Why Your Loved One Can't Visit Right Now: Understanding SHU Rules at Greenville County
If your loved one is in the Special Housing Unit (SHU) for disciplinary reasons, visitation doesn't start right away. Here's the rule that controls when visits can happen—plus the isolation visit times families use once they're eligible.
At Greenville County Detention Center, someone placed in SHU for disciplinary reasons becomes eligible for visitation on the 7th day after arriving. That waiting period is often why you're being told you can't visit yet - even if you're on the approved visitor list and doing everything right.
Plan ahead: Even after SHU visitation eligibility begins, inmates are still limited to two 30-minute visits per week - so it helps to decide which days you want to use before you make the trip.
Once your loved one is eligible for SHU visitation in Building One, the times are different from other housing units. Male residents in isolation visit at 2:00 PM. Female residents visit at 2:30 PM.
Greenville County Detention Center offers visitation seven days a week. That flexibility helps, but the exact time you can see your loved one depends on their housing unit and its assigned schedule.
Heads up: Visits may be monitored and recorded, and a visit may include one adult and up to two minor children.
- Confirm where they’re housed - Housing is subject to change, so you’ll need to call or visit the Detention Center to find out where your loved one is currently assigned.
- Ask if they’ve reached SHU visitation eligibility - If they’re in SHU for disciplinary reasons, visitation starts on the 7th day after they were received in SHU.
- Verify the correct Building One isolation time - Before you travel, double-check whether you should plan for the 2:00 PM (isolation males) or 2:30 PM (isolation females) visit time.
- ✓ Bring a picture ID that matches the name on the inmate’s visitor list (a driver’s license or State ID works).
- ✓ Be ready to surrender your picture ID at check-in so staff can issue you a visitor badge.
Quick reminder: Because inmates only get two 30-minute visits per week, confirm you’re using one of those weekly slots before you make the drive.
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