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San Quentin Rehabilitation Center
San Quentin Rehabilitation Center (SQ): contact, visiting, phone, mail and travel details. Confirm custody and current rules.
Facility record · California
SQ · San Quentin · Marin County
- SecurityLevels I–II
- Population2,380
- Occupancy77%
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San Quentin Rehabilitation Center (SQ) is a state prison in San Quentin, Marin County, California. By capacity it is the 5th-largest of the 30 state prison records listed for California with a published capacity. It is one of 3 correctional facilities in Marin 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 San Quentin Rehabilitation Center, 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 San Quentin Rehabilitation Center
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 · 9 June 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 send it directly to SQ Visiting after confirming its current staff-mail address.
What not to do: Do not mail the completed questionnaire back to the incarcerated person. Send it directly to SQ’s Visiting office only after staff confirms the correct current mailing format.
Book through the scheduling application
Use VSA for regular SQ appointments. Select the resident’s correct Main A, Main B contact/non-contact, or H-Unit timeslot because the duration and transport differ.
Open the Visitation Scheduling Application ↗
Walking in: Walk-ins may take a first-come number during normal visiting hours. Published processing is 2:30–5:30 p.m. Friday and 10:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. weekends. Infirmary and Adjustment Center visits never accept walk-ins.
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 early enough to complete vehicle/pedestrian screening, identification review, and visitor processing; CDCR advises checking the current facility status and local instructions immediately before travel.
Parking: Visitor parking at San Quentin is limited. Build time for finding a legal visitor space, walking to processing and clearing security; do not park in residential, staff-only or restricted areas.
Where to report: Process at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center’s visitor entrance at 100 Main Street. Staff begins processing at noon Friday and 7:30 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Bring the right things, and only those
Allowed in
- Only CDCR-authorized visitor property may enter (including ID, limited cash/change, a small clear bag, limited keys, and specified child/medical items). Leave other property secured outside and verify local exceptions.
Identification: Adults need current, unexpired photo ID. Accepted forms include a state driver license/DMV ID, military photo ID, ICE ID, U.S. or foreign passport with photo, or Mexican Consulate photo ID.
How many may visit: Capacity and housing control entry. Walk-ins are first-come and not guaranteed; Infirmary and Adjustment Center do not allow walk-ins.
Bringing a child: Visitors under 18 must be with an approved adult. A parent brings a certified birth certificate; a guardian also brings guardianship proof; another adult also needs the parent/guardian’s original notarized written authorization, renewed annually.
Video visits and cost: CDCR states tablet users receive 15 minutes of free video calls every two weeks and audio calls are free. Weekend video visiting ended at adult institutions, while camps retain hybrid visiting.
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
San Quentin Rehabilitation Center (SQ)
San Quentin Rehabilitation Center, San Quentin, CA 94974
Getting there, and staying
San Quentin itself has no visitor hotel district; Corte Madera and San Rafael provide nearby choices. These are planning options, not endorsements; confirm traffic, parking, accessibility, deposit and cancellation terms. Golden Gate Transit Route 580 connects El Cerrito del Norte BART, Richmond/Point Richmond, San Quentin Village and the San Rafael Transit Center, including weekend/holiday service in its published timetable.
Where to stay
Somewhere to eat
| Place | What and when | Phone |
|---|---|---|
| McDonald’s2114 Fourth Street, San Rafael, CA 94901 | Official page lists early drive-through, breakfast, mobile ordering, delivery and Wi-Fi | (415) 258-9214 |
| Subway55 Bellam Boulevard, Suite F, San Rafael, CA 94901 | Official page lists 8:00 a.m. Saturday and 9:00 a.m. Sunday opening, breakfast, pickup and delivery | (415) 453-3333 |
Local planning notes
Confirm the housing unit: Confirm Main A, Main B/Infirmary, Adjustment Center or H-Unit before booking. The unit controls the timeslot, contact type, walking route or shuttle.
Inside the institution
A 432-acre walled prison with West, South, North, and East cell blocks, restricted housing, a central health-care building, medium-security dorm housing, and a minimum-security firehouse.
Restricted housing
The official facility description explicitly includes a restricted-housing area.
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 facility includes a Central Health Care Service Building and serves Enhanced Outpatient and CCCMS populations under CCHCS.
Education, training and work
Adult, continuing, post-secondary and student-support education; CTE; and Mount Tamalpais College AA/college-preparatory study.
Preparing for release
Pre-release/California ID services, treatment, self-help, higher education, CTE, CalPIA employment preparation, and rehabilitation-focused partnerships.
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 Marin County
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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.
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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.