West Virginia prison visitation rules, one visit per month at regional jails, and the notarized minor permission requirement

INTRO

West Virginia's Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation (WVDCR or DCR) operates a distinctive dual system - state correctional facilities including Mount Olive Correctional Complex (the state's only maximum-security prison) alongside a network of Regional Jails that house both pretrial detainees and sentenced state inmates. This structure is unusual: most states confine sentenced state inmates to state prisons and use county jails only for pretrial detention. West Virginia's Regional Jails function as hybrid facilities holding both populations under DCR authority.

Two things define West Virginia's visiting landscape. First: regional jails typically allow only one 30-minute non-contact visit per month - one of the most restrictive visit frequency limits in the entire directory. Second: minors require a notarized permission form at every visit, with a birth certificate, obtained from a notary outside the facility (facility notaries cannot notarize the form). This notarized-form-every-visit requirement is among the most demanding minor visitor documentation requirements in the directory.

West Virginia uses commercial bail bonds - bail_banned = false.

THE DUAL SYSTEM - STATE PRISONS VS. REGIONAL JAILS

Understanding which type of facility holds your loved one determines the visiting experience.

STATE PRISONS (WVDCR):

- Mount Olive Correctional Complex (MOCC) - Mt. Olive, Fayette County

West Virginia's only maximum-security facility. Houses general population, segregation, intake, special management, mental health, acute medical, and work camp inmates. Capacity: approximately 1,030 male inmates.

Address: 1 Mountainside Way, Mt. Olive, WV 25185

Phone: (304) 442-7213

- Salem Correctional Center - Salem, Harrison County

Phone: (304) 782-2371

- Slayton Work Camp - on MOCC grounds

Minimum security, 48 beds. Visiting at MOCC Visiting Room by appointment only; must call 1 week in advance.

REGIONAL JAILS (DCR-operated, hold both pretrial and sentenced state inmates):

- North Central Regional Jail and Correctional Facility (NCRJ&CF) - Greenwood, Ritchie County. Phone: (304) 873-1384

- Eastern Regional Jail and Corrections Facility - Martinsburg, Berkeley County. Phone: (304) 267-0048

- Southern Regional Jail and Correctional Facility - Beaver, Raleigh County. Phone: (304) 256-6726

- (Additional Regional Jails statewide - verify at dcr.wv.gov/facilities)

VISITOR APPLICATION

Visitor Application Form: dcr.wv.gov/services/offenderservices/Documents/JVisitForm.pdf

Submit the completed application to the specific facility. The inmate's visitor list must be established before visiting. At NCRJ&CF, the inmate submits a visit request through the KIOSK system; the visitor does not schedule themselves.

AT MOUNT OLIVE:

All visitors must be on the inmate's approved visitor list. MOCC allows up to 20 people on the visitor list - one of the largest caps in the directory (most states cap at 10-15).

VISIT FREQUENCY - ONE VISIT PER MONTH AT REGIONAL JAILS

At North Central Regional Jail and Correctional Facility: each inmate is allotted one (1) visit per month regardless of classification or security restrictions. This is one of the lowest visit frequency limits in the directory. Comparison: Tennessee allows 4 visits per month (1 per weekend). Pennsylvania allows 4 per month. North Carolina allows 2 per week. West Virginia regional jails: 1 per month.

FRAUDULENT ATTEMPTS TO GET ADDITIONAL VISITS:

NCRJ&CF's published rules state explicitly: attempting to get an additional visit after the monthly allotment has been received will result in a violation report and suspension of visiting privileges for a period determined by the Superintendent.

MOUNT OLIVE FREQUENCY:

General population at MOCC does not appear to have a published one-visit-per-month cap. Verify current frequency limits with MOCC directly at (304) 442-7213.

VISITING HOURS

MOUNT OLIVE CORRECTIONAL COMPLEX (General Population):

Saturday and Sunday: 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM

Visitor processing: 8:30-10:30 AM and 11:30 AM-3:30 PM (note the gap - no processing from 10:30 AM to 11:30 AM)

Visiting room open until 6:00 PM

MOCC Segregation Units (Quilliams 1 & 2, Medical Infirmary, Mental Health Unit):

Appointment only. Call Saturday and Sunday 9:00 AM-5:00 PM to arrange.

MOCC Slayton Work Camp:

Appointment only. Call Saturday and Sunday 8:00 AM-5:00 PM. Appointments must be made at least 1 week in advance due to space limitations.

NORTH CENTRAL REGIONAL JAIL (NCRJ&CF):

Tuesday: 3:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Thursday: 8:00 AM - 1:00 PM

Sunday: 12:30 PM - 5:30 PM

Visits are 30 minutes, non-contact, scheduled in advance.

Last appointment times: Tuesday = 7:30 PM; Thursday = 12:30 PM; Sunday = 5:00 PM.

No walk-in visitations.

EASTERN REGIONAL JAIL:

Schedule via phone: (304) 267-0048, option #2, between 9:00 AM and 1:00 PM on designated scheduling days.

Non-contact visits: 30 minutes. One-hour non-contact visits available upon request.

One visit per day maximum. Inmates receive 2 visits per week. Up to 4 people may visit at one time.

SCHEDULING - INMATE-INITIATED AT REGIONAL JAILS

At NCRJ&CF, the inmate - not the visitor - submits the visit request. The inmate uses the KIOSK system (or Form 5-0033 when the KIOSK is down) between 8:00 AM Monday and noon Thursday for the following week's visits. Requests received outside this window are discarded. The request must list ALL visitors arriving - anyone arriving who was not listed on the request will not be eligible to visit.

LATE ARRIVAL CUTOFF:

Visitors who arrive more than 15 minutes late for their scheduled appointment will be denied the visit unless they called ahead with a valid reason and informed visitation staff they are running late.

PARKING LOT RULE:

No visitor - approved or not - will be permitted to sit in or loiter around their vehicle in the NCRJ&CF parking lot. Individuals not visiting must be off facility property.

MINOR CHILDREN - NOTARIZED FORM REQUIRED AT EVERY VISIT

This is the most demanding minor visitor documentation requirement in the directory.

At NCRJ&CF:

- If the minor is a family member of the inmate: must be accompanied by an adult family member or guardian (including extended family)

- If the minor is NOT a family member: must be accompanied by a parent or guardian

- A notarized Juvenile Visitation Form from the non-incarcerated parent/legal guardian is required at every visit, verifying permission for the minor to be in the adult visitor's company on facility grounds

- A birth certificate must accompany the child at every visit

- CRITICAL: the notary at the facility CANNOT notarize the form. It must be notarized OUTSIDE the facility before arriving

The notarized form is not a one-time requirement - it must be present at each visit. Families who bring a child without the current notarized form will be denied the visit.

At EASTERN REGIONAL JAIL:

- Minors under 18 who are family members: must be accompanied by an adult family member or guardian including extended family

- Minors under 18 who are NOT family: must be accompanied by a parent or guardian

- Minors must have a signed, notarized statement from the parent or guardian authorizing the visit

- Only non-incarcerated parents or legal guardians may authorize juvenile visitation

DRESS CODE

West Virginia's dress code is facility-specific but consistent in core elements across all WVDCR facilities.

PROHIBITED STATEWIDE (from NCRJ&CF rules and InmateAid WV statewide page):

- Uniforms including military attire, camouflage, and medical scrubs (doctor/nurse scrubs)

- Clothing that closely resembles inmate uniforms or staff uniforms

- Clothing exposing midriff, back, shoulders, cleavage, or thighs

- Sleeveless clothing - sleeves must reach the middle of the upper arm or longer

- Tight clothing: spandex, leggings, tube tops, tank tops

- See-through or transparent clothing

- Low-cut tops

- Tops that show skin between shirt and pants when arms are raised

- Shorts (generally prohibited)

- No headwear: hats, caps

- Pants that snap up the side

- Pajama-type pants

- Tops that zip up the front

- Clothing with metallic beads

SKIRTS AND DRESSES:

- At NCRJ&CF: no dresses or skirts are allowed unless prior approval is received from the Chief Correctional Officer or Superintendent

- Generally statewide: skirts, shorts, and dresses must reach to or below the knee with no slits above the knee

UNDERWIRE BRA RULE (NCRJ&CF explicitly published):

Visitors must clear the metal detector. Underwire bras will not clear the metal detector and are therefore prohibited. Being bra-less is also unacceptable. Wear a non-underwire bra or sports bra.

FOOTWEAR:

Footwear is required.

No specific color prohibition is published statewide for WVDCR. Inmates at NCRJ&CF wear orange jail uniforms - orange is effectively prohibited by the "no clothing resembling inmate uniforms" rule.

CHANGE OF CLOTHES RECOMMENDED:

Because the dress code involves staff interpretation, multiple sources recommend leaving a change of clothes in your vehicle before visiting any West Virginia correctional facility.

IDENTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

MOUNT OLIVE (2 forms required):

- All visitors 18+ must have at least one form of photo ID (driver's license, passport, government-issued ID, military ID)

- A second form of ID is also required and may be: voter registration card, insurance card, or similar document

- Social Security cards and credit cards are NOT accepted as valid ID at MOCC

- Birth certificates are acceptable for minor children visiting with an approved adult

NCRJ&CF (government-issued photo ID):

- Driver's license, government-issued non-driving photo ID, U.S. passport, U.S. passport card, U.S. military ID

- Social security cards, credit cards, insurance cards, hunting/fishing licenses are NOT acceptable

- Self-generated identification (downloaded/printed from internet) is NOT acceptable

SEARCHES

All visitors are subject to canine searches (if available), magnetometer/metal detector, X-ray, and pat searches. Visitors with medical conditions preventing metal detector clearance must provide an original physician's statement (pacemaker, implanted metal, etc.).

All personal items must be placed in a locker during the visit. Nothing is brought into the visiting area except one pacifier for a baby if applicable. Coats and jackets are secured in the locker.

No one may leave the visitation area and return once inside.

EX-INMATES AND FELONY VISITORS

At NCRJ&CF: ex-inmates and convicted felons may only visit as approved visitors if they are:

- Immediate family members of the inmate they are applying to visit

- Not a crime victim of that inmate

- Arrest and incarceration free for at least 2 years

CONTRABAND - FELONY CHARGE

It is a felony to introduce any type of illegal drugs, alcohol, or weapon into a West Virginia correctional institution or onto state property. Any person attempting to introduce contraband will be arrested and prosecuted. No tobacco or tobacco-like products may be brought into any WVDCR institution.

SPECIAL VISITS

Special visits (other than regular visitation) may be approved by the Chief of Security/Chief Correctional Officer or higher authority for extenuating circumstances:

- Family emergencies

- Persons traveling long distances

- Visits to hospitalized inmates

- Inmates in disciplinary status

- Visits with clergy

Request must be submitted on a Special Visit Request Form (NCRJ Form 5-0031) at least 5 working days in advance of the requested visit date.

VIDEO VISITS - GETTINGOUT (VIAPATH/GTL)

WVDCR contracts with GettingOut (ViaPath/GTL) for video visits statewide. Families create accounts at GettingOut website or app and schedule remote sessions. Some facilities also have on-site video kiosks.

MOUNT OLIVE VIDEO VISITS:

Monday and Thursday, 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM.

For current video visit availability, costs, and scheduling at each facility, confirm with the facility directly or through GettingOut.

POLICY TRANSPARENCY NOTE

The West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy has documented (as recently as November 2025) that DCR has declined to provide numerous policy directives in response to public records requests. Unlike most states in this directory where statewide policies are publicly posted, West Virginia's visiting rules are largely facility-specific and not consolidated in a single publicly available statewide document. The NCRJ&CF rules (April 2022) represent the most detailed published visiting regulations for any West Virginia facility. Rules at other facilities may differ - confirm directly with each facility before traveling.

FEDERAL BOP IN WEST VIRGINIA

Federal inmates from West Virginia fall under BOP Residential Reentry Management Mid-Atlantic. Federal prisons operating under BOP Program Statement 5267.09.

Federal facilities in West Virginia:

- FCI Gilmer (Glenville, WV - medium security)

- FCI Hazelton (Bruceton Mills, WV - medium security), part of the Hazelton complex

- USP Hazelton (Bruceton Mills, WV - high security)

- SFF Hazelton (Bruceton Mills, WV - female facility)

Pull current visiting details at bop.gov/locations/.

BOP RRM Mid-Atlantic: 302 Sentinel Drive, Suite 200, Annapolis Junction, MD 20701

REENTRY CONNECTION

WVDCR operates reentry programs statewide. See our West Virginia halfway houses page at inmateaid.com/halfway-houses/west-virginia/ for statewide reentry resources.