How Much Phone Calls Really Cost from Iowa Prisons — and Where That Money Goes
Budgeting for phone contact with someone in an Iowa prison? You need two things: the state's published per-minute rate and a clear picture of where that money actually goes. Here's the straight version.
You can't call an Iowa prison and ask to be connected - no incoming calls to incarcerated people are allowed. They place outgoing calls, and only to numbers on their approved calling list. Not getting calls? The fix is usually administrative. Make sure your number is exactly what they submitted and that it's been approved.
Iowa’s documented phone rate for local, intrastate, and interstate calls is $0.06 per minute, effective May 1, 2025. International calls are priced differently, and those rates vary - so if you’re outside the U.S., the cost may not match the six-cents-per-minute figure you see for domestic calls.
Where does the money go? Iowa law actually spells this out. Iowa Code §904.508A authorizes the Department to establish an inmate telephone fund - a dedicated account where all phone call revenue gets deposited.
That same law puts a boundary on spending: all funds in the inmate telephone fund must be used for the benefit of inmates. The statute doesn't treat call revenue as a general-purpose pot of money - it's earmarked specifically for inmate benefit.
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