Penmate Inmate Support Guides
Phone & Messaging

How to Register, Schedule, and Follow the Rules for IDOC Video Visits (ICSolutions)

IDOC video visits run through ICSolutions at nearly all facilities, so most of the process happens in your ICSolutions account. Here are the key steps, limits, and rules to know before you get started.

• 2 min read Verified from official sources

IDOC uses ICSolutions for video visitation at all IDOC facilities except Adult Transition Centers (ATCs). Your first step: create an ICSolutions account and complete registration. Without it, you won't be able to schedule video visits.

All scheduling happens through the ICSolutions website. Calling the facility won't help. Staff will not book a video visit for you. Save yourself the time and go straight to ICSolutions to pick an available slot.

Can't find any mid-afternoon time slots? That's normal. IDOC does not schedule video visits between 2:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. because of institutional count procedures.

Keep the daily cap in mind. An individual in custody can receive only one video visit per day. If someone else already has a visit booked for that day, you'll need to pick a different date.

There's also a weekly limit: two video visits per week per individual in custody. This applies even if the person is in restrictive housing. Trying to schedule a third visit in the same week? You'll need to move it to a different week.

For people in general population or protective custody, IDOC allows up to three approved visitors per video visit. If your family wants multiple people on the call, keep that headcount in mind when scheduling so you don't book a visit that can't happen as planned.

  1. Choose your device: You can join from a Windows computer, an Android device, or an iOS device (iPhone or iPad).
  2. Download the ICSolutions video visitation app: Install the application on the device you plan to use for the visit.
  3. Test the app before visit day: You are required to download and test the visitation application before you will be able to join a visitation, so do this ahead of time rather than minutes before your scheduled start.

Heads up: IDOC video visits are monitored and recorded. They are not confidential, and attorney-client privilege does not apply. Visits can be terminated for rule violations.

  • ✓ Any display of nudity
  • ✓ Any behavior or actions that are sexual in nature
  • ✓ Use or display of weapons, drugs or alcohol, or related paraphernalia
  • ✓ Activity or display of graphics or paraphernalia associated with any Security Threat Group
  • ✓ Unlawful activity or depiction of unlawful activity
  • ✓ Recording or filming the visit by any visitor participant (or any third party)

Find an Inmate at Vienna Corrections Center, IL

Search for a loved one and send messages and photos in minutes.

Exact spelling helps find results faster

Free to search · Used by families nationwide
Woman using phone to connect with loved one

More from Vienna Corrections Center, IL

How IDOC Handles Incoming Mail: Scanning, What’s Not Scanned, and Prohibited Materials

IDOC scans most incoming, non-privileged mail before delivering it. Knowing what gets scanned, what doesn't, and which materials are flat-out prohibited helps you avoid rejected mail and frustrating delays.

How IDOC Phone Service Works and What the Securus → ICSolutions Transition Means for Families

If your loved one is in Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) custody, phone calls work differently than you might expect. Here's how calls are funded, what's changing during the Securus to ICSolutions transition, and what to do with any remaining Securus balance.

How Illinois Prisons Handle Visitor Searches and What That Means for You

Visiting someone in an Illinois Department of Corrections facility? Expect security checks as part of the process. Visitors, vehicles, and items brought onto State property are all subject to search, and refusing a search can cost you your visiting privileges.