How to send messages, photos, and packages
Newly admitted inmates at Mendocino County Correctional Facility get at least three local or collect long-distance phone calls during intake. This follows Penal Code 851.5, which guarantees an arrested person at least three completed calls within three hours of arrest—custodial parents get two additional calls to arrange childcare. All outgoing calls include a recorded notice that calls may be monitored or recorded. General population inmates can typically access phones daily from 0900 to 2300 hours, unless restricted or during lockdown. Calls can be paid through Debit Accounts, Prepaid Call Accounts, or placed as collect calls. TDD phones are available in each housing unit and the booking cube. For video visits or electronic messaging, set up an account on the department's communications platform and add funds through the provider's prepaid feature as California transitions to a statewide provider.
Search for a loved one and send messages and photos in minutes.
Mail is one of the easiest ways to stay connected with someone in custody. Here's how Mendocino County Jail handles regular mail, legal mail, and the postage-free letters available to inmates without funds.
Newly admitted inmates are provided at least three local or collect long-distance telephone calls as part of intake.
Yes. Outgoing calls include a recorded notice stating that calls may be monitored or recorded.
For general population, phone privileges are typically available daily from 0900 to 2300 hours unless restricted or on lockdown. Calls may be funded through Debit Accounts, Prepaid Call Accounts, or placed as collect calls.
There’s no limit on how much mail an inmate at Mendocino County C.F. can send or receive. All mail is still subject to security-based reading and search procedures.
Confidential mail to courts, attorneys, and public officials may only be opened to check for contraband, and only in the inmate’s presence. Corrections Division staff are prohibited from reading the contents of confidential/legal mail.
Yes. Inmates without funds can send two postage-free letters per week to family and friends, and there’s no limit on postage-free letters to attorneys or the courts.
Visiting someone at Mendocino County Jail requires planning ahead—literally a week ahead. Here's how the reservation system works, what
Getting money onto an inmate's account is simple enough—timing is where people get tripped up. Here's how deposits work at Mendocino County Jail, when funds need to hit the account for commissary, and what weekly spending limits look like based on classification.
When someone you care about gets arrested, the first thing you want to know is:
