If someone you love is locked up in Minnesota, video can save you a long drive across the state, but how it works, and what it costs, depends on which kind of facility they're in. So the first thing to nail down is whether your person is in a state prison, a county jail, or federal or immigration custody, because that determines the vendor, the cost, and the rules.
Minnesota splits custody three ways, and each handles video differently. The state prison system (Minnesota DOC) runs its own institutions. County jails, run by sheriffs, handle people awaiting trial and serving shorter sentences. And federal and immigration custody play by their own rules, with Minnesota holding several federal prisons and a handful of county jails that contract with ICE. Figure out which bucket your person is in first, because everything else flows from that.
Do Minnesota state prisons offer video visitation?
Yes. The Minnesota Department of Corrections (DOC) offers video visits at all of its facilities, alongside in-person visits. The state runs its video visits and electronic messaging through JPay. To do a video visit, you must be on the incarcerated person's approved visitor list, then you set up a JPay account and schedule through it. The JPay system shows the open visit times for your person's living unit.
Two Minnesota-specific things on cost are worth knowing, because they pull in opposite directions. Scheduled JPay video visits from your own computer are a paid service (a short, fixed-length session billed per visit), and by policy a person may receive only two video visits per week. But separately, people who have tablets get a set amount of free video-call time from the tablet every couple of weeks, and standard audio phone calls from the wall phones and tablets are free. So the cheapest face time may come through the tablet, not the scheduled computer visit, ask your person what they have access to.
In-person visiting also operates at state facilities. You schedule by calling the facility (at least 24 hours ahead) or through the DOC's online scheduling system, and most visits are limited to about one hour. If you drive more than 100 miles one way, you may be able to request an extended visit, but your person has to initiate that with the facility several days in advance.
To get on the approved visitor list, you submit the DOC's visiting application. A visitor may be on only one incarcerated person's list (unless you're verified immediate family). If you're ever removed from a list, note that you generally have to wait three months before reapplying. For email, the DOC uses JPay; there's also a "videogram" option, a short recorded video sent for the price of a few stamps, for people who can't do a live visit.
County and city jails
Minnesota's county jails are run by sheriffs, and each picks its own vendor, so this is where cost and platform vary the most, and where in-person rules differ sharply from the state.
Some examples of the range: Hennepin County (Minneapolis) uses Securus and has moved to video-only for friends and family, with free onsite video at the Public Safety Facility but no traditional in-person social visits. Sherburne County uses NCIC, offering free onsite video and paid remote video from home. Other counties use their own providers. Big counties like Hennepin, Ramsey, Anoka, Sherburne, and St. Louis all post online rosters you can search.
The vendor is facility-specific, so the company that works for one county won't necessarily be the one next door. One warning that saves people money and grief: accounts do not transfer between vendors. If your person moves from a Securus jail to an NCIC jail (or into the state system, which uses JPay), your funds and account don't follow. You set up fresh with the new vendor.
How county jail video visitation usually works
There are two flavors, and the difference is the whole ballgame for your wallet.
Onsite (or "onsite video") means you drive to the jail and sit at a video terminal in the lobby to talk to the person, who's on a screen inside. Onsite video is frequently free, including at Hennepin and Sherburne.
Remote video means you connect from your own phone, tablet, or computer at home. That convenience is what you pay for. Remote sessions are charged per session or per minute, you typically prepay into a vendor account, and you usually reserve a slot in advance (often 24 hours ahead).
Minnesota jail video rates shift around, partly because the FCC has been capping these rates through 2024 to 2026 and partly because every facility prices differently. I'm not going to print a per-minute number here, because by the time you read it, it'll be wrong. Look up the rate on your specific jail's vendor page before you pay. What's stable is the structure: onsite is often free, remote tends to cost, and there are usually advance-registration rules.
Setting up a video visit
The steps are roughly the same whichever vendor you're dealing with:
1. Find the exact facility first, then its vendor. Confirm whether your person is in a state prison, a county jail, or federal/ICE custody. For the DOC it's JPay. For a county jail, check the sheriff's site, since it could be Securus, NCIC, or another system. Don't guess.
2. Get on the approved list, then create your account. For the state, you must be on the person's visitor list before a JPay video visit. For a county jail, register with the listed vendor and verify your identity, usually with a government photo ID.
3. Add your inmate using the correct name and DOC or booking number, and confirm you're on the approved list.
4. Schedule your visit, choosing onsite or remote, and pay if it's a paid remote session. Many facilities require booking 24 hours in advance.
5. Test your device and log in early. Get on about 15 minutes ahead. Check your camera, microphone, speakers, and internet. A failed connection on your end usually still burns the visit slot.
Federal and immigration custody
If your person is in federal Bureau of Prisons custody, Minnesota has several BOP facilities: FPC Duluth (a minimum-security camp), FCI Sandstone (low-security), FCI Waseca (low-security, for women), and FMC Rochester (a federal medical center). The BOP runs primarily in-person visiting with only limited video, so use the BOP inmate locator to find the institution and check its specific visiting rules. If someone was recently arrested on a federal charge and isn't in the BOP locator yet, they're likely still in U.S. Marshals custody during the designation period (in Minnesota, the Sherburne County Jail is a primary holding site for federal Marshals detainees).
Immigration custody in Minnesota is a fast-moving, contested situation, so be careful with older information. Minnesota is officially a "sanctuary state," but it has no large dedicated ICE detention center; instead, ICE contracts with a handful of mostly rural county jails to hold detainees. The longest-standing ICE-detention jails are Sherburne County (Elk River), Kandiyohi County (Willmar), and Freeborn County (Albert Lea), with other counties (such as Carver and Nobles) also listed at various points, plus federal processing space at the Whipple Building at Fort Snelling. As of 2025 and 2026, this picture is in active flux: more counties signed cooperation agreements with ICE, the Minnesota Attorney General issued a legal opinion questioning whether sheriffs can enter these agreements on their own, there's litigation over at least one county's arrangement, and legislation has been proposed to void the contracts entirely. Because of all that, confirm the current situation directly rather than relying on this paragraph alone. People are frequently moved between these jails and sometimes out of state. To locate someone in ICE custody, use the ICE Online Detainee Locator, which needs the person's A-Number (the nine-digit alien registration number) or their name plus country of birth. Each jail sets its own visiting and video rules (Sherburne, for instance, offers onsite and remote video through its jail vendor), so confirm directly with the facility, and remember immigration bonds are handled through ICE, not posted at the jail.
A note on staying connected
Video is good for one thing money can't really replace: seeing a face, watching a kid wave, reading an expression. When your person is held hours away in a rural county jail, that matters more, not less. And in Minnesota, the free tablet video and free audio calls in the state system mean some of that face time and voice time doesn't have to cost you, use it.
But be honest with yourself about what carries the weight day to day. Mail is the steadiest line there is. It doesn't drop the call, doesn't need a scheduled slot, and the person can hold it and read it again at 2 a.m. when the walls close in. Phone calls are the backbone of staying in touch, the thing you'll actually do most weeks. Video is the bonus on top, the face-to-face when you can get it. Build your routine around mail and calls, and treat video as the thing that makes the distance feel a little smaller.
Related pages:
/prisons/minnesota
FCC 2026 call and video rate caps guide
Arrest Record Search (affiliate)
Frequently asked questions
Do Minnesota state prisons offer video visits?
Yes. The Minnesota DOC offers video visits at all facilities, alongside in-person visits, scheduled through JPay once you're on the person's approved visitor list.
Are Minnesota state prison video visits free?
Scheduled JPay video visits from your computer are paid (two per week max). But people with tablets get some free tablet video time every two weeks, and audio calls are free.
Is in-person visiting still allowed in Minnesota?
Yes. State facilities offer in-person visits, scheduled by phone or online, usually limited to about an hour. Long-distance visitors may request an extended visit.
What vendor does the Minnesota DOC use?
JPay handles state video visits and email. Tablet video calls and audio phone calls run through the facility's tablet/phone system. County jails use different vendors.
How do I get on the approved visitor list?
Submit the DOC's visiting application. You can be on only one person's list unless you're verified immediate family. If removed, you usually wait three months to reapply.
What vendor do Minnesota county jails use?
It varies by county. Hennepin uses Securus; Sherburne uses NCIC. Others use their own providers. Always confirm on the specific sheriff's website.
Are county jail video visits free in Minnesota?
Often onsite video at the jail is free (as at Hennepin and Sherburne). Remote video from home is usually charged per session or minute. Confirm with the facility.
What is onsite vs remote video visiting?
Onsite means you go to the jail and use a terminal there, often free. Remote means you connect from your own device at home, which typically costs money at county jails.
Do vendor accounts transfer between jails?
No. Accounts and funds don't move between vendors. If your person transfers to a facility using a different company, you set up a new account with that vendor.
How do I find which facility someone is in?
Use the Minnesota DOC offender locator for state custody and the county sheriff's roster for local jails. For federal, use the BOP locator. Confirm before scheduling.
Are there federal prisons in Minnesota?
Yes, several: FPC Duluth, FCI Sandstone, FCI Waseca (for women), and FMC Rochester (a medical center). Use the BOP inmate locator and check each one's visiting rules.
Where are ICE detainees held in Minnesota?
Mostly in rural county jails that contract with ICE, including Sherburne (Elk River), Kandiyohi (Willmar), and Freeborn (Albert Lea), plus federal space at Fort Snelling.
How do I find someone in ICE custody?
Use the ICE Online Detainee Locator. You'll need the person's A-Number, or their full name plus country of birth. Check often, since people are moved frequently.
Can I visit an ICE detainee by video?
It depends on the jail holding them. Sherburne, for example, offers onsite and remote video through its vendor. Confirm the current rules directly with the facility.
Is video the only way to see an inmate?
It depends. State prisons offer in-person plus video. Some county jails (like Hennepin) have moved to video-only for friends and family. Federal and ICE custody have their own rules.
What do I need to set up a video visit?
The correct facility and its vendor, approval on the visitor list, a verified account, the inmate's name and DOC or booking number, and a tested device with good internet. ====================================================================