Inmate Video Visitation in Pennsylvania

If someone you love is locked up in Pennsylvania, video can save you a long drive across a big state, but how it works 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.

Pennsylvania splits custody three ways. The state prison system (DOC, the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections) runs the state's prisons. County jails (here often called county prisons or correctional facilities) are run by counties and handle people awaiting trial and serving shorter sentences. And federal and immigration custody play by their own rules, with a large federal-prison footprint and a significant, fast-changing immigration-detention picture. Figure out which bucket your person is in first, because everything else flows from that.

Do Pennsylvania state prisons offer video visitation?

Yes, and here's the standout: in the Pennsylvania state system, video visits are free. The DOC runs its own Inmate Visitation System (IVS) for both in-person and video scheduling. Every inmate is eligible for free video visits, up to six per month (including one weekend visit), with up to six people allowed to join a single video visit. Visits are monitored and recorded, except visits with legal counsel.

To use it, you create an IVS account, get on the inmate's authorized visitor list, and schedule at least two days in advance. The state publishes device-specific setup guides, so check those before your first visit to get your camera, microphone, and connection working. If the facility has to cancel, you'll get an email at the address tied to your IVS account, so watch that inbox.

In-person visiting is also offered and works through the same IVS system. Each inmate may receive up to four in-person visits per month, including one weekend visit, with visits guaranteed to run at least an hour and up to four visitors (Quehanna Boot Camp allows two). You must be on the authorized list, pass security screening (which can include scanning), and follow the dress and conduct rules.

Two Pennsylvania specifics worth knowing. The DOC does not deliver general mail directly to the prison: incoming letters go to a central third-party processor (Smart Communications) and are handled from there, so use the correct processing address rather than the prison's street address. And money for an inmate generally goes through the state's electronic-deposit vendor (JPay).

To get on the approved visitor list, the inmate adds you, you create your IVS account, and you wait to be confirmed on the authorized list before scheduling.

County and city jails

Pennsylvania's county jails are run by the counties, and each picks its own vendor, so cost and platform vary, a lot. Pennsylvania has unusually high vendor diversity at the county level, so don't assume the system you used at one county works at the next.

You'll see a real range. Several counties use GTL/ViaPath's VisitMe (Bucks, Westmoreland). Others use ICSolutions' The Visitor (Washington County, which gives two free 25-minute video visits a week). Some use other providers entirely, Wayne County, for example, uses Lattice's NetVisit. And policies differ sharply: some counties count a video visit against the same weekly visit limit as an in-person visit (Delaware County's George W. Hill facility allows one visit a week, either video or in-person), while others allow extra video visits on top of in-person ones (Westmoreland allows additional weekly video visits). The only way to be sure of any county's setup is to check that jail's page or call.

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 GTL/ViaPath jail to an ICSolutions or Lattice jail (or into the state system), 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 or low-cost, when a jail offers it.

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.

Pennsylvania 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 (where offered) is often free or cheaper, remote tends to cost, and there are usually advance-registration rules. (Worth repeating: the state DOC system is free, it's the county jails where remote video usually costs.)

Setting up a video visit

The steps are roughly the same whichever system you're dealing with:

1. Find the system for that exact facility. For the state, that's the DOC's IVS. For a county jail, check the county's corrections page for the vendor (GTL/ViaPath VisitMe, ICSolutions, or Lattice, for example). Don't guess.

2. Create the right account and verify your identity, usually with a government photo ID.

3. Add your inmate and get on the approved list. You'll need the correct name and the state inmate number or county booking number, and you generally must be on the authorized visiting list first.

4. Schedule your visit, choosing onsite (where offered) or remote, and pay for any paid remote session (the state system is free).

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

Pennsylvania has a large federal-prison presence. Bureau of Prisons institutions in the state include the Allenwood Federal Correctional Complex in Union County (with high-, medium-, and low-security institutions), FCI and USP Lewisburg, USP Canaan and its camp near Waymart, FCI Schuylkill, FCI McKean, FCI Loretto, and the Federal Detention Center (FDC) in Philadelphia, plus federal reentry offices in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. 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 locator yet, they're likely still in U.S. Marshals custody during the designation period, often held in a county jail under contract.

Immigration custody is a significant and fast-changing story in Pennsylvania, so be careful with older information. The state's largest dedicated immigration facility is the Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Clearfield County, a privately run center (operated by the GEO Group) that is one of the larger immigration-detention facilities in the country and sits in a rural area more than 100 miles from many immigration attorneys. Beyond Moshannon, several county jails hold ICE detainees under contract, reported counties include Pike, Clinton, Cambria, Franklin, and Erie, and more recently ICE has arranged to hold immigration detainees in federal Bureau of Prisons facilities in Pennsylvania as well, including the federal detention center in Philadelphia and FCI Lewisburg. The number of people in immigration detention in Pennsylvania has risen sharply, into the thousands. Because the facility map is changing fast and people are frequently moved, confirm where your person actually is before making any plans. 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 facility sets its own visiting and video rules, so confirm directly, and remember immigration bonds are handled through ICE, not posted at the facility.

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. And Pennsylvania's state system makes that easier than most, free video visits, several a month, up to six people on the call. If your person is in a state prison, 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. (In Pennsylvania's state system, remember mail goes through the processing center, not straight to the prison.) 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/pennsylvania

FCC 2026 call and video rate caps guide

Arrest Record Search (affiliate)