What You Need to Know Before Visiting: Shelby County Jail's One-Visit-Per-Week Rule

Shelby County Jail limits scheduled video visitation to one visit per inmate, per week. If you already have a visit on the calendar for that person (or someone else has scheduled one for them), you won’t be able to book another scheduled visit for the same week.

Planning to visit in person? The on-site option is a video visit in the Shelby County Sheriff's Office lobby - and it's free for both you and the inmate. Good to know if you're trying to stay connected without adding to expenses.

The scheduling system enforces this limit automatically. It will block you from booking anything that puts the inmate over their weekly allowance - even if you pick a different day or time. The system also won't let you schedule if the inmate is on privilege restriction.

Here's another limit that catches people off guard: you can only visit up to two different inmates per week. This is separate from the one-visit-per-inmate rule. So while each inmate gets one scheduled visit per week, you're also capped on how many different people you can see in that same week.

Practical Tips

• ✓ Schedule at least 24 hours ahead - visits have to be set up in advance, so same-day scheduling won’t work.
• ✓ Use the two-week window to plan ahead - you can schedule visits as far as two weeks in advance, which helps if you’re coordinating work, childcare, or travel.
• ✓ Make sure you’re approved and bring a valid government-issued photo ID - approval is required before you can visit, and you’ll need your ID at the start of the visit.

Schedule your visit online, by phone, or at the lobby visitation kiosk in the Shelby County Sheriff's Office. Book as early as you can within the two-week scheduling window - preferred times fill up fast.

Think you're being blocked by mistake? Contact support for the system you're using. For scheduling issues with GTL Vis/desktop and GTL apps, call 901-222-4928 (Monday–Friday, 8:30 a.m.–3:00 p.m.). For technical help, call GTL at 855-208-7349. You can also use the scheduling options - online, phone, or the lobby kiosk - to double-check what the system allows before making plans.

1. Confirm you’re not already scheduled that week - the system only allows one scheduled video visit per inmate per week, so an existing booking will block a new one.
2. Double-check your approval and ID readiness - you must be approved to visit, and you’ll need a valid government-issued photo ID at the start of the visit.
3. Verify through the scheduling tools before you go - schedule online, call, or use the lobby kiosk to confirm the visit is actually set (and that you’re meeting the 24-hour advance requirement).