Phone Calls from McCracken County Jail: Provider, Rates, and How Phone Cards Work

McCracken County Jail uses Combined Public Communications (CPC) for inmate phone service. Calls can be collect - meaning you pay when you answer - or prepaid through phone cards and accounts. With prepaid options, money is loaded in advance and calls draw from that balance.

McCracken County Jail publishes direct-pay rates by distance. Direct-pay local calls cost $0.15 per minute, and direct-pay long-distance calls cost $0.50 per minute.

If your loved one wants a phone card through their inmate account, timing matters. Phone cards are sold to inmates on Tuesdays only, and the money must be in their account by 12:00 PM that day. Cards cost $10. Plan your deposits around that Tuesday noon cutoff.

You can also buy phone cards at the jail. A vending machine in the front vestibule sells cards anytime in $10 or $20 denominations.

• ✓ Bring exact payment - the vestibule vending machine does not make change.
• ✓ If the kiosk has a problem, understand that the facility and staff are not responsible for the kiosk.

1. Decide whether you’re funding an inmate-account card or buying a vestibule card - inmate-account cards are sold to inmates on Tuesdays only, while vestibule cards can be purchased at any time in the front vestibule.
2. If you’re going the inmate-account route, plan for the Tuesday cutoff - the money must be on the inmate’s account by 12:00 PM Tuesday for them to receive a phone card.
3. Stick to the available denominations - inmate-account cards are $10, and vestibule machine cards are sold in $10 or $20 denominations.
4. Bring exact money for the vestibule machine - it does not make change, so showing up without the right amount can waste a trip.
5. Treat kiosk purchases like “buy at your own risk” - the facility and staff are not responsible for the kiosk, so keep any proof of purchase you receive and don’t count on staff being able to fix a vending-machine issue on the spot.