Why You Can't Visit Before Arraignment (Dane County Jail)

Dane County Jail doesn't allow visits until after an inmate's arraignment. If you try to schedule or show up before that first court appearance, you'll be turned away or find no visit times available yet.

"Prior to arraignment" means the window between booking and the person's first court appearance. During this time, visits aren't allowed, even if you're ready to come in right away. Once arraignment happens, you can start planning a visit and checking available times.

It helps to know the difference between family visits and legal visits. At Dane County Jail, non-attorney visits are recorded, electronically monitored, and can be reviewed. Attorney visits (when properly registered) are not recorded or monitored.

1. Confirm arraignment has happened - visits are not allowed before arraignment, so this is the first box to check.
2. Register for visitation through GTL VisitMe - this is the system used to set up and manage visits.
3. Schedule ahead (no walk-ups) - only scheduled visits are honored, no walk-up visits are permitted, and all visits require 48 hours advance sign up.
4. Lock in the exact time you can make - if you miss the start time, you do not get to “check in late” and still visit.

• ✓ Bring a valid government-issued photo ID or a passport.
• ✓ Arrive before your scheduled start time. Anyone who arrives after the start time is denied, regardless of the reason.

After arraignment, each resident gets two 45-minute non-contact visits per week. If you can't make it in person, remote video visitation is available at $0.25 per minute. Remote visit windows are 7:45am to 10:45am, 12:15pm to 2:00pm, and 5:45pm to 9:45pm.