How Free Video Visits Work (and How a Friend or Family Member Actually Uses One)

A "free video visit" is credited to the incarcerated person's account, not yours. The benefit belongs to the inmate, and it gets applied on their side. That also means the inmate controls who they use that free visit with.

1. Suggest a time for the video visit: From your Friends & Family account, you pick a time and send it as a request to your loved one.
2. Wait for the inmate to confirm: The visit is not set until the inmate confirms the suggested time.
3. Make sure the free-visit conditions are true at confirmation time: When the inmate confirms, two things must be true for the free visit to be used. The inmate must have a free visit available, and your Friends & Family account must have no prepaid funds at that moment. If both are true, the free visit is deducted from the inmate’s account.
4. Log in at the agreed time: Once the time is confirmed, you sign in at that scheduled time to start the visit.

S3

• ✓ Having prepaid funds on your Friends & Family account when the inmate confirms (this is the most common way a “free” visit ends up not being free).
• ✓ Suggesting a time before checking that the inmate actually has a free visit available to use.
• ✓ Missing the agreed time to log in, even after the inmate confirms the visit.

The basic flow is simple: suggest a time, the inmate confirms, then you log in at that time. Most problems happen in the middle. Either the free-visit requirements aren't met at the exact moment the inmate confirms, or the visit gets confirmed but you don't sign in on time.

If you're stuck on the scheduling or account side, contact GettingOut Customer Care at 1-866-516-0115. For questions about whether the inmate has free visits available, or anything specific to the jail's rules, you'll usually need to check with the facility directly.