Facility record · California
Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility
RJD · San Diego · San Diego County
- SecurityLevels I–IV
- Population3,907
- Occupancy131%
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Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility (RJD) is a state prison in San Diego, San Diego County, California. By capacity it is the 6th-largest of the 30 state prison records listed for California with a published capacity. It is one of 21 correctional facilities in San Diego 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 Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility, 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 Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility
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 · 4 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 RJD’s Visiting office.
Send it to: Mail the completed questionnaire to the Visiting Sergeant or Lieutenant at the institution where the person is housed, addressed to the attention of “Visiting”.
What not to do: Do not mail the completed questionnaire back to the incarcerated person. Send it directly to the institution’s Visiting office using the current staff-mail address confirmed with RJD.
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; RJD does not schedule visits by email. Each window opens eight days before the desired visit at 7:00 a.m.
Open the Visitation Scheduling Application ↗
For a Friday visitPrevious Thursday 7:00 a.m. through Sunday 11:59 p.mFor a Saturday visitPrevious Friday 7:00 a.m. through Tuesday 11:59 p.mFor a Sunday visitPrevious Saturday 7:00 a.m. through Wednesday 11:59 p.mWalking in: Friday 2:30–5:30 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday 11:00 a.m.–1:30 p.m., first come and capacity permitting. Walk-ins are not guaranteed and are not allowed for non-contact or RHU 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
Arrive at the scheduled start; late contact visitors wait for walk-in processing. No processing after 5:30 p.m. Friday or 1:30 p.m. weekends.
Parking: CDCR states that prisons have a separate visitor parking lot, including marked accessible spaces; visitors should follow local signs and allow for a walk or shuttle to processing.
Where to report: Use the posted visitor parking and report to visitor processing; the official page does not name a separate gate.
Bring the right things, and only those
Allowed in
- Visitors may bring only the narrow statewide allowance (ID, limited cash, small clear bag, up to two keys, specified papers/photos, and specified infant/medical items). Weapons, drugs, electronics, purses and other unlisted property should remain outside; local restrictions may be stricter.
Identification: Adults must present current valid photo identification (such as a driver license, DMV ID, armed-forces ID, passport, ICE ID, or Mexican consular photo ID). Minors require a certified birth certificate; guardianship or annual notarized consent is also required when applicable.
How many may visit: Maximum five visitors including children for contact visits; maximum three for non-contact visits.
Bringing a child: Children under 18 must be accompanied by an approved adult. Bring a certified birth certificate; if the adult is not a parent, also bring proof of guardianship or the required original notarized consent.
Video visits and cost: Weekend institutional video visiting is no longer offered. Tablet video calls are provider-dependent during the ViaPath-to-Securus transition: ViaPath $0.16/min with 15 free minutes every two weeks; Securus $0.10/min with 30 free minutes monthly.
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.
Getting there, and staying
Otay Mesa and eastern Chula Vista are practical lodging bases. Confirm drive time, exact room, accessibility features, parking, deposit and cancellation deadline directly before booking. San Diego MTS Route 909 circulates between Otay Mesa Transit Center and Southwestern College at Otay Mesa, but the current public schedule does not identify R.J. Donovan’s visitor entrance as a stop. The prison is in a remote part of Otay Mesa; arrange the last mile and return trip before travel.
Confirm the last mile: MTS trip planning: (619) 233-3004; customer service: (619) 557-4555. RJD main line: (619) 661-6500.
Where to stay
These are planning options, not endorsements or guarantees of proximity. Rates and property policies change; confirm any accessibility need in the exact room reserved.
Somewhere to eat
| Place | What and when | Phone |
|---|---|---|
| Denny’s2222 Coronado Avenue, San Diego, CA 92154 | Official page lists breakfast, lunch and dinner from 4:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m. | (619) 429-5840 |
| IHOP2390 Roll Drive, San Diego, CA 92154 | Breakfast, lunch and dinner near Otay Mesa Transit Center | (619) 671-0282 |
| McDonald’s4350 Palm Avenue, San Diego, CA 92154 | Official page lists 24-hour drive-through service and extended lobby hours | (619) 690-1186 |
Local planning notes
Check the facility visiting-status page immediately before travel because operations can change; also check Caltrans QuickMap for traffic, closures and road conditions.
Inside the institution
Five facilities plus a Minimum Support Facility; Facilities D, E and the MSF are non-designated programming facilities.
Restricted housing
Non-contact/RHU visits require appointments and do not accept walk-ins; RJD also has designated SNY populations.
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
RJD houses/treats people with severe mental illness, developmental disabilities, and medium-to-high medical risks, with community-hospital coverage.
Education, training and work
Adult Basic Education, high school/GED, ESL, literacy, pre-release, limited college and vocational welding/machine shop/HVAC.
Preparing for release
Pre-release education, family liaison/case management, parenting and conflict-resolution services support release 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.