How to Visit Someone at California State Prison, Solano

Step 1. Get on the Approved Visitor List

Before anything else, the person you want to visit has to request CDCR Form 106, the Visitor Questionnaire, sign it, and send it to you. This step confirms they’re adding 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 one of the most common reasons an application gets denied. If you’re unsure of an exact date, put your best estimate instead of leaving the field blank.

Step 3. Mail the Questionnaire In

Send the completed form to California State Prison, Solano, 2100 Peabody Road, Vacaville, CA 95687, attention Visiting Sergeant. If you have questions while your application is pending, call the Visiting Sergeant at (707) 451-0182 ext. 5708, or the Visiting Office Technician at ext. 5752.

Step 4. Book Through VSA

Once approved, schedule your visit through CDCR’s statewide Visitation Scheduling Application (VSA) at cdcr.gtlvisitme.com/app. The request window opens at 6:00am, 8 days before the visit date, and closes at 11:59pm, 5 days before. Only 1 visit may be scheduled per visiting day. If you modify an appointment after the scheduling window closes and that change results in a canceled visit, it will not be rescheduled.

The Appointment Holder Rule

Whoever schedules the visit in VSA is the appointment holder, and any other approved visitors added to that appointment are guests of that person. The appointment holder is the one who has to show up. If the appointment holder doesn’t come, any guests listed on that appointment can’t use it either and instead have to go through the walk-in process described below. All visitors must be listed on the original appointment ahead of time.

CSP-Solano’s Visiting Hours

• Friday: 12:00pm to 6:30pm.
• Saturday: 8:00am to 2:30pm. Visitor processing stops at 1:30pm.
• Sunday: 8:00am to 2:30pm. Visitor processing stops at 1:30pm.

CSP-Solano’s own materials list Friday’s processing cutoff at the same time visiting closes, which doesn’t match the roughly 1-hour processing cutoff used on Saturday and Sunday. Instead of guessing an exact Friday cutoff time, plan to arrive well before 6:30pm and call (707) 451-0182 to confirm the current processing deadline for that day.

Walk-In Visits

Walk-in visits are first-come, first-served and not guaranteed, since they depend on daily capacity. Friday walk-in passes are issued starting at 12:30pm, and walk-in visiting begins at 2:30pm. Saturday and Sunday walk-in passes are issued starting at 8:30am, and walk-in visiting begins at 10:30am.

To get a pass, you must be present in person, show a valid ID, and line up single-file under the awning at the Level II or Level III visiting entrance depending on where the person you’re visiting is housed. Numbers are issued in sequential order, and every adult visitor gets their own number even if you’re visiting the same person as someone else in your group. You can’t hold a place in line or save a number for someone who isn’t there. Numbers are called in order, and if you’re not present when your number is called, you may be skipped. Not every number issued is guaranteed a visit if the day reaches capacity.

Arriving Early

Visitors are allowed on CSP-Solano’s grounds starting 30 minutes before their scheduled appointment. If you arrive earlier than that, you’ll need to wait at your vehicle instead of under the awning.

What Ends a Visit for Capacity Reasons

When the visiting room reaches maximum capacity, CDCR may need to end the visits of whoever has been visiting the longest to make room for others, even someone with a scheduled appointment. CSP-Solano lists 5 specific exceptions to this rule:

• Visitors who traveled 250 or more miles and haven’t visited in the last 30 days.
• A wedding ceremony between the incarcerated person and the visitor taking place that day.
• A visitor who hasn’t visited in the last 6 months.
• A disabled visitor who depends on special transportation to reach the institution.
• A family emergency, meaning a death, serious illness, or injury involving the incarcerated person’s immediate family.

Rules Inside the Visiting Room

Every visitor has to pass through a metal detector, and nothing that can’t be removed and won’t clear it is allowed, including underwire bras and metal-buttoned clothing. Seating is assigned at the start of the visit. Not sitting in your assigned seat can end the visit, and the visiting floor officer may require you to change seats during the visit. Cell phones aren’t allowed in the waiting areas under the awnings or inside visiting, so return any phone to your vehicle before you line up. If you’re caught with a phone while waiting in the walk-in line, you’ll be sent to the back of the line. You also can’t exchange money with the incarcerated person until you’ve been processed inside, with Level II visiting as the one exception to that rule.

Parking

Visitors on the Level II side should use the gravel lot or the main parking lots. Visitors on the Level III side should use the lower lot or the gravel lot. Never park in spaces marked as assigned or reserved parking.

Conduct and Visit Termination

Disrespect toward staff can end your visit for the day, and rule violations can lead to a visit ending early or, in some cases, a suspension from future visits.

Non-Contact Visitation

Non-contact visiting at CSP-Solano works differently from regular visits. Instead of booking through VSA, you have to request a non-contact appointment by email to [email protected]. You’ll get a confirmation email back, and you need to bring a copy of it to your appointment. Your email needs to include the full name and CDCR number of the incarcerated person, the full name and date of birth of each visitor, each visitor’s valid ID type and number, the relationship to the incarcerated person, and the visitor’s email address and phone number.

No walk-in visits are allowed for non-contact visiting. Only 1 non-contact visit is allowed per weekend, and a 2nd or 3rd attempt that same weekend gets canceled. All non-contact visits are capped at 1 hour, no matter how far the visitor traveled.

As of this guide’s last verification, CSP-Solano’s own visiting page noted that some non-contact visiting phones were reported not working and were being repaired. This is a separate, possibly temporary issue from the general scheduling process above, so call (707) 451-0182 to confirm the phones are working before you plan a non-contact visit.

The Friends Outside Trailer

If you were dropped off at CSP-Solano with no other place to store items that aren’t allowed inside a visit, the Friends Outside Trailer can hold them. Hours are Friday 11:30am to 6:30pm and Saturday and Sunday 8:00am to 3:00pm. Call (707) 451-0182 ext. 5070 with questions. CSP-Solano is not responsible for holding your items if the trailer is closed.

Family Visiting (Overnight)

CSP-Solano offers Family Visiting, an overnight visiting program. Applications take about 8 to 10 weeks to process. All allowable items and the Instacart-style food ordering menu are included in the initial Family Visiting application packet, so check that packet directly instead of assuming a specific list.

CSP-Solano’s food option for Family Visiting is Delancey Street Restaurant. Orders must be placed 2 weeks before your approved family visit date by calling (415) 867-1647. Full menus and ordering instructions are provided to the incarcerated population directly in housing units and visiting rooms.

Don’t email to ask whether the institution received your Family Visiting paperwork. If you have a confirmed date, no further action is needed, since the facility’s own guidance is that no news is good news. If you do need to email about Family Visiting, include the incarcerated person’s name and CDCR number. Contact the Family Visiting Officer at (707) 451-0182 ext. 5705, or email [email protected].

Bringing an Infant or Toddler to a Visit

For children under 12 months and toddlers 12 to 36 months, you can bring: 6 factory-sealed single-serving packets of baby formula, or 4 transparent plastic bottles or cups (empty or filled with formula, milk, almond, soy, or rice milk, and/or juice or water), plus a breast pump and supplies, with refrigerated or frozen breastmilk allowed; 6 non-glass containers of sealed baby food or snacks; 2 plastic spoons; 10 disposable diapers; 1 sealed package of baby wipes; 3 changes of clothes; 2 small blankets; 2 pacifiers; 3 burp cloths; 1 sealed tube of diaper cream; a baby carrier or wrap; a clear plastic diaper bag; and 2 non-battery-operated toys, or 2 books, or up to 10 pages of homework or coloring pages.

Dress Code

The following are not allowed at CSP-Solano visits:

• Clothing resembling law enforcement or military-type clothing, including raingear, unless worn legitimately by someone on active duty or in an official capacity.
• Clothing that exposes the chest, genitals, or buttocks.
• Clothing that, by design, how it’s worn, or lack of coverage, clearly shows anatomical detail or midriff.
• Sheer, transparent, or excessively tight clothing.
• Clothing or accessories with obscene or offensive language, drawings, or objects.
• Head coverings, easily removable hairpieces, or gloves, except clear see-through rain gear in bad weather.

Hats, wigs, gloves, and hairpieces are allowed only with prior written approval from the institution head or designee, based on your documented need and the current weather. Any approved item still gets inspected by visiting staff before your visit.

Minors

Children under 18 must be with an approved adult visitor. With a parent, only a certified copy of the child’s birth certificate is needed. With a legal guardian who isn’t the parent, you need the certified birth certificate plus proof of legal guardianship. With anyone else, you need the certified birth certificate plus a notarized written consent authorization form signed by the parent or legal guardian, naming the incarcerated person, the adult authorized to bring the child, and the specific visit date or dates. The notarization has to be on the original form, not attached separately, and it has to be renewed every year. CDCR publishes a downloadable Written Consent Minor Visitation form for this, and it’s the same statewide form used across CDCR, not something specific to CSP-Solano.

Family Unification Programs

CSP-Solano runs several programs aimed at keeping families connected:

• The Friendship House. A Friends Outside Visitor Center, required under Penal Code 6352, offering a sheltered waiting area, a clothing exchange for visiting attire, childcare during visiting hours, help getting between public transit and the institution, and general visiting-process information.
• Family Liaison Services (FLS). Contracted staff, authorized under Assembly Bill 2848, who work to increase communication and visits between incarcerated people and their families. FLS also offers Parenting and Creative Conflict Resolution workshops.
• Parenting Inside Out (PIO). A 60-hour parenting curriculum recognized by California’s Child Protective Services. CSP-Solano became a pilot site for PIO on March 5, 2014, and the program includes supervised visits between enrolled parents and their children.

CSP-Solano’s History With the California Medical Facility

CSP-Solano opened in 1984 and was originally administered under the warden of the neighboring California Medical Facility (CMF). It became its own institution with its own warden in January 1992. CMF is still a separate, active CDCR institution today, with its own address, visiting rules, and staff. If someone you’re trying to reach is actually housed at CMF, this guide’s process doesn’t apply to them.

What’s Not Allowed

Visitors can be turned away for dress code violations, missing ID, arriving without a valid VSA appointment or walk-in number, using a cell phone in the waiting or visiting areas, or exchanging money before being processed inside. Guests on an appointment where the appointment holder didn’t show up must go through the walk-in process instead of being admitted directly. Non-contact visits require the email confirmation in hand, cap at 1 hour, and are limited to 1 per weekend.