How Prison Phone Calls Work: Cost, Setup and Cheapest Options

Inmates use phones located in common areas of the facility. Each call is placed through a system managed by the facility's contracted phone provider. The inmate dials a number from their approved contact list. You cannot receive a call from an inmate unless your number has been added to their list. Some systems also check the caller's voice against a voiceprint recorded at booking before the call connects.

Adding a number to the approved list is done by the inmate through the facility's phone system or by submitting a form to facility staff. The approval process can take a few days.

Most prison phone providers offer two ways to accept calls. You can accept collect calls and be billed after the fact, or you can set up a prepaid account with the provider and have calls billed against your balance.

Prepaid accounts are recommended. They let you control spending, often have lower per-minute rates, and avoid unexpected phone bills. Create an account on the provider's website, link it to the phone number the inmate will be calling, and add funds before the first call. At some facilities, accepting the first call from the inmate verifies your number.

Common providers include GTL (ViaPath), Securus Technologies, ICSolutions, and City Tele Coin. ConnectNetwork is GTL/ViaPath's consumer account brand, not a separate provider. The provider depends entirely on which company holds the contract with that facility.

If no calls are coming through, work through the causes in this order before assuming the facility cut off contact. The most common reason is that your number is not on the inmate's approved contact list, or it was entered incorrectly. Ask the inmate to confirm the exact number on their list.

Internet-based numbers are blocked at many facilities. Calls to VoIP numbers, Google Voice numbers, and forwarded numbers are detected and rejected by most systems. Texas, for example, bars calls to internet services outright. Use a regular mobile or landline number for inmate calls.

Carrier spam filters can silently send prison calls to voicemail. Some families report that calls from a facility never rang and went straight to voicemail because the carrier flagged the number as spam. Check your voicemail, turn off scam-blocking for the facility number if your carrier allows it, and make sure the number is not blocked on your phone.

A zero or insufficient prepaid balance stops calls before they connect. Check your account balance and top it up. If the inmate's account funds the calls, confirm their balance too.

Disciplinary suspension can pause phone privileges. If the inmate recently lost phone access, calls will not connect until privileges are restored. PIN errors, a changed number, or an accidental block (for example, pressing the wrong key on the accept prompt) can also stop calls.

If none of these explain it, call the provider or the facility. For ViaPath/GTL systems, ViaPath customer service can check whether your number is blocked and start a block removal. Keep a note of when calls stopped and what you hear when a call is attempted, since that helps support diagnose the problem.

Prison phone systems actively detect call features that could hide a third party, and they disconnect the call when one is detected. Never use three-way calling, call waiting, call forwarding, call transfer, or a second phone picking up the same line during an inmate call. Do not put the call on speakerphone if the facility bans it: Texas, for example, requires call recipients to agree they will not forward calls, make three-way calls, or use a speakerphone.

The disconnect is usually instant and automatic, with no warning. A call cut off this way is rarely refunded, since the system treats it as a rule violation rather than a technical failure.

Repeated violations can lead to worse consequences than a dropped call: the number can be blocked, the inmate can lose phone privileges, and serious abuse can bring disciplinary action. In the federal system, a Serious Telephone Abuse designation can remove phone access entirely.

If your calls keep disconnecting and you are not using any of these features, check for a second device answering the line, a call-waiting beep from an incoming call, or a cordless phone or bundled phone feature that the system may mistake for call transfer. Fix the line first, then ask the provider to check whether your number was flagged.

All prison phone calls are recorded and monitored by facility staff. Calls to attorneys are generally protected and may not be recorded, but this depends on how the attorney number is registered. All other calls should be treated as if they are being reviewed.

Do not discuss legal strategy, financial transactions, or any activity that could be problematic if heard by a third party. This applies to every call regardless of how casual the conversation seems.

Assume every word is recorded and reviewed. Do not discuss the inmate's case, charges, or legal strategy on a regular call. Do not discuss victims, witnesses, or anyone involved in the case. Never discuss escape plans, contraband, gang activity, or anything that could be read as a threat.

Do not try to add a third person to the call, relay messages to someone the inmate is not allowed to contact, or pass along instructions from someone else. Staff treat relayed messages as an attempt to bypass the approved-list and monitoring rules.

If a call is terminated for something said on the line, the number can be blocked and the inmate can face discipline. Save sensitive topics for a properly registered attorney call or an in-person legal visit, and keep phone conversations to everyday family matters.

Per-minute rates for prison calls have been significantly reduced under FCC regulations in recent years. Calls from prisons are now capped at $0.11 per minute under the FCC interim caps (47 CFR 64.6030): $0.09 per minute plus up to $0.02 per minute in facility cost recovery. That replaced the 2024 cap of $0.06 per minute for prison audio. Jails have separate interim caps by facility size. Intrastate rates vary by state but most are in the $0.05 to $0.25 per-minute range, and a few states still price above the interim cap.

Taxes and any remaining provider fees can add to the base rate. A 15-minute call at $0.11 per minute costs $1.65 in base rate. Site commissions and ancillary charges are banned under the interim caps, so check your provider's rate disclosure for the all-in total before funding an account. For what a 15-minute call costs in your state, see the Communication Costs by State page, which lists the price for every state.

Federal prisons run a separate system under the Bureau of Prisons, and the limits are set by BOP Program Statement 5264.09 (Inmate Telephone Regulations). Inmates with phone accounts are limited to 510 minutes per calendar month. Inmates eligible for First Step Act telephone incentives receive 300 of those minutes per month at no charge, and anyone who exhausts 300 minutes may purchase an additional 210 minutes.

A single federal call generally may not exceed 15 minutes, with a warning tone about one minute before disconnection. The phone list ordinarily holds up to 30 approved numbers, and list changes may ordinarily be submitted once per calendar month. The warden sets the waiting period between completed calls and the hours phones are available, so both vary by facility.

Federal calls run through the Inmate Telephone System (ITS). The same outbound-only rule applies: families cannot call in, and every call is recorded except properly handled legal calls.

A collect call charges the person receiving the call instead of the inmate. The automated announcement asks you to accept the charges, and the call connects only if you accept. Collect calls are the most expensive way to receive a prison call, and they often fail on cell phones: many carriers limit or refuse collect billing, and some facilities do not offer collect at all.

Scammers exploit the collect-call format. A fake jail call may use a recorded voice claiming a loved one is in jail, then pressure you to pay bail, fees, or charges immediately, often by gift card, wire transfer, or cryptocurrency. Real jail calls never demand immediate payment by gift card or wire, and a real facility will not threaten arrest if you do not pay on the spot.

If you get a suspicious call, hang up, do not press anything, and verify independently: call the facility's published number or check the custody status through the official inmate search. Report fake jail calls to the facility and to the FTC.

Some facilities offer an inmate voicemail service: you leave a recorded message and the inmate listens to it later, usually for a per-minute charge. It is not universal, and it does not replace live calls. Florida's Department of Corrections lists incoming inmate voicemail from friends and family as a priced service on its phone rates page, and some facilities require the inmate's PIN to leave a voicemail.

Check the specific facility's page or ask the provider whether voicemail is available there, what it costs, and whether messages are reviewed before the inmate hears them.

International calls from prisons and jails are usually barred or expensive. Texas bars calls to international numbers outright. Virginia lists calling international numbers as an offense that can cost phone privileges. Where international calling is allowed, it is priced separately from domestic calls and may require special approval.

If your family is outside the United States, confirm with the facility whether any international option exists before funding an account, and consider whether messaging or mail is the more reliable channel.

If you funded a prepaid account and no longer need it, contact the provider to request a refund of the unused balance. Keep your account number and payment records ready, and ask how long the refund takes and whether any closure fee applies.

Closing a paid account does not block free calls. In Minnesota and New York, where state prison calls are free, you can still receive calls with no account at all, and any old unused balance can still be refunded by the provider.

You cannot call an inmate directly, even in an emergency. For a genuine emergency, such as a death or serious illness in the family, call the facility's main published number and ask for the shift supervisor or the chaplain. Staff can verify the emergency and pass the message to the inmate.

Have the inmate's full legal name, booking or ID number, and the nature of the emergency ready when you call. Staff will not put you through to the inmate's phone, and they will not confirm details about other inmates.

There is no single national schedule. Each system sets its own call length, hours, and approved-list size, so the rules below are examples, not defaults. Always confirm the rules for the specific facility.

Virginia state prisons run through ConnectNetwork by GTL: calls are limited to 20 minutes, and the approved call list holds a maximum of 15 numbers. All calls are recorded except properly verified attorney calls.

Texas state prisons run through Securus: phones are generally available from 5:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m., calls are limited to 30 minutes with a warning one minute before disconnection, and inmates have unlimited minutes per month. Calls go only to home landlines and post-paid or pre-paid cell phones.

Florida state prisons run through ConnectNetwork: each incarcerated person gets one free five-minute call per week, and calls can last up to 30 minutes. Federal prisons follow the BOP rules above: 510 minutes per month, 15-minute calls, 30 approved numbers.

Minnesota has offered free phone calls from all state DOC facilities since July 1, 2023. Families no longer need a ConnectNetwork AdvancePay account or any funds to receive calls from Minnesota state prisons. You still need to accept the call by pressing zero when it comes through. If you have unused funds in an existing ConnectNetwork AdvancePay account from before the free call program, you can request a refund by calling ViaPath customer service at 1-877-650-4249. Closing your account does not prevent you from receiving free Minnesota DOC calls.

New York State made all calls from state correctional facilities free effective August 1, 2025. The state uses Securus Technology for its phone system. Since calls are now free, a Securus account is no longer required for New York state prison calls. Families with unused Securus balances can request a refund. Each incarcerated individual in New York state receives three free calls per week of up to 15 minutes, added to their accounts at the beginning of each Saturday. Calls can reach numbers in the United States, Canada, and US territories including Puerto Rico, Guam, and the US Virgin Islands.

Florida State Prison uses ConnectNetwork for phone calls and offers one free five-minute call per week per incarcerated person in addition to standard AdvancePay calls. The free call applies to the first call made each week. You may hear a message that the call is free when you accept it. The inmate does not hear this message. After the free weekly call, subsequent calls are deducted from your AdvancePay balance at the facility rate.

California, Colorado, Connecticut, and Massachusetts have also implemented free or reduced-cost call programs at state facilities. These programs apply only to state-operated facilities under each state DOC contract. County jails and private facilities within these states may not be covered by the free call policy. Check with the specific facility before assuming free calls apply.

AdvancePay is a prepaid account where you deposit money in advance linked to your phone number. When the inmate calls your number, the cost is deducted from your balance. AdvancePay is available through ConnectNetwork and similar prepaid systems at other providers. It gives you better per-minute rates than collect calls and is the recommended account type for families who receive calls regularly.

PIN Debit accounts allow the inmate to use their own trust account funds to pay for calls rather than having the family fund the account. This is useful when the family cannot maintain a prepaid balance. PIN Debit calls allow the inmate to call any approved number rather than being restricted to one phone number as with some AdvancePay configurations. PIN Debit rates are generally less expensive than collect call rates at most facilities.

Traditional collect calls bill the charges to your phone bill after the call. This is the most expensive option and is not always available depending on your phone carrier. Some carriers place spending limits on collect call billing. Collect calls are also not accepted on cell phones at many facilities.

Debit Link accounts at ViaPath facilities allow inmates to use funds for tablet-based services including streaming music, games, and ebooks in addition to phone calls. Debit Link units cost $0.01 each, meaning $1 buys 100 link units. Note that Debit Link purchases are final and no refunds are issued. This is a separate account from the trust fund and AdvancePay accounts.

It is important to understand that the inmate commissary account and the phone account are typically separate accounts at most facilities. Funds deposited to one account cannot be transferred to the other. Morgan County Jail and many similar facilities explicitly state this. Make sure you are depositing funds into the correct account for your intended purpose.

When an inmate calls your number, you will hear an automated announcement before the call connects. The announcement typically says something like: You are receiving a call from, followed by the inmate name, an inmate at, followed by the facility name. The announcement then prompts you to press a number to accept the call. On AdvancePay accounts, pressing the correct number connects the call and deductions begin from your balance immediately.

If your balance is too low to cover the call, the system may not connect at all or may play a message indicating insufficient funds. Keep your balance above zero at all times if you want to ensure you do not miss calls. Many providers allow you to set up automatic refills that trigger when your balance drops below a minimum amount. This is the most reliable way to avoid missed calls due to an empty account.

If you do not want to receive calls from a specific inmate, you can contact the facility in writing and ask to be placed on the inmate negative contact list. Your number will be blocked from receiving that inmate calls going forward. This is relevant in situations involving domestic violence protective orders or other circumstances where contact should not occur.

Calls are limited in length, typically 15 to 30 minutes, and disconnect automatically when the limit is reached. At Minnesota DOC facilities, all completed calls are subject to a 15-minute wait period before another call can be made beginning May 14, 2025. This policy prevents any one inmate from monopolizing the phones so all incarcerated people have equal access.