What Changed in June 2023: Virginia's New Visitation Rules Explained

Effective June 1, 2023, visitors no longer need to be on an inmate's approved visiting list to get approved for in-person visitation. That's the big shift. It removes the old "must be on the list" gatekeeping step that could delay first visits and cause confusion when a name was missing. Inmates also no longer have to complete and submit an Inmate Visiting List to their counselor in January and July. The list itself is no longer what controls whether you can be approved for an in-person visit. That said, this policy change didn't wipe out every other visitation rule. It mainly removed the pre-approved list requirement.

Even after the June 2023 change, your visitor approval still has a lifespan. All visitor applications expire three years after the approval date. So "I was approved before" doesn't automatically mean you're still approved today. If your approval has lapsed, you'll need to renew it to keep your visitation privileges active.

• ✓ If you live in Virginia, submit your renewed visitor application at least 45 days before your three-year expiration date to avoid interruption.
• ✓ If you live out of state, submit your renewed visitor application at least 90 days before your three-year expiration date to avoid interruption.

1. Find your approval date. Visitor applications expire three years after the approval date, so the date you were approved is what drives your timeline.
2. Count forward three years. That three-year mark is your expiration point.
3. Renew before you run out. Submit a renewed visitor application at least 45 days before expiration if you are in-state, or at least 90 days before expiration if you are out-of-state, so your visits are not interrupted.

For day-to-day planning, the baseline is that VADOC institutions typically allow in-person visiting on Saturdays, Sundays, and state holidays. The catch: individual institutions can run visitation differently, and procedures can change at any time. Before you make the drive, check the current schedule and any facility-specific notices. The VADOC site publishes facility updates that can include cancellations or video visit hours for particular housing units. You can get blindsided if you assume it's business as usual.