How to Contact an Inmate at Ellis County Jail, TX (TX)

At Ellis County Jail, inmates can make free local calls during booking. That phone time is meant for urgent basics: arranging bail, letting family know what happened, or reaching an attorney. If you're waiting on that first call, just stay available and ready to pick up. That early window goes fast, and people try to get the most critical information out quickly.

Trying to get a message to someone inside? Don't ask detention officers to relay it. Ellis County Jail does not allow officers to pass messages to inmates, written or verbal, for any reason. Any correspondence needs to go through the mail.

Steps to Follow

• ✓ Expect a call opportunity during booking. Inmates can make free local calls at that time.
• ✓ Use that booking call for urgent needs: arranging bail, notifying family, or contacting an attorney.
• ✓ If the number they need to reach is outside the local dialing area, booking phones can make collect calls.

What to Verify

• ✓ Whether your specific number qualifies as “local” for the free booking call (most cell phones are not considered local).
• ✓ Whether collect calls from the booking phones will go through to your area code and carrier (booking phones can make collect calls outside the local dialing area).
• ✓ Who pays when a collect call is accepted. The person receiving the call is responsible for the collect call fee.
• ✓ The current collect-calling hours once an inmate is in the jail population (stated hours are 10:00 A.M. to 10:30 P.M. on weekdays and 10:00 A.M. to 12:30 A.M. on weekends).