Before Your First Visit: What to Bring, What to Wear, and What to Expect at a Michigan Prison
A first prison visit is stressful mostly because nobody wants to get turned away at the door. This checklist covers the rules Michigan visitors run into most often: ID, dress code, check-in, and what to expect in the visiting room.
Expect a formal check-in when you arrive. Michigan requires all visitors to sign in and show an approved ID, so have yours ready before you reach the desk. Staff will verify it before letting you through.
Doing a Michigan DOC video visit? Build in extra time at the start. Registered and approved visitors must log into the ViaPath Visitor Website 10 minutes before the scheduled visit for verification and approval. Adult visitors also need to hold up a government-issued photo ID on camera (driver's license, state ID, military ID, or passport all work) and state the name of each person joining the video visit.
Dress code trips up more visitors than almost anything else. Michigan rules prohibit revealing clothing, including skirts and shorts that fall more than 3 inches above the knee. You must be fully dressed: underwear, bathing attire, and lingerie cannot be worn as outer garments. And once your visit starts, you cannot remove any clothing during the visit.
- ✓ Leggings, yoga pants, and other form-fitting garments
- ✓ Hooded items
- ✓ Clothing with graphic content on it
Breastfeeding and video visits: Breastfeeding is permitted during a video visit, as long as the breastfeeding child is on the prisoner's approved visitor list.
Wondering what kind of contact is allowed? Keep expectations simple. You can briefly hug and kiss the prisoner at the beginning and end of a visit. No other personal contact is permitted during the visit.
Photos are allowed during visits, and they make a meaningful keepsake. Visitors and prisoners can take pictures together, and an embrace (including a kiss) is permitted while the photo is being taken.
Amenities Bathroom
- ✓ Vending machines are available in the visiting room for snacks and beverages.
- ✓ If you buy something, remove it from the packaging right away, place it on a plate, and discard the packaging before returning to your seat.
- ✓ Food must remain uncovered until it is consumed.
Bathroom breaks are allowed, but plan them carefully. Any time you spend in the bathroom counts against your scheduled visiting time.
Arrival Checklist Tips
- ✓ Bring an approved identification document and be ready to sign in when you arrive.
- ✓ Dress conservatively: avoid revealing clothing, including skirts and shorts more than 3 inches above the knee.
- ✓ Check the facility’s quarantine status before you leave, since a facility or unit may be under medical quarantine and unable to attend visits.
- Know your time block - visiting blocks are 3 hours on weekdays.
- Adjust for weekends - visiting blocks are 2 hours on weekends.
- Plan split visits if you need to - you may schedule up to two separate visits on the same day with the same prisoner.
Once you're in the visiting room, follow the vending rules closely. Remove vending items from their packaging, place them on a plate, and throw away the packaging before you return to your seat.
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