What You Need to Know Before Your First Visit to MCF‑Stillwater
Planning ahead makes your first visit to MCF‑Stillwater go much smoother. The checklist below covers the rules that trip people up most often—review it before you head out.
Get your visit approved and handle any scheduling requirements before you make the trip. MCF‑Stillwater has a strict rule: once you leave the visiting room for any reason, your visit is over. You won't be able to register again that day. You're also limited to one visit per day with the same incarcerated person, so plan around that single window.
Dress conservatively. Your clothing needs to cover your shoulders, upper and lower back, midriff, and cleavage. Staff can turn you away if your outfit doesn't meet the dress code - so when in doubt, go with something simple and fully covering.
Prohibited Items
- ✓ Any controlled substance, including tobacco and tobacco-related products
- ✓ Lighters, matches, and cigarette papers
- ✓ Alcohol or malt beverages
- ✓ Drugs
- ✓ Firearms
- ✓ Weapons or explosives of any kind
- ✓ Items that could be used in the commission of a crime
- ✓ Escape material
- ✓ Money
- ✓ Chewing gum and any other food/drink products
- ✓ Cell phones
- ✓ Cameras
- ✓ All watches
- ✓ Wearable technology devices (including fitness trackers)
- ✓ Key fobs (including combined key/fob items)
Warning: Exchanging any item in the visiting room without prior approval may be treated as smuggling. Bringing contraband can lead to serious consequences.
When Safe Visiting is in effect, expect tighter rules. Physical contact is limited to a hug and handshake at arrival and departure. Everyone over age 2 must wear a mask the entire time.
Some visits are non-contact - you'll sit in separate booths and communicate by telephone or video. If the person you're visiting is in segregation, the visit is automatically non-contact and must be scheduled at least 24 hours ahead. Space is limited, so non-contact visits may also be capped at one hour.
Here's one that catches first-timers off guard: leaving the visiting room ends your visit. Step out for any reason and you're done - you won't be allowed to register again that day. You also get just one visit per day with the same person. Use the restroom, grab snacks, handle everything before you go in.
If someone is dropping you off, they can't wait on facility grounds or in the parking lot. They'll need to leave and return when your visit ends. Minors and animals cannot be left unattended in vehicles.
Holiday closures: No visiting on New Year's Day, President's Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday, Memorial Day, July 4, Labor Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day (and the Friday after), or Christmas Day. Limited exceptions exist for certain programs.
- Plan for one continuous visit - Once you enter the visiting room, don’t step out unless you’re ready for the visit to end; leaving for any reason terminates the visit and you can’t register again that day.
- Use the child seating rules to avoid an abrupt termination - Children age nine and under may sit beside the incarcerated person or on their lap, but only one child at a time may be on the incarcerated person’s lap.
- Keep lap-sitting boundaries clear - If a child is sitting on the adult visitor’s lap, the incarcerated person may not touch the child while the child is there.
- ✓ Stay aware that leaving the visiting room ends your visit for the day, and you can’t re-register after you step out.
- ✓ Keep your behavior and positioning straightforward so staff can maintain clear sightlines in the visiting area.
- ✓ If you’re not the one visiting, don’t wait on institution grounds or in the parking lot; leave and return at the designated time.
- ✓ Don’t leave minors or animals in a vehicle in the parking lot.
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