SPOKE ARTICLE - Video Visitation series - CALIFORNIA

Inmate Video Visitation in California

If you are trying to see someone who is locked up in California, the answer about video visitation depends heavily on which system is holding them, and California's state prison system works differently from what most families expect. So it is worth getting the lay of the land before you set up any account.

California runs on three separate systems for visiting: the state prison system run by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the county and city jails run by sheriffs, and the federal and immigration systems. Each handles video differently, and the state system in particular made a deliberate choice to push families back toward in-person visiting. This guide walks through all three.

Do California state prisons offer video visitation?

This is where California surprises people. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, known as CDCR, does not offer scheduled video visits at its adult prisons the way you might expect. CDCR ended weekend video visiting at all adult institutions in July 2023 and shifted to three days of in-person visiting every week, on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, scheduled through the Department's Visitation Scheduling Application. The state even funds free transportation to help families get to prisons for in-person visits. Only the conservation camps, sometimes called fire camps, still run a hybrid of in-person and video.

But that does not mean there is no way to see your person's face on a screen. CDCR provides video calling through tablets, which is a different thing from a scheduled video visit. Incarcerated people with tablets get a set amount of free video call time, plus paid video calls beyond that, and audio calls from the wall phones and tablets. So the practical picture in California state prisons is: in-person for actual visits, and tablet video calls for seeing each other in between.

There is an important change happening right now. CDCR is switching its tablet and communications vendor from ViaPath to Securus, rolling out institution by institution starting in early 2026, with the fire camps already moved over. The switch lowers the cost of paid video calls and changes the free video allowance, and it means content like photos and messages does not carry over from the old tablets. If your person's institution is mid-transition, expect some disruption, and check the current vendor and rates before you rely on anything. Because the free allowance and prices are changing, this guide does not quote figures; confirm them on CDCR's tablets page or with the current vendor.

County and city jails

County jails are a different world from the state prisons, and this is where traditional video visitation, scheduled sessions you book and sometimes pay for, is common in California.

Most large California county jails use video, through vendors like Smart Communications, Securus, or ViaPath. The important difference from some other states is that many California counties still offer in-person visiting alongside video rather than replacing it entirely. San Diego County, for example, runs both an online in-person visit reservation system and remote video visits. Los Angeles and Orange counties also use video. Some jails do offer onsite kiosks and others lean on remote-from-home sessions. Your county sets its own rules, vendor, and whether in-person is still available, so the facility's own page is always the place to confirm.

How county jail video visitation usually works

There are two formats, and the difference matters for your wallet.

Onsite video is when you travel to the jail and use a kiosk there to talk to the person, who stays in their housing unit. You are on a screen rather than face to face, but onsite sessions are often free. You usually still have to schedule them in advance.

Remote video is when you connect from home using a smartphone, tablet, or computer, through the jail's vendor app or website. This is the convenient option, and it is the one that usually costs money, charged either per minute or as a flat fee per session. Remote sessions also have to be scheduled ahead of time, often a day in advance, and many jails cap the number or length of visits per week.

Because the price depends entirely on the vendor and the specific jail, this guide does not quote rates. Federal rules that took effect through 2024 to 2026 pushed video visitation costs down at many facilities, so the current price is whatever your jail's vendor lists at the time you book. Always check the rate on the facility's page or in the vendor app before you pay.

Setting up a video visit or video call

For a county jail video visit, the steps are similar from jail to jail even though the vendor changes:

First, find out which vendor your jail uses. Common ones in California include Smart Communications, Securus, and ViaPath (GettingOut or ConnectNetwork). The jail's page lists the one it uses. Do not create an account with the wrong vendor, because they do not transfer.

Second, create an account with that vendor and verify your identity with a valid government photo ID.

Third, add your incarcerated person using their full name and booking number, and make sure you are on their approved visitor list.

Fourth, schedule a session, choosing onsite or remote, pick an open time slot, and pay if it is a paid remote visit. Save the confirmation.

Fifth, for a remote visit, test your device, camera, and internet ahead of time, and log in a few minutes early. If the technology fails on the facility's end, ask the vendor about a credit.

For a CDCR state prison, the path is different: you get on the approved visitor list, schedule in-person visits through the Visitation Scheduling Application, and use tablet video calls through the current vendor for face-to-face contact in between.

Federal and immigration custody

If your person is in federal prison in California, that is the Bureau of Prisons, which runs its own visitation, primarily in-person with some video. California has a large federal footprint, including the Lompoc and Victorville complexes, the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles, the federal detention center in San Diego, FCI Terminal Island, and FCI Mendota. You arrange visits through the specific federal facility.

Immigration custody is a significant part of the picture in California. The state has major ICE detention facilities, including the Adelanto center in San Bernardino County and the Otay Mesa center near San Diego, both run by private operators, along with some contracted county facilities. These set their own visitation rules, which may include video or in-person by appointment. Because people can be moved between facilities, the most reliable way to find and follow someone in ICE custody is the federal ICE Online Detainee Locator, searching by their A-Number. Confirm visitation through the specific facility, and getting legal help early is worthwhile.

A note on staying connected

Video is one piece of staying in touch, and in California's state prisons it mostly means tablet video calls rather than scheduled visits. Mail still reaches almost everyone in custody, it is the steadiest form of contact, and a person who hears from home regularly does easier time. Phone calls are the other backbone, and in CDCR audio calls from tablets and wall phones are free. Many families use a mix: mail as the constant, free audio calls for regular contact, in-person visits when they can travel, and tablet video calls to actually see each other in between. To set any of this up for the specific facility holding your loved one, find that facility on InmateAid and follow the instructions on its page.

- See every prison, jail, and detention center in California: /prisons/california

- Understand the new 2026 call and video rates: link to FCC Prison Phone Rate Caps 2026 guide

- Search arrest records across California: Arrest Record Search (honestly labeled affiliate)