Visiting runs Friday 12:00pm-7:00pm and Saturday/Sunday 8:30am-3:15pm. No cell phones or electronic devices are allowed anywhere on state grounds.
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Visiting someone at Ironwood State Prison starts with getting approved. The incarcerated person signs CDCR Form 106, the Visitor Questionnaire, and mails it in for a background check, and this approval has to be renewed every 2 years. Once you’re approved, you schedule your visit through CDCR’s statewide Visitation Scheduling Application (VSA) at cdcr.gtlvisitme.com/app. ISP’s Facilities A, B, C, D, and the Minimum Support Facility all offer regular in-person visiting 3 days a week: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Video visiting is no longer offered here, matching CDCR’s statewide move away from it. ISP also launched an overnight Family Visiting pilot program on September 1, 2025, with a rotating 6-unit schedule that gives families 5 possible weekly start days. This guide covers the approval process, visiting hours, screening rules, dress code, minor-visitor requirements, and the Family Visiting program.
The person you want to visit has to request CDCR Form 106, the Visitor Questionnaire, sign it, and send it to you. This starts the approval process. Applications must be completely filled out with every question answered. An incomplete application gets disapproved, and so does one that’s been altered or destroyed.
Answer every question honestly and completely. CDCR checks your answers against law enforcement records. This approval is not permanent: it has to be renewed every 2 years, so keep track of when yours was approved.
Send the completed form in for processing. If you have questions while your application is pending, call the Visiting Sergeant at (760) 921-3000 ext. 5810.
Once approved, schedule your visit through CDCR’s statewide Visitation Scheduling Application (VSA) at cdcr.gtlvisitme.com/app.
These same hours apply on New Year’s Day, July 4th, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, as long as the holiday doesn’t fall on a day that’s already a regular visiting day.
Walk-in visitors get a numbered pass per family and are processed in the order they arrive. Walk-ins can sometimes be processed earlier between scheduled appointment slots if time allows, but this isn’t guaranteed.
VSA scheduling opens and closes on a day-specific schedule:
You can arrive on institutional grounds up to 30 minutes before your processing time: Friday 11:30am, Saturday 7:30am, Sunday 7:30am.
This is stricter than most visitors expect. Cell phones and any other electronic devices are not allowed anywhere on state grounds at ISP, not only in the visiting room. This applies to everyone on the property, including people who aren’t there to visit. Leave your phone in your car before you walk in.
Every visitor passes through a metal detector, either walk-through or hand-held, and personal items are searched thoroughly, including wheelchairs and other assistive devices. If a documented medical condition or disability prevents you from passing through the detector, alternative screening applies. Additional screening, including an unclothed body search, may be required and can delay or prevent your visit that day. By signing CDCR Form 888 (Notice of Request for Search), you consent to being searched. You can decline an unclothed body search, but your visit is denied for that day if you do.
All jewelry has to be removed before you’re processed. If a piece can’t clear the metal detector and can’t be removed, you’re denied entry for the day. Leave valuable or hard-to-remove jewelry at home.
Umbrellas, beanies, and hats aren’t allowed, though a hat can be brought in with prior approval. ISP’s own guidance recommends bringing an extra change of clothing in case something you’re wearing doesn’t pass the dress code.
Bring exactly one form of ID, and keep it on you at all times during your visit.
Bring a certified copy of the minor’s birth certificate to every single visit, not only the first one. If the adult bringing the minor isn’t the minor’s parent or legal guardian, they also need an original notarized letter from the parent or guardian giving permission to bring the child onto state grounds. That letter can’t be more than 1 year old.
For infants (0-12 months) and toddlers (12-36 months), you can bring: a transparent diaper bag; up to 6 factory-sealed single-serving baby formula packets, or up to 4 transparent plastic bottles or cups, empty or premixed with formula, milk, juice, or water; a breast pump and supplies, plus refrigerated or frozen breastmilk; up to 6 non-glass containers of baby food; 2 plastic spoons; 10 disposable diapers; 1 sealed package of baby wipes; 3 changes of clothing; 2 pacifiers; 3 burp cloths; diaper cream; and a baby carrier or wrap.
As of July 1, 2024, ISP has a vendor for food and drinks in the visiting area. The cash limit is $100 per adult visitor and $50 per minor, and it has to be in quarters and single dollar bills only.
All marriages take place in person at ISP and require at least one approved visitor to serve as a witness.
ISP launched an overnight Family Visiting pilot program on September 1, 2025, using 6 total family visiting units located inside the secure perimeter. Each visit lasts about 46 hours.
Processing follows a rotating weekly schedule so families have 5 different possible start days to work around school and jobs:
This schedule was designed to give families more time in the actual visit by speeding up processing, and more flexibility around outside commitments. Required paperwork must be received at least 72 hours before your scheduled visit. Miss that deadline and your scheduled Family Visit is canceled.
Visitors bringing food into a Family Visiting unit under a doctor’s note for a medical restriction need a live-signature or DocuSign-signed note from the physician that details exactly what food is being requested; this rule has applied since August 1, 2025. Clothing that resembles what an incarcerated person wears, including white socks and white or grey shirts or shorts, is not allowed in the Family Visiting units.
Email scheduling is only accepted for the 4 main holidays: Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Day, and July 4th. Every other holiday appointment has to go through VSA instead. To schedule a non-contact visit by email for one of those 4 holidays, send [email protected] the incarcerated person’s full name and CDCR number, the full name(s) of the approved visitor(s), each visitor’s date of birth, a valid ID type and number for each visitor, the visitor’s relationship to the incarcerated person, and the visitor’s email address. Missing any of this information can delay your request.
People housed in quarantine or outbreak units can still take part in regular programming if they agree to Point-of-Contact COVID-19 testing on days 1, 3, 5, and 7. This does not apply to overnight Family Visiting, which has its own separate rules.
We looked for an ISP-specific inmate or family handbook PDF and an ISP-specific visitor application form beyond the standard process. We didn’t find either. The only visitor application is the standard, statewide CDCR Form 106, renewed every 2 years.
Cell phones or any electronic device anywhere on state grounds. Umbrellas, beanies, or hats without prior approval. Jewelry that can’t be removed or doesn’t clear the metal detector. Blue denim, military wear or camouflage without active-duty status, and clothing that exposes the chest, genitals, buttocks, or more than 2 inches above the knee. Underwire bras. More cash than the $100/$50 limit, or cash that isn’t in quarters and single dollar bills. A minor without a certified birth certificate, or without a notarized guardian letter dated within the last year if the accompanying adult isn’t the parent or guardian. An incomplete, altered, or destroyed CDCR Form 106. Missing the 72-hour paperwork deadline for a scheduled Family Visit.
6 of 12 questions
The incarcerated person requests CDCR Form 106 (Visitor Questionnaire), signs it, and sends it to you. Fill it out completely, with every question answered, and mail it in for a background check. This approval has to be renewed every 2 years.
VisitationFriday 12:00pm to 7:00pm, Saturday 8:30am to 3:15pm, and Sunday 8:30am to 3:15pm. These same hours also apply on New Year's Day, July 4th, Thanksgiving, and Christmas if the holiday doesn't fall on a regular visiting day.
VisitationNo. Cell phones and any other electronic devices are not allowed anywhere on state grounds at ISP, not only in the visiting room. This applies to everyone on the property, not only people who are visiting.
VisitationYou have to remove all jewelry before processing. If a piece can't come off or won't clear the metal detector, you're denied entry for the day, so it's best to leave jewelry at home.
VisitationA certified copy of the minor's birth certificate, required at every single visit, not only the first one. If the adult bringing the minor isn't the parent or legal guardian, they also need an original notarized letter from the parent or guardian, dated within the last year, giving permission for the child to be on state grounds.
VisitationIt's an overnight visiting program at ISP that started September 1, 2025, using 6 family visiting units inside the secure perimeter. Each visit lasts about 46 hours. Processing rotates across the week, giving families 5 possible start days, but the required paperwork must arrive at least 72 hours ahead of time or the visit is canceled.
Visitation$100 per adult visitor and $50 per minor, and it has to be in quarters and single dollar bills only, for the vendor ISP has used since July 1, 2024.
VisitationNo blue denim, no clothing resembling what an incarcerated person or officer wears, no military wear or camouflage unless you're on active duty, solid-sole shoes only, no exposed midriff or more than 2 inches above the knee, no sheer or excessively tight clothing, and no underwire bras. ISP recommends bringing a change of clothes in case something doesn't pass.
VisitationNo. Video visiting is no longer offered at Ironwood State Prison, consistent with CDCR's statewide move away from it.
VisitationFriday 2:00pm to 7:00pm (not processed after 5:45pm), Saturday 12:00pm to 3:15pm (not processed after 2:00pm), and Sunday 12:00pm to 3:15pm (not processed after 2:00pm). You get a numbered pass and are processed in arrival order.
VisitationCall the Visiting Sergeant at (760) 921-3000 ext. 5810, or email [email protected].
VisitationNo. We checked and didn't find an ISP-specific family handbook PDF or a visitor application form beyond the standard, statewide CDCR Form 106 process, which has to be renewed every 2 years.
VisitationConfirm their location and CDCR number before you apply to visit.
View ArticleFund their account before or after your visit.
View ArticleStay in touch between visits with free calls.
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