The Four Types of TDCJ Visits — Which Ones You May See for Alfred D. Hughes Unit

In the TDCJ Online Visitation Scheduler, you’ll typically be choosing among four visit types: Regular, Contact, and Video/Tablet - plus the system may also show Extended or Special visits when they’re available to request. The key thing to know is that these labels aren’t just descriptions; they’re the options the scheduler will allow you to submit for approval, based on what’s currently permitted for the person you’re trying to visit.

If you don’t see all visit types when you’re scheduling for an inmate at the Hughes Unit, that’s usually by design. TDCJ ties visit-type availability to a few factors: your visitor/inmate relationship, how the unit’s visitation areas are set up, and the inmate’s visitation privileges. So two different inmates at the same unit can show different options in the scheduler, even if you’re using the same visitor account.

Extended and Special visits aren’t guaranteed options you can always pick. When TDCJ allows them, they may appear inside the scheduler as requestable visit types - often tied to situations like distance or a qualifying relationship. If you don’t see Extended or Special as a choice for your loved one at the Hughes Unit, you generally won’t be able to request one through the online system for that inmate at that time.

1. Select “Extended” or “Special” (if it appears) - choose it from the visit-type list for the inmate you’re scheduling.
2. Follow the scheduler prompts - enter the information the system asks for about your request.
3. Submit and wait for a decision - these requests go through the unit’s approval process, and you’ll need to watch for the outcome in the scheduler.

One common point of confusion is the “Video/Tablet” option you may see in the TDCJ Online Visitation Scheduler. That scheduler option is not the same thing as the Securus Video program. So if you’re troubleshooting a video visit, start by identifying which system you’re dealing with: a Video/Tablet visit you’re trying to request through the TDCJ scheduler, or a remote video visit handled through Securus.

To see what’s available for someone at the Alfred D. Hughes Unit, use your visitor account and walk through the scheduling flow for that specific inmate. The visit types that appear in the drop-down list are the ones the system is currently allowing you to request for that person - so it’s the most practical way to confirm whether Regular, Contact, Video/Tablet, or an Extended/Special request is even on the table.

If the visit type you want doesn’t appear, your next step depends on what you’re trying to do. For anything tied to Securus remote video, you’ll usually get the fastest answers through Securus support. For visit-type availability inside the TDCJ scheduler (like Contact vs Regular, or whether Extended/Special is offered), you may need to contact the unit using the TDCJ unit phone list to ask what’s preventing that option from showing for the inmate.

• ✓ Log into your visitor account and try scheduling for the inmate to see which visit types appear.
• ✓ If you’re having trouble with Securus remote video visits, call Securus Customer Service at (877) 578-3658.
• ✓ If a visit type is missing in the TDCJ scheduler and it isn’t a Securus issue, contact the unit through the TDCJ unit phone list to ask about availability for that inmate.