How to send messages, photos, and packages
Michael Unit offers Securus remote video visitation that you schedule online. Sessions run up to 60 minutes and cost $10 per visit. Each inmate is eligible for one remote visit per month, so plan ahead. For phone calls, register your telephone number through the TDCJ/vendor process and provide the inmate's TDCJ ID number. If you need help, call (936) 295-6371 or (800) 535-0283. Calls are allowed only to home landlines and post-paid or pre-paid cell phones—no internet services, 800 numbers, businesses, pay phones, or international numbers. Starting December 1, 2025, you'll need a funded Securus AdvanceConnect account to pay for calls.
Search for a loved one and send messages and photos in minutes.
When you create a TDCJ Online Visitation Scheduler account, the email address you choose isn't just a casual detail—it's permanent. Once an account is created, you can't delete it or change the email tied to it. So take a moment to pick an address you'll still have access to months or years from now, not just whatever's convenient today.
Schedule Securus remote video visits online through the vendor’s scheduling portal. Visits at Michael Unit run up to 60 minutes, cost $10 per session, and inmates are limited to one remote visit per month.
Inmates can call home landlines and post-paid or pre-paid cell phones. Calls to internet services, 800 numbers, businesses, pay phones, or international numbers aren’t permitted.
To register, you must be the telephone number’s owner, be at least 18, and agree to allow the inmate to call; you’ll also need the inmate’s TDCJ ID number. A funded Securus AdvanceConnect account is required to pay for calls beginning December 1, 2025, and the unit provides help numbers such as (936) 295-6371 and (800) 535-0283 for support.
Yes. Address the envelope with the inmate’s full name and ID number, and include your return address. Most personal letters are scanned by a central processor and delivered digitally, so follow standard size and page-limit rules.
Books, magazines, and many package items must come from verified publishers or approved sellers—not from personal shipments. For TDCJ inmates, eCommDirect is the accepted online package program for approved vendor deliveries.
Prohibited items commonly include cash, drugs, weapons, loose stamps, envelopes, food, and other contraband. Packages from home are usually restricted—use approved vendors and publisher sources for books and media.
A little prep can save you a wasted trip. Use this checklist to confirm the basics, bring the right ID, and avoid common items that get visitors turned away at Michael Unit.
Contact visits can feel like the one normal moment you get — so it helps to know exactly what physical contact is allowed and to go in expecting your conversation may be monitored.
To register your phone number to receive calls from someone housed at the Michael Unit (TDCJ), you’ll need the inmate’s TDCJ ID number. That ID is what the phone system uses to match your phone number to the correct person—without it, you can’t complete registration.
