How to visit, scheduling, dress code, and visitor requirements
Iowa State Penitentiary offers free in-person and video visits for approved friends and family. You'll schedule every visit through the Ameelio app—Ameelio handles scheduling, but the facility makes approval decisions. To get approved, print the visitor application, sign it, and mail it in. Electronic applications aren't accepted. Each adult submits their own application; minors go on a parent or guardian's form. When you arrive, expect security screening: pat-downs, metal detectors, ion scanners, electronic-device checks, or visual searches. Refuse a search and you won't get in. Dress rules are enforced. Shoes are required. Miniskirts, above-the-knee shorts, muscle shirts, see-through clothing, and halter tops aren't allowed. Denied visitation? You can appeal in writing to the Central Visiting Authority at Mount Pleasant Correctional Facility.
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Getting approved to visit someone at Iowa State Penitentiary starts with a paper application. Print it, sign it, and mail it to the right address—that's how you avoid the most common delays.
Planning your first visit to Iowa State Penitentiary? Here's the essential: you'll book through the Ameelio app, but only after you've been approved as a visitor.
Visiting Iowa State Penitentiary starts with getting approved, then scheduling through the same system Iowa DOC uses statewide. Here's how it works, from paperwork to walking through the door.
Print the visitor application, sign it, and mail it—electronic submissions aren’t accepted. Each adult must submit a separate signed application, and minors must be listed on a parent or guardian’s form.
Yes. In-person and video visits are free for approved friends and family. Once you’re approved, all visits must be scheduled through the Ameelio app; Ameelio handles scheduling, not approval decisions.
If your visitation request is denied, you can appeal in writing to the Central Visiting Authority at Mount Pleasant Correctional Facility. If you refuse required searches (which may include pat-downs, metal detectors, ion scanners, electronic-device checks, or visual searches), you’ll be denied entry.
Trying to stay in touch with someone at Iowa State Penitentiary? You'll typically choose between O-mail (through CorrLinks) and regular mail processed through Iowa DOC's central mail service. The key difference: your loved one either gets an electronic message or a printed copy of your scanned letter.
Sending regular mail to someone at Iowa State Penitentiary? It doesn't go straight to the prison anymore. Iowa DOC routes all non-legal mail through a central processing site—and the facility code 1110 on your envelope is what gets it to ISP.
Phone calls from Iowa State Penitentiary are outbound only. Your number has to be approved before the person inside can call you. Here's how the system works and what you'll pay.
