How to Visit Someone at California Health Care Facility

Step 1. Get on the Approved Visitor List

Before anything can be scheduled, the person you want to visit must request CDCR Form 106, the Visiting Questionnaire, and send it to you. They sign it themselves to confirm they’re adding you to their approved visitor list.

Step 2. Fill Out the Questionnaire Completely

The form asks about every arrest and conviction in your history, even ones that never led to charges. CDCR checks your answers against California’s law enforcement records, and a mismatch is one of the most common reasons a visitor gets denied. If you’re not sure of an exact date, put your best estimate instead of leaving it blank.

Step 3. Mail the Questionnaire to CHCF

Send the completed form to CHCF Attn: Visiting, P.O. Box 213040, Stockton, CA 95213. Processing can take up to 30 working days, noticeably longer than the approval window at many other CDCR institutions, so submit your paperwork as soon as possible instead of waiting until close to a planned visit.

Step 4. Schedule Your Visit

For a standard visit, once you’re approved, book through CDCR’s statewide Visitation Scheduling Application (VSA) at cdcr.gtlvisitme.com/app. If the person you’re visiting is housed in the Psychiatric Inpatient Program (B Yard), a Mental Health Crisis Bed, or MAX housing, and VSA scheduling isn’t workable for your situation, you can instead email [email protected] or call (209) 467-2664, and CHCF staff will call you to arrange a time directly. This direct option exists because these housing types often have different logistics than a standard general-population visit.

CHCF’s Visiting Hours

• Friday: 12:00pm to 7:00pm
• Saturday: 7:30am to 2:30pm
• Sunday: 7:30am to 2:30pm

Visitors won’t be processed after 6:00pm on Friday or after 1:30pm on Saturday and Sunday, so plan to arrive well before those cutoffs.

Walk-In Visiting

Approved visitors can also walk in during separate windows: Friday 1:00pm to 7:00pm, and Saturday and Sunday 8:30am to 2:30pm. As with any CDCR facility, walk-ins depend on space and staffing that day and aren’t guaranteed.

How Many Visitors Can Come

CHCF allows up to 5 visitors per incarcerated person for a standard contact visit. If the visit is scheduled as non-contact or booth-style, the cap is 3 visitors.

Getting Documents Scanned Into Your File

CHCF offers something not every CDCR facility does: visitors can ask to have commonly needed documents, like birth certificates, marriage certificates, minor consent forms, domestic partnership forms, or medical notes, scanned into their visitor file. Once scanned, you don’t need to bring the physical original to every visit. Ask about this option when you submit your Form 106 or contact the Visiting Sergeant.

Dress Code

CHCF’s own visiting page doesn’t spell out a facility-specific dress code. Instead, it directs visitors to CDCR’s general attire restrictions at cdcr.ca.gov/visitors/attire-restrictions/. Review that page before your visit instead of assuming CHCF has its own separate rules, since none are published specifically for this facility.

Overnight Family Visiting

CHCF runs Family Visiting (overnight visits) for eligible incarcerated people and their immediate family. Food for these visits is ordered through Instacart, coordinated with the Family Visiting Coordinator at (209) 467-2664 or [email protected]. Alcohol, non-alcoholic spirits, tobacco products, non-food items, and canned goods or food in glass containers can’t be ordered. A paper ordering menu is available if you’re not able to use Instacart.

What’s Not Allowed

As with any CDCR institution, visitors can be turned away for violating the general attire rules, appearing to be under the influence, or bringing prohibited items. Because CHCF is a medical facility with patients in acute psychiatric and medical care, staff may also adjust or limit a visit based on the person’s current medical or treatment status, something families should ask about directly if the person they’re visiting has recently been moved into a higher level of care.

Video Visiting

CDCR no longer provides video visiting statewide. Between in-person visits, families stay in touch through free phone calls, mail, and any messaging available through the person’s tablet.