How to become an approved visitor (steps that follow Georgia DOC rules)
Getting approved to visit starts with paperwork. Here's how the Georgia DOC process works, plus where you'll want to double-check how Gilmer County Detention Center handles things differently.
These steps follow Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC) visitation rules. If your loved one is in a GDC prison, this is exactly what you'll do. But if they're at Gilmer County Detention Center - a county facility - the jail may handle things differently: where you send paperwork, how approval works, how visits get scheduled. Use these steps as your starting point, then confirm the local process with the facility before submitting anything or showing up.
First, complete the Visitation Request Form. Under Georgia DOC rules, this form kicks off the approval process - you submit it to the facility where your loved one is incarcerated. Until they have your completed form on file, you can't move forward with scheduling a visit.
Reminder: Before you turn in the Visitation Request Form, confirm Gilmer County Detention Center’s submission instructions (where it should be sent or delivered, and any formatting requirements).
For scheduled visits under the Georgia DOC process, you'll submit your request through the Georgia DOC online visit request form. You'll enter the incarcerated person's information (including their GDC ID) along with your own details so the visit can be scheduled.
Tip: Have the incarcerated person’s ID number and your personal details ready before you start the online request so you can finish it in one sitting.
When you’re completing the request, pay attention to the ID section. The Georgia DOC online process states you must be 18 or older to select Driver’s License or State ID as the identification option, so plan accordingly if you’re helping a younger family member with the request.
Georgia DOC divides visitors into two categories: immediate family and significant relationship visitors. Immediate family includes parents, siblings, spouse, grandparents, grandchildren, and children - these relationships go through the standard approval route. Everyone else - step-parents, step-siblings, in-laws, uncles, aunts, cousins, half-siblings, nephews, nieces, step-children, friends, employers, pastors - falls into the significant relationship category. You can still visit, but the process works differently.
- Confirm you’re in the “significant relationship” category - If you’re not immediate family (for example, you’re a friend, in-law, cousin, employer, or pastor), Georgia DOC treats your request differently.
- Have the offender initiate the request - For significant relationship visitors, the offender must start the process.
- Have the offender complete the Significant Relationship Visitor Application - The offender fills out the “Significant Relationship Visitor Application for Visitation Privilege.”
- Ensure the application is sent for review - The completed application is sent to the Warden/Superintendent for review.
Note: For significant relationship visitors, you can’t start the request on your own - approval is offender-initiated and goes through facility review.
After a significant relationship application is reviewed, the incarcerated person gets notified whether you were approved or denied. They're responsible for passing that decision along to you. So if you're waiting to hear back, that's why the facility won't contact you directly.
- ✓ Confirm you’re approved before you try to schedule a visit or arrive to visit.
- ✓ Make sure you meet the ID/age requirement if you plan to use a Driver’s License or State ID on the request (18+).
- ✓ Request the scheduled visit through the Georgia DOC online visit request form once you’re eligible to schedule.
- ✓ Verify any Gilmer County Detention Center-specific instructions (especially where forms must be submitted and how scheduling is handled).
Find an Inmate at Gilmer County Detention Center, GA
Search for a loved one and send messages and photos in minutes.
