How to Visit Someone at California State Prison, Los Angeles County

Step 1. Get on the Approved Visitor List

Before you can schedule anything, the person you want to visit has to request CDCR Form 106, the Visitor 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 your full arrest and conviction history, including anything 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 application gets denied. If you’re not sure of an exact date, give your best estimate rather than leaving it blank.

Step 3. Mail the Questionnaire In

Send the completed form to California State Prison, Los Angeles County, 44750 60th Street West, Lancaster, CA 93536-7620, attention Visiting Sergeant. This is the staff address for approval paperwork, separate from where you’ll eventually mail personal letters.

Step 4. Book Through VSA. No Phone or Email Requests

Once you’re approved, every visit has to be scheduled ahead of time through CDCR’s statewide Visitation Scheduling Application (VSA) at cdcr.gtlvisitme.com/app. LAC’s own policy is explicit that phone calls and emails are not accepted as a way to request or confirm a visiting appointment. If you have a scheduling problem, you can call the Visiting Sergeant at (661) 729-2000 ext. 5405 or the Visiting Lieutenant at ext. 5406, but the booking itself happens in the VSA system, not over the phone.

LAC’s Visiting Hours

• Friday: 12:30pm to 6:30pm. Visitors arriving after 5:00pm are not processed.
• Saturday: 9:00am to 3:00pm. Visitors arriving after 1:30pm are not processed.
• Sunday: 9:00am to 3:00pm. Visitors arriving after 1:30pm are not processed.

The Friday Lineup

On Fridays, visitors can start lining up outside the Visitor Processing Center at 12:00pm, ahead of the 12:30pm opening. If you have an appointment, you get a 15-minute grace period past your scheduled time. Arrive past that window and the appointment is no longer honored.

The Weekend Lineup

Saturday and Sunday work the same way: lineup starts at 8:30am, ahead of the 9:00am opening, and the same 15-minute grace period applies to appointment holders.

Walk-In Visits

If you don’t have an appointment, you’re issued a Walk-In Visitor Pass at the Visitor Processing Center and asked to wait in the Friends Outside Visiting building in the visitor parking lot for further instructions. Walk-in visits aren’t guaranteed. Whether you get in depends on visiting room space that day, and wait times can run long. If the person you’re visiting is on Non-Contact Status, walk-ins aren’t an option at all; those visits are appointment only.

Visitor Limits

Contact visits allow up to 5 visitors at one time. Non-contact visits are capped at 3 visitors.

Overnight Family Visiting

LAC runs a food-ordering site for its Overnight Family Visiting program at pk-cdcr-lac.com, where you order fresh food ahead of the visit. Orders have to go in 2 weeks before your scheduled date. You also need a certified copy of any relevant certificate, marriage, birth, or domestic partnership, at check-in; photocopies aren’t accepted. Overnight visitors check in at the Visitor Processing Center between 9:00am and 11:00am on the day of the visit.

What to pack matters here too. You’re allowed one bag of clothing per visitor (no suitcases, duffel bags, or backpacks, and clothing has to be in a paper, plastic, or fabric bag), one lightweight robe, one pair of slippers or shower shoes, an extra set of linen, two pillowcases, one blanket, two mattress covers, a set of towels, a disposable bathmat, a disposable shower curtain with no metal rings, and unopened travel-size hygiene items. If you’re bringing an infant or toddler, LAC allows a clear diaper bag, diapers and diaper cream, up to 6 sealed food or snack containers per day, sealed formula, 3 changes of clothes per day, 2 blankets, 2 pacifiers, sealed wipes, plastic feeding spoons, burp cloths, an infant carrier or wrap, and 2 gallons of factory-sealed distilled water. Call the Family Visiting line at (661) 729-2000 ext. 5400 with questions on exact allowed items before you pack.

Dress Code

Appropriate attire includes undergarments, and a dress, blouse, or shirt paired with a skirt, pants, or shorts, plus shoes or sandals. The following are not allowed:

• Clothing that resembles state-issued inmate attire in any shade, including blue denim or chambray shirts with blue denim pants, and grey sweatshirts or sweatsuits. A white or grey shirt is only allowed if it has a large front logo.
• Law-enforcement, military-style, or camouflage-patterned clothing. The one exception is active or reserve U.S. military members visiting in uniform with a valid Armed Forces ID.
• Medical professional uniforms, including doctor’s jackets, gowns, and scrubs.
• Clothing that exposes the shoulders, midriff, chest, genitals, or buttocks, or that’s sheer, transparent, or excessively tight, including spandex and leggings.
• Skirts, dresses, or shorts that expose more than 2 inches above the knee, front or back, including slits.
• Clothing or accessories with obscene or offensive language, drawings, or objects.
• Shoes without a solid sole, including shower shoes and bedroom slippers.
• Hats or gloves, unless approved ahead of time or worn in genuinely bad weather, and even then without logos.
• Wigs, hairpieces, extensions, or headpieces, unless approved ahead of time for a medical reason.
• Anything that can’t be removed and won’t clear a metal detector, including underwire bras and metal-buttoned clothing.
• Bandanas.

If you show up not meeting these standards, you’ll be asked to change before you’re admitted.

What’s Not Allowed

Visitors can be turned away for dress code violations, missing ID, or arriving outside the grace period without an appointment. Visits with someone on Non-Contact Status only happen by appointment, never as a walk-in.