Penmate Inmate Support Guides
Visitation

Remote Visits at Bell County Jail: Hours, How They Count, and Signing Up Through Smart Communications

Remote visits are often the easiest way to stay connected, especially when getting to the jail in person isn't realistic. Here's what Bell County Jail publishes about remote visit hours, how they count toward your visitation allowance, and how to sign up through Smart Communications (SmartInmate).

• 2 min read Verified from official sources

Bell County Jail lists remote visitation as available every day from 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM. If you're juggling work, school pickup, or other family schedules, that daily window is the key detail to plan around.

Good to know: Bell County Jail specifically states that remote visits through Smart Communications do not count against your in-person visitation allowance.

Bell County directs families to SmartInmate (Smart Communications) from its visitation information page. Sign-up and scheduling for remote visits happen through that vendor system, not through a separate county portal.

You'll need to create an account with Smart Communications (SmartInmate) through the vendor's website. Once your account is set up, you can schedule and start remote visits with your person in custody.

Vendor contact: Bell County provides this Smart Communications phone number: 1-727-349-1561.

  1. Start from Bell County’s visitation page: Look for the SmartInmate (Smart Communications) option that Bell County provides for remote visits.
  2. Create your SmartInmate account: Complete the vendor sign-up so you have a login for remote visitation.
  3. Use the vendor system to begin remote visits: After your account is created, follow the SmartInmate prompts to set up and schedule remote visitation for Bell County Jail.
  • ✓ Schedule your remote visit within Bell County’s published remote visitation window (11:00 AM to 7:00 PM, daily).
  • ✓ Double-check the time you selected in your SmartInmate account before the day of the visit.
  • ✓ If you get stuck on the vendor side (account or remote visit setup), call Smart Communications at 1-727-349-1561.

Got a question about your SmartInmate account? The vendor is usually the right place to start, since remote visits run through Smart Communications. If your question is about Bell County's posted remote visitation availability or the daily 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM window, that's a jail policy issue, so contact the county directly.

Limits of what's published: Bell County points you to SmartInmate and notes that you need an account, but it doesn't provide a full step-by-step walkthrough of the vendor's sign-up and scheduling screens.

Remote visits are separate from in-person visitation rules. Bell County Jail allows two 20-minute in-person visits per week, and you must have a photo ID and be on the inmate's approved visitors list. The good news: remote visits do not count against that in-person allowance, so using them won't reduce your two weekly in-person visits.

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