Scheduling Your First In-Person Visit to Richmond Correctional Institution

In-person visits are by appointment only. You'll need to call or email the prison to schedule. One more thing: call the day before your visit to confirm everything is still on. A quick check can save you a wasted trip if something changed.

You can't visit until your visitor application has been approved. Handle that step first, then schedule your appointment. Here's how the forms work: the incarcerated person gets blank applications from the facility and mails them to the people they want to visit. Every adult and every minor needs their own completed application, and you'll return the forms to the prison where they're currently housed. There's also a cap - 18 applications maximum per person. If a lot of people want visiting privileges, that limit matters.

Approved ID and Visitors List

• ✓ If you’re 16 or older, choose one of the approved picture IDs and attach a copy to your visitor application.

• ✓ If the visitor is under 16, attach a copy of their birth certificate to the application.
• ✓ When a visitor turns 16, they’re responsible for updating their application information.

Anyone 16 or older will be screened before entering. Expect a pat-down and an electronic device search. Everyone passes through a metal detector. Refuse the search, and you won't get in.

Under normal circumstances, visits are limited to one session per week, lasting up to two hours. Group size is capped too - no more than three approved visitors per session.

Visiting limits aren’t always fixed. A facility warden can alter visiting times, how often visits happen, how long they last, and how many visits are allowed based on security or operational considerations.

Housing status affects how visits work. People on administrative or disciplinary segregation - or in control status (except protective control) - are restricted to non-contact visits by appointment. Wardens can also adjust visiting times, frequency, and duration based on security or operational needs. That's why confirming details beforehand is worth the extra call.

Practical Previsit Checklist

• ✓ Call or email the prison to schedule your in-person visit appointment.
• ✓ Call the day before your scheduled visit to confirm the facility’s visitation status.
• ✓ If you’re 16 or older, make sure your application includes a copy of an approved picture ID.
• ✓ If the visitor is under 16, make sure the application includes a copy of their birth certificate.
• ✓ Leave cellphones, smartwatches, cameras, recording devices, and smart/AI glasses out of the facility - cell phones are considered contraband.
• ✓ Be prepared to clear a metal detector search.
• ✓ If you’re 16 or older, expect a pat/frisk search and an electronic device search; refusing search procedures means you’ll be denied entrance.
• ✓ Dress for strict enforcement: shirts and shoes are mandatory, and revealing clothing (including halter tops, bare midriffs, strapless tops, tube tops, underwear-type T-shirts, tank tops, inappropriately revealing sleeveless tops/dresses, fishnet, or see-through fabric) is not allowed.