SPOKE ARTICLE - Video Visitation series - COLORADO

Inmate Video Visitation in Colorado

If you are trying to see someone who is locked up in Colorado, video visitation is available in both the state prison system and most county jails. Colorado is also doing something no other state has done: it passed a law making visitation a right rather than a privilege. That matters for how secure your access to your person is, and this guide explains it along with the practical mechanics.

Colorado runs on three separate systems for visiting: the state prison system run by the Colorado Department of Corrections, the county and city jails run by sheriffs, and the federal and immigration systems. Each handles video differently. This guide walks through all three, tells you which facilities offer video, and shows you how to set it up.

Do Colorado state prisons offer video visitation?

Yes. The Colorado Department of Corrections, known as CDOC, offers both in-person and video visitation at its state prisons. Video runs through Securus, which CDOC rolled out across its facilities, and you schedule sessions online once you have been approved as a visitor.

One thing to know about CDOC video specifically: sessions are short, currently capped at about 10 minutes, and they are scheduled in advance. They are best thought of as a quick face-to-face check-in rather than a long visit, which is what in-person visiting is for. To do either one, you first have to be on the inmate's approved visitor list, which you get onto by completing a visitor application and submitting a copy of your photo ID to the facility. An inmate can have up to 12 approved visitors. Minor children must be named on the application but do not count toward the 12. Every person who appears on a video visit has to be an approved visitor, so do not let someone who is not on the list step into the frame, or the visit can be terminated and privileges suspended.

Colorado's new visitation-as-a-right law

Here is what sets Colorado apart. In 2025 the state passed House Bill 25-1013, making Colorado the first state to treat visitation as a right rather than a privilege. Under the law, in-person visits, phone calls, and video visits cannot be taken away purely as punishment for an incarcerated person's conduct. CDOC can still set reasonable rules and can limit visitation in specific situations, such as for people in restrictive housing with serious violations, to comply with court orders protecting victims, or to keep co-defendants from communicating, but the default is that your access is protected. The law takes full effect in 2026, and CDOC has revised its visitation policy to align with it. For families, the practical upshot is that visitation, including video, is harder for a facility to revoke than it used to be, though all the normal scheduling and conduct rules still apply.

County and city jails

County jails are a separate world from the state prisons, and most large Colorado county jails use video visitation, often as a primary way to connect.

Denver, El Paso County (Colorado Springs), Arapahoe, and other large counties use video, through vendors that vary by jail. Some jails offer onsite kiosks at the facility, and many offer remote video from home. Whether a given jail still offers in-person visiting alongside video depends on the county, so the facility's own page is always the place to confirm the vendor, the format, and the hours.

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.

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

The steps are similar whether you are dealing with a state prison or a county jail:

First, find out which vendor applies. For CDOC state prisons it is Securus. County jails each pick their own, so check the jail's page. Do not create an account with the wrong vendor, because they do not transfer.

Second, get on the approved visitor list. For a CDOC prison, that means a completed visitor application and a photo ID submitted to the facility. County jails have their own approval steps.

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

Fourth, add your incarcerated person using their full name and DOC or booking number, then schedule a session, choosing onsite or remote where both exist, and pay if it is a paid remote visit. Save the confirmation.

Fifth, test your device, camera, and internet ahead of time, and log in early, usually about 15 minutes before the start. If the technology fails on the facility's end, ask the vendor about a credit.

Federal and immigration custody

If your person is in federal prison in Colorado, that is the Bureau of Prisons, which runs its own visitation, primarily in-person with some video. Colorado has a large federal presence, most notably the Florence federal complex in Fremont County, which includes the federal Supermax known as ADX Florence, a high-security penitentiary, a medium-security institution, and a camp, plus FCI Englewood near Denver. Visiting rules at these facilities, especially the Supermax, are strict and facility-specific, so you arrange visits directly through the institution.

Immigration custody in Colorado centers on one facility: the Aurora ICE Processing Center, also called the Denver Contract Detention Facility, run by a private operator under contract with ICE. It is the only major ICE detention center in the state. It sets its own visitation rules, which may include video or in-person by appointment. Because people can be transferred, 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 facility, and getting legal help early is worthwhile.

A note on staying connected

Video visits are one piece of staying in touch, and they are not the cheapest or most reliable one. 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. Many families use a mix: mail as the constant, calls for regular contact, in-person visits when they can travel, and video visits to 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, since the vendor, the rules, and the costs are different at every facility.

- See every prison, jail, and detention center in Colorado: /prisons/colorado

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

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