Prison phone calls are one of the most important lifelines between an incarcerated person and their family, and one of the most expensive. The prison phone industry has historically operated as a near-monopoly charging rates that few other consumer services would get away with. This section covers how the prison phone system works, why rates are so high and what has changed in recent years, how debit calling accounts function, how to get a number approved on an inmate's call list, how InmateAid's local number service reduces call costs by up to 70 percent, and what international callers need to know about reaching a US facility from another country. The questions answered here come from families who are paying too much for calls and from inmates trying to navigate phone access from inside. Understanding how the system works is the first step toward getting the most contact for the least cost. See also our sections on Money Transfer and Commissary.
Related InmateAid Services
Subject: Inmate phone calls
The fix depends on how the calls got blocked in the first place, and there are two separate places the block could be sitting.
If you blocked the calls on your personal phone, through your carrier's call blocking feature, a third party app, or your phone's built-in blocking settings, you can unblock them directly on your end without involving the facility at all. Go into your phone settings or call blocking app, find the number associated with the facility's phone carrier,...
Read moreSubject: Inmate phone calls
No, inmates cannot receive incoming calls. You can only receive calls from the inmate. Depending on your telephone number, InmateAid might be able to substantially reduce that incoming call. Email us for an honest estimate.
Subject: Inmate phone calls
Yes there is, but the savings are only $0.60 per call. Marshall County Jail uses Telmate. The calls are either $3.75 or $3.15 depending on your phone number. Let us know if you would like our help getting the calls for $3.15.
Subject: Inmate phone calls
You pay for the line and it is our knowledge of the system that allocates a phone number that you use with the prison phone company to save money. Sometimes there are no savings (we refund the deposit), other times there is a savings of $2-$4 per call, and the best we do is where some county jails are getting $15-25 per 15-minute call... our fee of $20 is covered by the savings. If you talk a lot, this is...
Read moreSubject: Inmate phone calls
there are no limits as long as they have money on their phone account or someone on the other end accepts the call as "collect".
Subject: Inmate phone calls
Normally there would be no phone use during a lockdown. However, if the inmate has a phone in their cell, they can still use it, unless the lockdown was so serious they cut the phones off entirely.
Subject: Inmate phone calls
First and foremost, know that there is only one option for a phone provider at ALL the facilities in the US. The one that has the contract, sets the rates and terms... essentially a monopoly at the prison. We are not replacing them, we are using their pricing to find the best possible phone number to make the calls the cheapest possible price. If we can save you money, we will get the line, if not we refund the money... immediately....
Read moreSubject: Inmate phone calls
That automated flag does not necessarily mean your husband did anything wrong, and it does not automatically result in disciplinary action. Here is what is actually happening when that message plays.
The federal phone system runs every call through an automated monitoring layer that listens for specific keywords, unusual call patterns, and other triggers. Think of it like a search engine running in real time against the conversation. If the system detects a word or phrase on its flagged list, it...
Read moreSubject: Inmate phone calls
Yes, the type of phone you have does not affect whether you can be on the approved call list. Prepaid cell phones, postpaid cell phones, landlines, and VoIP numbers are all eligible. The carrier and payment method behind the number are irrelevant to the facility's approval process. What matters is the number itself and who it belongs to.
The inmate generally controls who goes on their call list, and the facility's review focuses on the person requesting to be added rather...
Read moreSubject: Inmate phone calls
As often as they want, as long as there is money on their books to make the calls
Subject: Inmate phone calls
The money on his books is not the issue. The issue is the contact policy at juvenile facilities, and it works very differently from adult jails and prisons.
Juvenile correctional facilities restrict communication to immediate family members only. That means parents, siblings, and grandparents. Girlfriends are not included in that category regardless of how serious the relationship is or how long you have been together. It is not personal and it is not about you specifically. It is a blanket policy...
Read moreSubject: Inmate phone calls
The inmate will need to add you to that list
Subject: Inmate phone calls
By using an InmateAid number, you are lowering the price of the call. You can talk longer for a lot less money. Prisons contract with only one prison phone company to provide outbound inmate calling services for each prison, jail or detention center. The prison phone company has no competition. We don't replace the prison phone company, we are simply providing a number that makes their call price less (based solely on the telephone number). People that come to InmateAid are already...
Read moreSubject: Inmate phone calls
On the free call question, most facilities allow a phone call shortly after booking, typically within the first couple of hours of arrival. Whether that call is actually free varies by facility. Some provide one free call as standard practice. Others allow the call but run it through the facility's phone carrier, which means it comes at the regular rate and someone on the receiving end needs to have an account set up to accept it. Do not assume it...
Read moreSubject: Inmate phone calls
Once the number has been added to the approved call list, the timeline depends on where the inmate is in the facility's intake and orientation process.
For someone who has already completed orientation at Northern State Prison, the number can be active and available for calls within a few days of being submitted. The phone carrier has to process the new number and add it to the approved list in their system, and that typically takes two to four business days...
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