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High Desert State Prison
High Desert State Prison (HDSP) contact, address, visiting, phone, mail and travel details. Confirm custody and current rules with the responsible agency.
Facility record · California
HDSP · Susanville · Lassen County
- SecurityLevels I–IV
- Population2,855
- Occupancy137%
Jail411 holds no custody records. A listing here does not mean anyone is held at this address.
High Desert State Prison (HDSP) is a state prison in Susanville, Lassen County, California. By capacity it is the 20th-largest of the 30 state prison records listed for California with a published capacity. It is one of 8 correctional facilities in Lassen 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 High Desert 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 High Desert 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
Open with exceptions · 18 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 HDSP’s Visiting office.
Send it to: Mail the completed questionnaire to the Visiting Sergeant or Lieutenant, Attention: Visiting, P.O. Box 750, Susanville, CA 96127-0750. This is HDSP’s current all-staff mailing address.
What not to do: Do not mail the completed questionnaire back to the incarcerated person. Send it directly to HDSP’s Visiting office at the staff-mail address above.
Do not use the inmate mailing address (P.O. Box 3030) or the inmate trust address (P.O. Box 270-249). Those addresses serve different workflows and do not route a visitor application to Visiting.Book through the scheduling application
Use CDCR’s Visitation Scheduling Application (VSA) for appointments. Confirm the incarcerated person’s current housing and the live HDSP status before booking travel.
Open the Visitation Scheduling Application ↗
Walking in: Walk-ins are limited to the later published windows: Friday 3:00–6:30 p.m., Saturday/Sunday 11:00 a.m.–2:30 p.m. Entry cutoffs are 5:00 p.m. Friday and 1:00 p.m. on weekends. Space is not guaranteed.
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
Check weather/roads and current status; obey processing cutoffs.
Parking: First three rows next to Friends Outside; accessible spaces require documentation/plate.
Where to report: Visitor processing is associated with Friends Outside building/trailer.
Bring the right things, and only those
Allowed in
- Only property permitted by current CDCR visitor rules may enter.
Identification: Approved adults need valid current photo ID under CDCR rules.
How many may visit: No current facility-wide cap published; confirm in VSA/with staff.
Bringing a child: Under 18 requires approved adult and certified birth certificate; guardians need proof; other escorts need annual notarized consent naming prisoner and escort.
Video visits and cost: No current video price 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
High Desert State Prison (HDSP)
Inmate Trust: P.O. Box 270-249, Susanville, CA 96127
Full committed name · CDCR number · housing
High Desert State Prison (HDSP)
Inmate Mailing: P.O. Box 3030, Susanville, CA 96127-3030
Full committed name · CDCR number · housing
High Desert State Prison (HDSP)
All Staff: P.O. Box 750, Susanville, CA 96127-0750
Getting there, and staying
These Susanville properties are planning options rather than endorsements. Confirm the drive to the visitor entrance, the exact room, accessibility features, parking, deposit and cancellation deadline directly. HDSP is about eight miles east of Susanville. No current public source confirms a scheduled bus stop at the visitor entrance, so do not plan on arriving by a routine fixed-route bus without direct confirmation.
Confirm the last mile: HDSP visitor transportation information: (530) 251-5100 ext. 5711. Lassen Rural Bus: (530) 252-7433. HDSP main line: (530) 251-5100.
Where to stay
Rates and policies change. Ask the property to confirm any accessibility need in the exact room reserved, not only at the property level.
Somewhere to eat
| Place | What and when | Phone |
|---|---|---|
| McDonald’s3000 Main Street, Susanville, CA 96130 | Official page lists 5:00 a.m. drive-through and 6:00 a.m. lobby openings | (530) 257-6880 |
| Subway2978 Main Street, Suite A2, Susanville, CA 96130 | Official page lists 8:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m. daily and breakfast availability | (530) 257-0404 |
| Comfort Inn & Suites breakfast3015 E Riverside Drive, Susanville, CA 96130 | Free hot breakfast for registered hotel guests; confirm service hours at check-in | (530) 931-3438 |
Inside the institution
Two Level III 270-design facilities, two Level IV 180-design facilities, Minimum Support Facility, and 35-bed CTC.
Restricted housing
RHU/Facility Z receives one-hour scheduled non-contact 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
35-bed CTC; institution accommodates qualifying disabilities.
Education, training and work
ABE/GED, high school/college, transition instruction, libraries, computer literacy, building maintenance, auto body/paint, electronics.
Preparing for release
Reentry Hub CBT addresses substance use, criminal thinking, anger management, and California ID preparation.
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 Lassen County
Clear information.
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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.