What Happens During Check-In: MDOC Registration, Searches, and Visitor Rules
Your first visit can feel stressful, mostly because you don't know what to expect at the front gate. Here's what MDOC rules say about arriving, checking in, showing ID, and the searches and visitor rules enforced on prison grounds.
Before you walk up to check in, plan to secure your personal items in your vehicle. MDOC requires visitors to leave cell phones, wallets, purses (including change purses), excessive clothing, and similar items locked in the car during visitation. Tobacco is allowed on prison grounds during visitation, but it still has to stay locked in your vehicle the entire time. Visitation centers are non-smoking areas.
Reminder: While you're on MDOC prison grounds, you can be searched at any time. That includes your person, your vehicle, your personal property, and anything you have with you.
Bring a valid photo ID and be ready to sign in. MDOC accepts a Visitor ID card, driver's license, military ID, or state ID. You'll also need to sign the visitor sign-in log as part of check-in and registration.
Note: MDOC materials don't all list the same age cutoff for when a minor needs picture ID. Before you go, verify the age and ID requirement with the specific facility you plan to visit.
After you register, expect an entry control step before heading into the visitation center. MDOC requires visitors to have the top of the right hand stamped prior to entry.
You'll also be screened as part of check-in. MDOC requires all visitors to submit to a frisk search and/or electronic scanner. Beyond that initial screening, MDOC rules state that you're subject to search of your person, vehicle, personal property, or any items in your possession at all times while on prison grounds.
MDOC search authority doesn't stop at the front door. While you're on prison grounds, your vehicle, personal property, and anything you have with you can all be searched.
- ✓ Guns
- ✓ Knives
- ✓ Ammunition
- ✓ Alcohol
- ✓ Drugs
- ✓ Weapons
- ✓ Any instrument or tool that may be used as a weapon
- ✓ Any other items declared contraband by the institution
- ✓ Tobacco products inside the visitation center (tobacco must stay locked in your vehicle at all times)
- ✓ Any item that is forbidden will be confiscated
MDOC can deny a visit, end it once it's started, or suspend your visiting privileges entirely. Reasons include being under the influence of drugs or alcohol, possessing contraband, refusing a search, failing to produce valid identification (or falsifying identifying information), and violating visitation rules.
Once you're in the designated visiting area, plan to stay put until you're done. MDOC rules are clear: if you leave the designated visiting area for any reason, your visit is over for the day.
Refusing to cooperate with check-in procedures can cost you the visit. MDOC requires visitors to submit to a frisk search and/or electronic scanner, and refusal is listed as grounds for denying or terminating a visit and suspending privileges. The same applies if a visitor is under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
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