How to Contact an Inmate at Facility

Typically, the inmate pays for phone calls. In some situations, the person receiving the call pays instead. Confirm which setup applies to you before you accept any charges or create an account. Assume all calls are monitored. Notices are posted next to each telephone letting inmates know that calls are being monitored. Attorney calls are handled differently in certain circumstances, and unmonitored calls to attorneys can be permitted. The exact process, provider details, fees, and scheduling aren't covered here, so contact the facility directly to get those specifics.

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• ✓ Confirm whether calls are inmate-paid or whether the receiving party can be billed in your case
• ✓ Expect monitoring and have your loved one check the posted notice by the phones
• ✓ If you need attorney-client confidentiality, ask the facility what the process is for unmonitored attorney calls
• ✓ Verify any exceptions or special handling directly with the facility before relying on it

Before you start taking calls, verify the billing arrangement. Ordinarily the inmate pays, but in some cases the receiving party covers the cost. Find out what that means for you in practical terms: whether there's an approved way for you to be billed, and whether you need to do anything to accept or set up that billing.

Confirm the monitoring rules, too. A notice is posted next to each telephone advising inmates that calls are monitored, so treat every normal call as recorded. If you're calling as an attorney (or helping an attorney coordinate contact), ask about the exact conditions and steps for unmonitored attorney calls. They are permitted in certain circumstances. The most reliable sources are the posted notices by the phones and the facility's current written rules. You can also call the facility directly to ask what they require.