What to Bring (and What to Leave Home) for Your First GBCI Visit

Here are the basics: if you're 16 or older, bring a government-issued photo ID. You'll go through a metal detector, and you need to clear it within three attempts or your visit will be denied. Leave prohibited items at home, especially tobacco products, lighters or matches, and any recording devices like phones or cameras. GBCI does allow a few emergency medications (nitroglycerin, inhalers, and epi-pens), but you'll need to turn them in to the Visits Officer when you arrive.

Acceptable IDs

• ✓ State driver’s license
• ✓ State identification card (including a DMV identification card)
• ✓ Passport or visa
• ✓ Military identification card
• ✓ Tribal identification card (must have a photo)
• ✓ Amish visitors are referred to DAI Policy 309.06.01

GBCI enforces a strict metal detector rule: you get three attempts to pass. Fail all three, and your visit is denied. This is one of the most common reasons first-time visitors get turned away, so plan your outfit around it. Skip the belt buckle, leave extra jewelry in the car, and avoid clothing with metal snaps or zippers when possible.

• ✓ Keep jewelry to a minimum (avoid excessive metal jewelry)
• ✓ Skip clothing with metal attached or sewn on
• ✓ Avoid metal buckles and snaps when you can
• ✓ Do not wear bib overalls
• ✓ Avoid wire undergarments or other clothing with built-in metal

GBCI only allows three types of emergency medication: nitroglycerin, inhalers, and epi-pens. When you arrive, let the Visiting Center Officer know you have medication, then turn it in to the Visits Officer. If you need to use it during your visit, you'll do so at the Visits Officer's desk with security staff present.

1. Get the DOC-2424 form - This is the only accepted form for a medical exemption to the metal detector.
2. Fill it out with your medical professional - The form must be completed by you and your medical provider.
3. Fax the completed form - Send it to (920) 432-5388.
4. Wait for approval before you visit - The exemption has to be filed and approved prior to visiting.

Items to Leave Home

• ✓ Tobacco and all tobacco products
• ✓ Matches
• ✓ Lighters
• ✓ Other incendiary devices
• ✓ Audio or video recording devices (including cameras and dictation equipment)
• ✓ Cell phones
• ✓ Pagers

Practical Entry Tips

• ✓ Arrive no more than 15 minutes before visiting hours start
• ✓ Be ready to complete a DOC-176 Request to Visit Offender in the lobby if you are asked to

• ✓ Keep your photo ID accessible if you are 16 or older
• ✓ Supervise children under 18 at all times, including to and from the restroom
• ✓ Know that visits can be terminated if children are unruly or not supervised

• ✓ Choose an outfit that helps you clear the metal detector within three attempts (avoid excessive jewelry and clothing with metal)
• ✓ Expect metal detector screening, and plan for the possibility that you may be denied entry if you cannot clear it