Practical help for families and friends
Call, visit, write, send books, or add money without guessing which rule or provider applies.
The facility’s instructions come first. Providers, addresses, approval rules, and identification requirements differ by location.
Start with the task
The guide directory
Each guide tells you what to confirm with the facility before you travel, pay, order, or mail anything.
Confirm the facility, its phone provider, who must create the account, and the current charges before adding money.
Visiting days, applications, identification, dress rules, and arrival times change by facility and custody level.
Get the person’s full name and ID number, the facility’s required address, and the mailroom rules before sending anything.
Many facilities accept books only from approved sellers and reject certain bindings, packaging, subjects, or used copies.
Use only the provider named by the facility and match the person’s booking or identification number exactly.
Before any guide
A county jail, state prison, federal prison, and ICE detention center can use different systems. The facility record tells you which agency to confirm with.
Search the facility directoryA transfer can change every address, provider, and visiting rule.
Use the operating agency’s current page or call the facility directly.
Use the booking, register, or inmate number required for that system.
Before you act
Match the full name and identification number.
Confirm the person has not moved.
Follow the facility’s official link, not a search advertisement.
Call when the instruction is missing or unclear.
Need a different starting point?
Jail411 does not hold live custody records. Start with the responsible county, state, federal, or immigration agency.