Penmate Inmate Support Guides
Visitation

What to Bring to Your First Visit at El Dorado: ID, Kids, and Search Rules

First-time visits can feel stressful. The rules are strict, and small mistakes can end your visit before it starts. This guide covers what El Dorado Correctional Facility expects for ID, what changes when you bring kids, and how searches and contraband rules work.

• 2 min read Verified from official sources

Bring a government-issued photo ID to check in. A driver's license or state ID works. The key is that it must be a picture ID from a government agency.

Bringing someone under 16 who doesn't have photo ID? A copy of their official state-issued birth certificate works instead. This is the main alternative for kids who don't have a government photo ID yet.

If you're not a U.S. citizen and don't have a U.S. or state government photo ID, bring a valid passport or visa. Staff may require this to verify your identity before letting you into the visiting area.

Children can only visit if they're on the resident's approved visitation list. The adult bringing them must also be approved, and that adult has to be the child's parent or legal guardian.

Exception: Minor children may not be allowed to visit if the resident is being managed as a sex offender.

Expect security screening. Visitors can be searched to prevent contraband from entering or leaving the facility. Cell phones and all tobacco products are explicitly prohibited. The simplest approach: leave those items behind before you arrive.

Refuse a required search (under IMPP 12-115, "Search of Visitors"), and the shift supervisor can deny, suspend, or terminate your visit. If you're uncomfortable with the search process, sort that out before you check in rather than arguing at the front desk.

Do not show up under the influence: Visits may be denied, suspended, or terminated if a visitor is under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Even with everything in order, visits can still be denied, suspended, or terminated when there's not enough space. Frustrating, but it's one of the listed reasons a shift supervisor can end a visit.

Practical Checklist

  • ✓ Bring a government-issued photo ID (for example, a driver’s license or state ID)
  • ✓ If the visitor is under 16 and has no photo ID, bring a copy of an official state-issued birth certificate
  • ✓ If you are a non-U.S. citizen without a U.S. or state picture ID, bring a valid passport or visa
  • ✓ Leave cell phones behind, they are contraband in the visiting context
  • ✓ Leave all tobacco and tobacco-related items behind
  • ✓ Be prepared to submit to a visitor search; refusing a required search can get your visit denied, suspended, or terminated
  • ✓ Do not arrive under the influence of drugs or alcohol

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