How to visit, scheduling, dress code, and visitor requirements
Visiting someone at Fort Dodge Correctional Facility starts with a paper application. Print and sign the Visitor Application, then mail it to Mount Pleasant Correctional Facility. Electronic applications are not accepted. Facility staff handle all approvals. Ameelio does not approve or deny visits; it only handles scheduling. Once approved, friends and family can schedule free in-person or video visits through the Ameelio app (both options are at no cost). When you arrive, expect entry screening. Searches may include pat-downs, metal detectors, ion scanners, other electronic checks, or visual inspections. Refusing to comply means you'll be denied entry. If your visitation request is denied, you can appeal in writing to the Central Visiting Authority at Mount Pleasant.
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To visit someone at Fort Dodge, you'll need approval first. The process is straightforward but paper-based: print the form, sign it, and mail it to Central Records in Mount Pleasant.
To visit someone in the Iowa Department of Corrections, you need to apply first. Here's the key detail: Iowa DOC does not accept electronic visitor applications. You have to print, sign, and mail your paperwork to Central Records at Mount Pleasant.
Visiting someone in the Iowa Department of Corrections? You'll schedule it through the Ameelio App. That covers both in-person and video visits, and they're free for approved friends and family.
Two things to know before you visit: you need to be approved ahead of time, and all visits (in-person and video) are scheduled through the Ameelio App.
Planning a visit to Fort Dodge Correctional Facility? Start with the Iowa Department of Corrections (Iowa DOC) official pages. That's where you'll find the most reliable, up-to-date rules—and the right place to double-check details before you make the drive.
Print and sign the Visitor Application, then mail it to Mount Pleasant Correctional Facility. Electronic applications are not accepted, and you must wait for facility staff approval before scheduling visits through the Ameelio app.
Yes. Once approved, you can schedule video visits or in-person visits through the Ameelio app, and the Iowa DOC offers both at no cost to approved friends and family.
You can appeal a denied visitation request in writing to the Central Visiting Authority at Mount Pleasant Correctional Facility. If you're denied entry for refusing a search or not following entrance procedures, you will not be admitted.
Phone contact is possible, but the person inside has to initiate it. Here's how calling works and what to double-check before you wait by the phone.
Want to send a personal letter to someone at Fort Dodge Correctional Facility? You can't mail it directly to the prison. Iowa DOC requires non-legal mail to go through a central processor in Las Vegas, and your envelope must include Fort Dodge's facility code: 1114.
Sending money is usually straightforward once you know the right method and the exact wording the Iowa DOC requires. Here are your options, along with the details that keep deposits from getting delayed or returned.
