How to Visit Someone at Correctional Training Facility

Step 1. Get on the Approved Visitor List

The person you want to visit has to request CDCR Form 106, the Visitor Questionnaire, sign it, and send it to you. This adds you to their approved visitor list.

Step 2. Fill Out the Questionnaire Completely

The form asks for your full arrest and conviction history, even anything that never led to charges. CDCR checks your answers against law enforcement records, and mismatched information is a common reason an application gets denied. If you’re unsure of an exact date, give your best estimate instead of leaving the field blank.

Step 3. Mail the Questionnaire In

Send the completed form to Correctional Training Facility, Soledad Prison Road, Soledad, CA 93960. If you have questions while your application is pending, call the Visiting Sergeant at (831) 678-3951 ext. 5071.

Step 4. Book Through VSA, Not Email

Once approved, schedule your visit through CDCR’s statewide Visitation Scheduling Application (VSA) at cdcr.gtlvisitme.com/app. The request window opens 8 days before the visit date and closes 5 days before. CTF’s visiting page states clearly that requests sent by email will not be reviewed, so don’t email the institution to try to book a visit.

CTF’s Visiting Hours

• Friday: 12:00pm to 6:30pm.
• Saturday: 8:30am to 3:00pm.
• Sunday: 8:30am to 3:00pm.

Walk-In Visits

Walk-in visits are accepted based on available space, after scheduled VSA appointments are processed.

Walk-in windows:

• Friday: 3:00pm to 4:30pm.
• Saturday: 11:30am to 1:30pm.
• Sunday: 11:30am to 1:30pm.

If CTF is over capacity that day, walk-ins are not accepted at all. Only a scheduled VSA appointment guarantees you a spot, so book ahead if you’re traveling a long distance.

Getting to the Visiting Room

Where you go depends on which facility the person is housed in.

Facility A and Facility B: Visitors wait in a covered area next to the visitor parking lot. An officer drives a shuttle bus that picks up visitors every 30 minutes, at the :15 and :45 mark of each hour.

Facility C: Visitors can wait in the same covered area, or go directly to the Facility C entrance instead of waiting for the shuttle.

Non-Contact Visiting

CTF now offers scheduled appointments for people housed in the Restricted Housing Unit (RHU). These non-contact visits are booked in 1-hour increments.

Like every other visit type at CTF, non-contact and RHU visits go through VSA at cdcr.gtlvisitme.com/app, not by email. This is worth noting because some other CDCR institutions handle non-contact scheduling through a dedicated visiting email address instead. At CTF, VSA is the only accepted method for any visit.

Attire and Dress Code

Dress conservatively and modestly. Don’t wear clothing that resembles what incarcerated people wear at visiting, such as blue denim or chambray shirts with blue denim pants, or reception center attire. Law-enforcement or military-style clothing, including raingear, isn’t allowed unless you’re legitimately on active duty or in an official capacity.

Specific restrictions:

• No strapless, halter, bare-midriff, sheer, or transparent clothing.
• No skirts, dresses, or shorts that expose more than 2 inches above the knee.
• Nothing that exposes the chest, genitals, or buttocks.
• No tight or form-fitting clothing, including spandex, leggings, yoga pants, biker shorts, or body-con dresses.
• No wigs or headpieces, except with prior approval for a documented medical reason.
• No hats or gloves, except with prior approval or during genuinely bad weather.
• No shower shoes.
• Avoid anything that can’t be removed and won’t clear a metal detector, like an underwire bra.

Under Title 15 Section 3173.2, staff may ask you to remove shoes, jackets, sweaters, suspenders, belts, piercings, jewelry, or other accessories for closer inspection or separate processing.

Minors Need a Certified Birth Certificate Every Time

An adult bringing a child (18 or younger) must present a certified copy of the child’s birth certificate at every single visit, no matter how many times the child has visited before. There’s no exception for repeat visits. Without it, entry is denied.

Overnight Family Visiting

CTF offers overnight Family Visiting for eligible people and their immediate family. Visitors aren’t allowed on institutional grounds before 8:30am on the scheduled visit day, and must arrive at the Central Visiting Parking Lot between 8:30am and no later than 11:00am.

The process-in and process-out schedule depends on whether the visit falls on a weekday or a weekend:

• Weekday visits: process in on Wednesday, process out on Saturday.
• Weekend visits: process in on Saturday, process out on Tuesday.

Application processing timelines change from batch to batch, so check with the Family Visiting Coordinator at (831) 678-3951 ext. 5070 for the current schedule before you plan travel.

Contact Numbers

• Family Visiting Coordinator: (831) 678-3951 ext. 5070.
• Visiting Sergeant: (831) 678-3951 ext. 5071.
• Facility Visitation Email: [email protected].

Handbook and Visitor Form Check

We looked for a CTF-specific inmate or family handbook PDF and a CTF-specific visitor application form beyond the standard process. We didn’t find either. The only visitor application is the standard, statewide CDCR Form 106 process described above.

What’s Not Allowed

Visitors can be turned away for dress code violations, missing ID, arriving without a valid VSA appointment, or bringing prohibited items. Email requests to schedule a visit, contact or non-contact, are not reviewed and won’t get you an appointment. Walk-ins are not accepted at all when the facility is over capacity. A minor without a certified birth certificate is denied entry, even if the child has visited before.