How to deposit funds, commissary, and payment options
Before sending money to Centinela State Prison, confirm the incarcerated person's full name and booking or facility ID number. Then verify which deposit options the facility accepts. Common methods include online or mobile portals, phone deposits, lobby kiosks, and U.S. Postal money orders. Funds placed on a person's trust account typically go toward commissary purchases, phone time, hygiene items, and other approved expenses—though court-ordered deductions may reduce the balance. Different vendors have different account setups: GTL's VisitMe includes a
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Common options include online or mobile portals, phone deposits, lobby kiosks, and U.S. Postal money orders. Before sending funds, confirm the person's full name and booking/facility ID, then verify which methods Centinela State Prison accepts.
No—don’t mail cash. Use an accepted method such as a money order or an approved vendor portal instead.
Sometimes. Securus recommends opening an account and requires one for video calls, though free telephone calls don’t always require an online account. GTL’s VisitMe includes account tools like a “CLAIM ACCOUNT” link and password recovery options.
CDCR communication services through Securus start rolling out in September, including at Centinela State Prison. Setting up your Securus account now means you won't be stuck creating one when everyone else is trying to do the same thing.
The biggest change for Centinela families? The per-minute price of video calls. Under the new Securus contract, video calls cost $0.10 per minute — down from ViaPath's $0.16 per minute. Phone calls are cheaper too: $0.016 per minute under Securus versus $0.019 per minute under ViaPath, according to the same CDCR comparison chart.
Want to visit someone at Centinela? Reserve your visit time ahead of time through GTL VisitMe. It's the system CDCR uses for scheduling in-person visits—and it helps you skip those long on-site lines.
