North Dakota Prison Communication Directory

Who provides phone, video, mail, and money services in North Dakota state prisons?

Phone calls run through Securus, per the ND DOCR telephone page. A completed and signed Telephone Application is required before family or friends can be added to a resident's calling list; applications can be submitted electronically or printed and mailed to Securus (for Heart River, James River, Missouri River, and the State Penitentiary) or to DWCRC for residents there. Residents buy telephone time through their commissary account; approved callers who choose to pay set up a collect call account through Securus at securustech.net or 1-800-844-6591. Rates are billed at .079 cents per minute as the DOCR page phrases it, which reads as $0.079 per minute. Money goes only through JPay: website, mobile app, phone at 1-800-574-5729, MoneyGram with receive code 1304, or mailed money order to JPay Inc., PO Box 822700, Pembroke Pines, FL 33082. All incoming mail goes to the Securus Digital Mail Center, PO Box 21408, Tampa, FL 33622; mail sent to a DOCR facility is returned. Video visits are scheduled through the service provider's website; the DOCR handbook does not name the video vendor, so do not set up an account with any vendor until the facility confirms which one it uses. Inmates cannot receive incoming calls; DOCR takes emergency incoming calls, verifies them, and the resident may be permitted to call about the emergency. There is no resident messaging line for voice messages, and staff will not pass along messages.

How do visits work in North Dakota state prisons?

All visitors must be on the resident's approved visitation list: family members plus up to 20 friends. Visitor application forms are completed by the visitor, returned, and approved before visiting; list changes take up to 15 working days. A removed name cannot return to the list for 90 days. Minors under 18 need a parent or legal guardian present. Visiting hours are posted at each facility; arrivals with under 30 minutes left in a session are not checked in. Residents may receive up to 20 hours of visiting per month, and there is no limit on video visitation; a visit under one hour counts as one full hour. Every visitation applicant gets a background investigation. People with felony charges or pending warrants are not approved until the charge is disposed. Denial can be appealed to the Chief of Security within 7 days. Video visits must be scheduled at least 24 hours in advance through the service provider's website, with a maximum of two sessions per day of up to 20 minutes each; the visitor establishes the account and pays the cost set by the provider. All video visits are monitored and recorded except attorney visits. Schedules vary by facility, so confirm the current visiting schedule with the facility before traveling.

How do mail and money differ between state prisons and county jails in North Dakota?

In ND DOCR state prisons, all incoming mail must go to the Securus Digital Mail Center at PO Box 21408, Tampa, FL 33622, addressed with the resident's name and number. Mail sent to a DOCR facility is returned to sender. A legible return address with the sender's last name, street or PO Box, city, state, and ZIP is required. At most 30 photographs per envelope; internet or photocopy pages limited to 10. Legal and official mail is opened and inspected for contraband in the resident's presence only. Money goes only through JPay; DOCR accepts no money orders, checks, or cash for spending accounts, and no one may drop off money at any DOCR facility. County jails set their own contracts and may use completely different vendors, mail routes, and money methods. For example, McKenzie County's official page says visitation is video only by appointment, with phone cards and texting accounts through Reliance Telephone, while Cass County Jail's phone and video contract is with ICS Solutions through 2031 per county commission coverage. Check the specific jail's page before setting up any account.