Before Your First Visit to Napoleonville Detention Center: a Louisiana DOC checklist of what to bring and what to leave behind
First-time visits can feel overwhelming. This checklist covers the Louisiana DOC rules that most often get people turned away—so you can show up ready.
Before you make the drive to Napoleonville Detention Center, confirm you’re on the incarcerated person’s approved visiting list. You can’t visit unless you’ve been added, and the incarcerated person is the one who receives instructions on how to add visitors. If you’re not sure whether you’re approved, contact the person you plan to visit and get confirmation before you travel.
If you’re 18 or older, bring a photo ID every single time you visit. Staff will check it at each visit, so don’t assume that because you visited once (or were approved once) you can walk in without it next time.
- ✓ Valid driver’s license (from your state of residence)
- ✓ Valid state photo ID card (from your state of residence)
- ✓ Valid military photo ID (active duty only)
- ✓ Valid passport
Leave in Vehicle
- ✓ Wallet
- ✓ Purse
- ✓ Cash
- ✓ Other personal possessions you don’t need for entry (leave them locked in your vehicle for the entire visit)
Prohibited Electronics
- ✓ Controlled substances
- ✓ Alcohol
- ✓ Tobacco and tobacco-related items
- ✓ Cameras
- ✓ Video recording equipment
- ✓ Audio recording equipment
- ✓ Electronic devices, including cell phones
If you bring prohibited items into the visiting area, don’t expect to be allowed to continue. Louisiana DOC rules allow staff to deny entry or end a visit if contraband or other prohibited items are found on you or in your property. The same goes for electronic devices like cell phones - leave them secured in your locked vehicle so you’re not turned away at the door.
Expect a full security screening. Everyone gets searched - adults, kids, belongings, even your car. Metal detectors, ion scanners, and K-9 units are all part of the process.
Note: If you refuse to be searched, you won’t be permitted to enter. A visit can also be terminated if contraband or other prohibited items are found on you or in your property.
Visitation is treated as a privilege under Louisiana DOC rules. That means visits can be restricted, denied, or suspended if either you or the incarcerated person doesn’t follow the visitation rules.
Want the full official rules? Ask the facility for a copy of Department Regulation OP-C-9.
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