How Many People Can Visit at Once — and What Happens When the Visiting Room Gets Crowded at Bedford Hills
Planning a visit to Bedford Hills? Two things you need to know: how many people can come with you, and what happens when the visiting room fills up.
At Bedford Hills, the maximum number of people allowed in on a single visit is three visitors, plus one child under age five. If your group is larger than that, you’ll need to plan for fewer people to enter at one time.
Children under five must sit on an adult's lap during the visit. Keep that in mind when deciding who's coming - someone in your group will need to hold the child the entire time.
Once someone has been at Bedford Hills for 30 days or more, they can have visitors on up to two days per week. That limit is about visiting days, not the number of visits you squeeze into a single day.
On any given visiting day, there's no cap on how many visits someone can receive - unless they're in the Special Housing Unit (SHU). For everyone else, the main constraint is which days they're eligible for visits, not a limit on separate visits per day.
SHU visits are more restricted: one non-legal visit per seven-day period. Visiting hours are the same (8:30 AM to 3:30 PM), but you must arrive by 2:45 PM. Plan your travel with that earlier cutoff in mind.
Planning tip: Bedford Hills visiting days are Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Weekend visiting can be assigned by the incarcerated individual’s last-name group (as shown on the published schedule), so check which weekend day applies before you make plans.
When the visiting room gets crowded, Bedford Hills may end visits to free up space. Local visitors - those who live within 100 miles - can have their visits cut short after three hours. It works on a first-in, first-out basis: visits that started earliest end first.
Visiting hours run 8:30 AM to 3:30 PM, with a latest arrival time of 3:00 PM. Don't count on walking in at the last minute and getting a full visit - especially on busy days when the facility is managing space.
Practical Steps
- ✓ Arrive before the latest arrival time (3:00 PM) so you’re not turned away at the door.
- ✓ Plan around the posted visiting hours (8:30 AM to 3:30 PM), not just the time you want to see your loved one.
- ✓ Visit on the correct day: Bedford Hills holds visits on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays, and weekend days may be assigned by last-name group per the published schedule.
Stick to the limit: three visitors plus one child under five. Make sure any young child can stay on an adult's lap. Show up with too many people or unprepared for the lap rule, and you're setting yourself up for a frustrating check-in - or a visit that doesn't happen at all.
Note: On crowded days, local visits (within 100 miles) can be ended after three hours on a first-in, first-out basis - so if you need the best chance at a longer visit, plan your day with that possibility in mind.
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