Polk County Jail, OR

Polk County Jail allows each inmate two half-hour visits per week, scheduled by housing assignment and gender. The visiting list has size limits. To visit, you must be at least 18 and show valid photo ID at check-in. Getting approved starts with the inmate—they submit your name, address, date of birth, and relationship so the jail can screen you and add you to the visitation form. Professional visits require advance scheduling by emailing the jail's administrative address. Attorneys and clergy may get access outside routine visiting times, but they still need to follow approval and identification procedures. All visits are screened and monitored, and the jail can change or cancel them for safety, staffing, or security reasons.

Staying connected with someone at Polk County Jail mostly happens through phone and video. Most inmates can use the phones daily from 8:00 am to 10:00 pm, but all calls are collect-only—no incoming calls allowed. Calls may be recorded. The phone vendor is Viapath/gettingout. Inmates also receive two 5-minute video visits per week and up to 10 minutes of phone calls per week for free. Since Polk uses third-party vendors, you'll need to create and verify an account (and possibly validate your phone number) before receiving calls or scheduling video visits. Before a video visit, test your device, camera, and connection. Follow the vendor's scheduling and payment steps if you want additional time or paid services.

Starting mid-February 2024, Polk County Jail requires personal mail to go through TextBehind's Phoenix, MD P.O. Box for scanning and digital delivery to the inmate. Sending through TextBehind is free, but mail gets reviewed and certain items are commonly rejected—especially books, magazines, and newspapers. The jail won't accept paperback books mailed from the public. Any books must ship directly from the publisher; Amazon and other reseller shipments get refused. If you're mailing a money order for an inmate account, send an envelope containing only the money order via USPS to the jail's local street address listed for deposits. Use the inmate's exact booking name and include your full return address.

Polk County Jail offers three main ways to add money to an inmate account: the visitation-lobby kiosk (Door 2), the Viapath/GettingOut online portal, or U.S. Mail using a money order or cashier's check. Kiosk and online transactions may include vendor fees. Select the trust/commissary option so funds post correctly. If mailing a payment, follow the facility's mail instructions and include the inmate's name and ID. Viapath/GettingOut can also be used to add funds or post bail, but there are limits on deposits per 24-hour period. Bail can also be posted in person at the Polk County Criminal Court Records window during posted weekday hours—posting 10% of bail will typically result in release. Oregon's Senate Bill 48 (effective July 1, 2022) eliminated cash bail for most misdemeanor and felony arrests, with limited exceptions.