O. Box 5005, Calipatria, CA. 92233-5005
Full committed name · CDCR number · housing
Calipatria State Prison (CAL)
Facility C, P.O. Box 5006, Calipatria, CA. 92233-5006
Full committed name · CDCR number · housing
Calipatria State Prison (CAL)
Facility D, P.O. Box 5007, Calipatria, CA. 92233-5007
Full committed name · CDCR number · housing
Calipatria State Prison (CAL)
MSF/FH/ASU, P.O. Box 5008, Calipatria, CA. 92233-5008
Full committed name · CDCR number · housing
Calipatria State Prison (CAL)
Legal Mail: PO Box 5002, Calipatria, CA 92233-5002
Getting there, and staying
El Centro offers the largest nearby group of major-brand hotels. These are planning options, not endorsements; confirm the actual route to CAL, room type, accessibility features, deposit and cancellation deadline. Imperial Valley Transit Route 2 serves the city of Calipatria, but its published route information does not establish a visitor stop at the prison entrance on Blair Road.
Confirm the last mile: Imperial Valley Transit dispatch: (760) 482-2900. IVT says customer-service staff can help plan a trip; buses require exact fare.
Where to stay
CAL is north of El Centro and outside the city center. Map the full morning drive and preserve extra time for Blair Road vehicle staging and visitor processing.
Somewhere to eat
| Place | What and when | Phone |
|---|---|---|
| Denny’s3403 Dogwood Road, El Centro, CA 92243 | Official page lists 24-hour service, round-the-clock breakfast and takeout | (760) 337-9023 |
| Denny’s1445 Ocotillo Drive, El Centro, CA 92243 | Official page lists 24-hour service, all-day breakfast and takeout | (760) 352-2576 |
| McDonald’s810 N. Imperial Avenue, Imperial, CA 92251 | Official page lists a 5:00 a.m. lobby and drive-through opening every day | (760) 355-2222 |
Local planning notes
Road check: Check Caltrans QuickMap and CAL’s live visiting page before departure. Desert weather, road conditions, housing restrictions and the construction notice can change the trip.
Inside the institution
Official mail routing confirms Facilities A, B, C and D plus MSF/FH/ASU components.
Restricted housing
The official page identifies an ASU and publishes a dedicated AD-SEG/ASU telephonic booking line and Wednesday booking window.
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
CCHCS lists a Calipatria patient health inquiry number: 916-478-8752.
Education, training and work
Adult Basic Education and GED; NCCER-certified carpentry, HVAC, electrical, electronics and computer-literacy programs.
Preparing for release
ISUDT cognitive-behavioral treatment pathways are offered; no facility-specific post-release service details were found.
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.