How JPay Works: Complete Guide for Families of State Prison Inmates

JPay is a privately held inmate communication company that contracts with state departments of corrections to provide messaging, money transfers, video visitation, and tablet-based services to incarcerated people and their families. JPay is owned by Securus Technologies.

JPay serves facilities in over 35 states including Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Colorado, Indiana, and many others. The services available through JPay vary by state and facility. Not every JPay facility offers every service - messaging may be available where video visits are not, and vice versa.

JPay does not serve federal Bureau of Prisons facilities. Federal inmates use CorrLinks for messaging. If you are unsure whether your loved one's facility uses JPay, search our facility directory or visit jpay.com and search by the inmate name and state.

Go to jpay.com and click on the sign up or register option. On the homepage, you will see a search section where you can enter the state and the inmate correctional ID number. Enter this information and select your loved one from the results.

Once you have found the inmate, you will be prompted to create your account. Enter your name, email address, and create a password. Agree to the terms of service and complete the registration process. Account creation is free.

After creating your account, you will be taken to your dashboard which shows all available services for your loved one at their specific facility. Services shown on your dashboard are the ones actually available at that facility. If a service does not appear, it is not offered at that location.

JPay also has a free mobile app available for iOS and Android. Download the JPay app from your app store, log in with your account details, and you can access all services from your smartphone.

JPay uses a virtual stamp system for messaging. You purchase stamps in advance and use them to send messages and photo attachments. Each standard text message requires one stamp. Photo attachments require an additional stamp per photo.

Stamp prices vary by state and bundle size. Stamps typically cost between $0.09 and $0.47 each depending on the state and the bundle you purchase. Larger bundles cost less per stamp. Some states set fixed stamp prices while others allow JPay to set their own rates.

To buy stamps, log in to your JPay account, go to the email section, and click buy stamps. Select the bundle size and pay by credit card or debit card. Stamps are added to your account immediately after purchase and do not expire.

Some facilities provide inmates with a small number of free stamps each month - typically four stamps per month. These free stamps reset on the first of each month and do not accumulate if unused.

Log in to your JPay account or open the JPay app. Select your loved one from your contact list. Click compose or write email and type your message in the text field. Messages can be up to 6,000 characters in most states.

To attach a photo, use the attachment option and upload your image. Each photo attachment uses one additional stamp. Photos are subject to review and must meet facility content guidelines. Rejected photos will not be delivered and stamps used for rejected content are typically not refunded.

Click preview to see how your message looks before sending. When ready, click send and confirm the stamp cost. Your message is submitted and enters the facility review queue.

Most JPay messages are delivered within 24 to 48 hours after submission. Some facilities deliver faster and some take longer depending on review volume. The inmate receives the message on their JPay tablet or at a kiosk in the facility.

Log in to your JPay account and go to the send money section. Select your loved one and enter the amount you want to send. JPay accepts credit cards, debit cards, and in some cases cash at JPay kiosks at the facility.

JPay charges a transaction fee for money transfers. Fees vary by state, transfer amount, and payment method. Fees typically range from $0.95 to $4.95 per transaction. Some states have negotiated lower fees. Check the fee schedule on the jpay.com website before sending.

Money sent through JPay goes directly to the inmate trust account. The inmate can use these funds to purchase commissary items, buy additional JPay stamps, pay for phone calls, and cover other approved expenses.

Processing times for JPay money transfers vary. Most transfers are credited to the inmate account within one to three business days. Some facilities process transfers the same day.

Log in to your JPay account and go to the video section if it is available for your loved one's facility. Not all JPay facilities offer video visitation. If the video option does not appear on your dashboard, the facility does not currently offer this service.

Select an available date and time from the scheduling calendar. Review the cost and enter your payment information. You will receive a confirmation of the scheduled visit.

At the scheduled time, log in to JPay on your computer or through the JPay app on your smartphone or tablet. Make sure your camera and microphone are working before the visit begins. Join the call at the scheduled time and wait for the inmate to connect from the facility terminal.

JPay video visits typically cost between $7.50 and $12.99 per session depending on the facility. Sessions are usually 20 to 30 minutes long. All video visits are recorded and monitored by facility staff.

JPay has a 1.8 star rating from hundreds of consumer reviews, with the most common complaints involving stamps not appearing after purchase, money transfers not credited, video visits freezing or dropping, and difficulty reaching customer service. Knowing these issues in advance helps you avoid them and resolve them faster when they occur.

If you purchased stamps and they are not showing in your account, do not purchase again immediately. Wait 30 minutes and refresh your account. If stamps still do not appear, contact JPay customer service with your transaction confirmation number and the exact time of purchase. Keep all purchase receipts in your email until you confirm the stamps are in your account.

If you sent money and it was not credited to the inmate account, check whether the funds are being held in a pending or review status. Money held in a hold account is not lost but requires contacting JPay to release it. If JPay customer service does not resolve the issue, contact your bank to dispute the transaction and provide your JPay confirmation number as documentation.

JPay video visits are consistently reported as the most frustrating service. Common problems include the visit freezing, dropping connection, audio cutting out, and the platform redirecting users to download plugins repeatedly. Before every scheduled visit, test your camera and microphone, use a wired internet connection if possible, and close all other applications. If a visit fails due to a JPay technical issue rather than your connection, contact customer service within 24 hours to request a credit.

Stamp prices vary by state but families consistently report that the cost adds up quickly when messaging regularly. A standard text message requires one stamp costing between $0.33 and $0.47 depending on the state. Photo attachments require an additional stamp per photo. Video messages called VideoGrams cost four stamps each for a short clip, which families report feels excessive for the quality delivered.

To reduce stamp costs, buy stamps in larger bundles. The cost per stamp decreases as the bundle size increases. If you are messaging regularly, purchasing the largest available bundle gives you the lowest per-message cost. Stamps do not expire so there is no downside to buying in bulk.

Some states have negotiated lower stamp prices through their DOC contracts with JPay. California, New York, and other high-population states may have different pricing than smaller states. Check the stamp purchase page in your JPay account to see the exact price per stamp for your loved one's specific facility rather than relying on general estimates.

JPay charges a cash advance fee when families use a credit card to purchase stamps or send money. This is because JPay transactions are classified as cash advances by some credit card companies, triggering additional fees that JPay does not always clearly disclose. Using a debit card instead of a credit card avoids this cash advance classification and the associated fees.

JPay customer service is frequently cited as a major frustration. The 24-hour phone line often routes to automated systems with no option to reach a live person. When you cannot get resolution through standard customer service channels, there are escalation options available.

File a complaint with the Better Business Bureau at bbb.org. JPay is registered with the BBB and complaints filed there receive a formal response. The BBB complaint process has resulted in resolutions for many families who could not get answers through JPay directly.

Contact your state Department of Corrections. The DOC contracts with JPay and has leverage over the provider that individual families do not have. A complaint filed with the DOC communications office about ongoing JPay failures may result in faster resolution than a direct complaint to JPay.

If JPay took money from your account and did not deliver the service, you can dispute the charge with your bank or credit card company. Provide your JPay confirmation number, the date of the transaction, and documentation that the service was not delivered. Banks generally side with consumers in clear cases of non-delivery.

JPay does not reliably tell you when a reply arrives. Many families report no inbox, no notification, and no obvious indicator that the inmate responded. If you are waiting on a reply, do not assume silence means no answer.

The practical fix is to check your inbox manually and regularly. Log in to your JPay account on the website or app and open the inbox or message history. Replies appear there even when no notification was ever sent.

On the inmate side, your loved one is notified through the facility kiosk or tablet when a new message arrives, so they generally know you wrote. The notification gap is mostly on the outside contact side.

If you consistently receive no notifications at all, check your account notification settings and make sure the email address on file is one you actually check. Also check your spam folder, since JPay mail is sometimes filtered.

Videograms, the short video messages you can send through JPay, have a documented failure problem. Families report recording a videogram, sending it, and the video failing during processing with no way to retry. In some cases the recorded video was simply deleted by the program after the failure.

When this happens, JPay typically offers neither a resend nor a refund for the failed videogram. The fee for the video is lost along with the recording, and support responses on this issue are inconsistent.

To reduce the risk, record shorter videograms and send them when your connection is stable. If a videogram fails, document the date, time, and what happened, and contact JPay support with your transaction details to ask for a credit. Keep expectations modest, since refunds for failed videograms are rarely granted.

You do not need a computer to buy JPay stamps. JPay customer service can take stamp purchases over the phone, which is useful if you do not have reliable internet access or struggle with the website.

Have your JPay account email address, the inmate name and ID number, and your payment card ready before you call. Phone purchases go through the same stamp system as online purchases, so the stamps land in the same account.

Facility lobby kiosks are another no-computer option. Many facilities with JPay service have kiosks where visitors can purchase stamps and other services during visits. Kiosk availability varies by facility.

Note that JPay support hold times can be long, so call well before you need the stamps. If phone support cannot complete the purchase, ask for the specific reason and a reference number rather than hanging up.