Before You Drive to the Unit: A TDCJ Pre-Visit Checklist
A long drive to a TDCJ unit is stressful enough without getting turned away at the gate. This checklist covers the things that most often derail a visit: unit assignment, approval status, schedule changes, the online scheduler, and what you can (and cannot) bring through the gate.
Before you leave home, confirm two things: the person you're visiting is actually assigned to the unit you plan to visit, and they currently have visitation privileges. Get either of these wrong and you could be turning around after hours on the road.
Also make sure you're on the approved visitor list. Not sure? Contact the unit directly to verify (TDCJ provides a list of unit phone numbers for this). It's a quick call that can save you a wasted trip.
Tip: Call the unit for final confirmation before you travel. Visitation information is updated daily, and multiple times on visitation days.
Even when someone is eligible and you're approved, a unit-wide cancellation can shut everything down. TDCJ posts these cancellations on the TDCJ homepage, so check before you go. If visitation has been canceled for the unit, no one gets in, regardless of individual eligibility.
Reminder: Check for a unit-wide cancellation, then call the unit before you drive. If visitation is canceled, you will not be able to visit, even if everything else is in order.
If you use the TDCJ online visitation scheduler, don't assume a missing date means the system is broken. Any dates that fall during a week where the inmate already has a visit scheduled won't appear as available. So if your preferred day isn't showing up, someone else may already have a visit on the books that week.
- Check the online scheduler for open dates - if a date you want does not appear, it may be because the inmate already has a visit scheduled that week.
- Confirm you’re not double-booking the week - pick a date that actually shows as available in the system.
- Call the unit before you drive - scheduling and visitation information can change quickly, so get final confirmation directly from the unit.
Items to Bring and Prohibited Items
- ✓ Bring valid photo identification. TDCJ publishes a list of acceptable photo IDs for check-in.
- ✓ Check your clothing against TDCJ clothing guidelines before you travel, so you don’t get turned away at the unit.
Leave paper cash at home or locked in your vehicle. TDCJ's rule is coins only, and no more than $35 in coins. Bring more than that, or bring bills, and you may be required to take it back out before you can continue.
Travel light, and assume electronics are a problem unless you've confirmed otherwise. TDCJ lists examples of contraband that include paper money, tobacco, lighters, cell phones, smartwatches, laptop computers, cameras, and digital recorders. The cell phone rule is especially strict: no cell phones are allowed inside the secure perimeter. Leave yours in the car.
Before you hit the road, do one final check: confirm the person you're visiting is still assigned to that unit and still has visitation privileges. Then call the unit to make sure everything is still on. Visitation information gets updated frequently, and that last phone call is often what prevents a wasted trip.
Find an Inmate at Clements (BC), TX
Search for a loved one and send messages and photos in minutes.
