How to get approved to visit someone at Baldwin County Jail (start here)

You can't visit until you're on your loved one's approved visitor list. This approval step matters beyond visits too - if you want to send money through Georgia Department of Corrections options, you need to be on their approved list. Start by filling out the Visitation Request Form and submitting it to the facility where your loved one is incarcerated.

First, figure out whether you qualify as "immediate family" - it affects how approval works. Immediate family includes parents, brothers, sisters, a spouse, grandparents, grandchildren, and children. Not in that group? You're not out of luck. You'll go through the "significant relationship" category instead. This covers a lot of people: friends, pastors, employers, in-laws, cousins, and step-family (step-parents, step-siblings, step-sons/daughters) all fall here.

1. Get the Visitation Request Form - This is the form used to start the approved-visitor process.
2. Fill it out completely - Incomplete forms can slow everything down.
3. Submit the completed form to the facility where the offender is incarcerated - Approval is tied to where your loved one is housed, so make sure it goes to the correct facility.

If you're trying to visit as someone outside immediate family - a friend, cousin, in-law, step-family member, pastor, or employer - you'll go through the "significant relationship" process. Here's what catches people off guard: your loved one has to start it. They fill out the "Significant Relationship Visitor Application for Visitation Privilege" and send it to the Warden/Superintendent for review.

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• ✓ Government-issued photo ID (to confirm who you are)
• ✓ Proof of how you’re connected (especially if you’re not immediate family)
• ✓ Any verification that supports the relationship if you’re applying as a friend, pastor, employer, in-law, cousin, or step-family member

Once the application is submitted, the Warden/Superintendent reviews it and notifies your loved one of the decision. You'll hear the result from them - so if you're waiting, watch for a message or call. Going the significant relationship route? Talk with your loved one upfront about timing and follow-up. They're the one who starts the request and gets the decision.

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• ✓ Confirm whether you qualify as immediate family (parents, siblings, spouse, grandparents, grandchildren, children) or if you’ll need significant relationship approval
• ✓ Fill out the Visitation Request Form and submit the completed form to the facility where the offender is incarcerated
• ✓ If you’re not immediate family, have the offender complete the “Significant Relationship Visitor Application for Visitation Privilege” and send it to the Warden/Superintendent for review
• ✓ Wait for the decision - the offender is notified and is responsible for telling you if you were approved or denied
• ✓ Remember: you must be on the approved visitor list to use GDC’s options for sending money to that offender