Setting Up an Inmate’s Telephone List: the 30-number limit, admission process, and common mistakes

The telephone list is created right at the start of an inmate's time at the institution. During admission and orientation, an inmate who wants telephone privileges prepares and submits a proposed list of numbers. That list kicks off the approval process for all future calls.

The official telephone list caps out at 30 numbers. Personal calls are expected to go only to numbers on that list.

Exceptions exist, but they aren't automatic. An Associate Warden can authorize additional numbers based on the inmate's situation (for example, a large family). Even then, the inmate still has to follow the institution's procedures for adding or changing entries. Extra contacts won't just start working on their own.

All personal calls must go through the Bureau's Inmate Telephone System (ITS). The system exists for safety and security, and the rules are designed to prevent any attempt to route calls around it. That means third-party calling arrangements are not permitted. Call forwarding (including automatic electronic forwarding or similar phone functions) is off limits. So are toll-free and credit-card access numbers. Payment is straightforward: ordinarily the inmate pays for calls. In some cases the receiving party pays instead, but the call still has to go through ITS and follow the same restrictions.

• ✓ Do not use call forwarding (including automatic electronic forwarding or similar features). This is considered a way to circumvent ITS.
• ✓ Do not give an inmate a toll-free number (for example 1-800, 1-888, 1-877, 1-866, 1-900, 1-976). Toll-free calls are not authorized.
• ✓ Do not use credit-card calls or credit-card access numbers. These are not authorized.
• ✓ Do not set up any third-party or “alternative” calling workaround. Third-party arrangements are not permitted.

Most phone problems come from a few predictable assumptions. One is expecting toll-free numbers to work. They won't; toll-free calling is not authorized. Another is trying to "make things easier" with call forwarding or other third-party setups, which are banned because every call must go through ITS. And even when the number itself is fine, people sometimes assume calls can go to anyone at any time. In reality, calls are tied to the numbers on the inmate's official list.

1. Keep the list focused and accurate. Since the official list ordinarily may contain up to 30 numbers, prioritize the people who really need to be reachable.
2. Get consent before a number goes on the list. The inmate has to acknowledge, to the best of their knowledge, that listed people agree to receive calls.
3. If more numbers are truly needed, use the proper approval process. Additional numbers can be authorized in individual situations, but they have to be handled through institution procedures.

If you need to be added, removed, or updated on the list, the process starts with the inmate. They're the ones who prepare and submit the proposed telephone list during admission and orientation. Being "in their phone" in a casual sense is not the same as being on the approved list. Only numbers on the official list will connect. Local procedures vary, so the inmate will need to follow the institution's specific guidelines for making changes.

• ✓ Ask the inmate to add or correct your number on their proposed or official telephone list.
• ✓ Provide the exact phone number you want used (and double-check it for typos).
• ✓ Remember the list ordinarily may contain up to 30 numbers, so additions can require prioritizing or requesting an exception.
• ✓ Only agree to be listed if you are willing to receive the calls, since the inmate must acknowledge listed people are agreeable to receiving them and the calls must be for allowable purposes.