How to Visit Facility

LCIW requires a mail-in visiting application. Faxed applications are not accepted, so make sure yours goes out by regular mail.

Once LCIW receives your completed application, staff will process it and run criminal record checks before making a decision. This takes time. No visitation is allowed while an application is pending, so hold off on travel plans until you've confirmed your approval.

Most visits at LCIW take place in the Visiting Room. Security officers monitor the room, so expect a supervised setting.

Steps to Follow

• ✓ Complete the visiting application and submit it by mail (do not fax it).
• ✓ Wait for LCIW to process the application and run criminal record checks.
• ✓ Do not attempt to schedule or show up for visitation until the visitor is approved, because visitation is not allowed while an application is pending.

After you're approved and a visit is set up, you'll head to LCIW's Visiting Room. Security officers monitor all visits. Depending on the circumstances, the facility may place the imprisoned woman or the visitor on non-contact status for safety and security reasons.

If the person you're visiting is on death row at LCIW, visits are generally non-contact. However, LCIW does allow two contact visits per year for women on death row. It's worth planning ahead and confirming how those two visits are scheduled.

1. Confirm where the application must be mailed: Use the facility’s official information to make sure you have the correct mailing address and any required envelope details.
2. Use the correct submission method: Send the application by mail. Faxed applications are not accepted.
3. Keep proof of what you sent: Make a copy of the completed paperwork for your records before you mail it.

1. Ask how long approvals typically take: LCIW processes returned applications and runs criminal record checks, so timing can matter for travel planning.
2. Confirm how approval is communicated: Find out how you will know you are approved before you try to visit.
3. Double-check the “no visits while pending” rule: Visitation is not allowed while an application is still being processed.

1. Confirm whether your visit will be contact or non-contact: Most visits are in the monitored Visiting Room, but LCIW can require non-contact visits for safety and security reasons.
2. Ask if any special housing status affects visitation: Non-contact restrictions can be applied based on institutional needs.
3. If the person is on death row, confirm the exception details: Death row visits are generally non-contact, but two contact visits per year are allowed. Ask how those two visits are requested and scheduled.