Cumberland County Jail Visiting Hours. Requests, Schedule & Rules

Step 1. Submit an Online Visit Request

Visits at Cumberland County Jail are arranged entirely through an online Inmate Visit Request form on the Sheriff’s Office website. Requests are only accepted Monday, Tuesday, and until 12:00 p.m. on Wednesday each week. You’ll need the inmate’s full name and date of birth, your own name, date of birth, phone number, email address, and a driver’s license or state ID number, plus your relationship to the inmate. If you’re bringing a child, you’ll also need the child’s name and date of birth.

You should receive a confirmation response by the close of business that Thursday. If you run into problems or have questions about your request, email [email protected] or call (207) 245-3802.

Step 2. Check Your Housing Unit’s Visit Schedule

Cumberland County Jail assigns each housing unit its own visiting day and time slot, published in Form F-151:

Housing Unit	Day	Arrival Time	Visit Time
SHU	Sunday	9:05 a.m.	9:20 - 10:00 a.m.
B-1	Sunday	6:05 p.m.	6:20 - 7:00 p.m.
B-2	Sunday	3:15 p.m.	3:35 - 4:15 p.m.
B-3	Friday	7:30 p.m.	7:45 - 8:25 p.m.
C-1	Friday	3:15 p.m.	3:35 - 4:15 p.m.
C-2B	Sunday	7:30 p.m.	7:45 - 8:25 p.m.
C-3	Friday	6:05 p.m.	6:20 - 7:00 p.m.

Visits run 40 minutes, with a maximum of 12 inmates visiting in any one time slot. This schedule applies to the housing units the jail currently lists and is subject to change, so confirm your specific time when your visit request is approved. Special or extended visits may be arranged case by case for emergencies such as serious illness, a death in the family, or an out-of-state transfer.

What to Bring and What to Wear

Arrive at least 15 minutes before your scheduled visit time. Visitors who arrive late are not admitted that day. You’ll need a valid photo ID: a driver’s license, state ID, or federal ID.

Clothing must cover the shoulders, chest, and midriff at all times. Halter tops, tank tops, tube tops, and short skirts or shorts are not allowed, and bare feet aren’t permitted either. Hooded sweatshirts, hats, caps, and jackets with zippers or front pockets are also prohibited. If there’s a question about whether an outfit is acceptable, the shift lieutenant makes the final call, so it’s worth dressing conservatively.

Leave phones, cash, food, diaper bags, handbags, and wallets in a locker in the visitor waiting area before entering. Chewing gum, candy, cough drops, and tissues also aren’t allowed inside the visit. Infants may have a pacifier and a baby blanket. All visitors pass through a metal detector and are subject to search.

Visiting With Minors

Only one adult visitor and one child are allowed per inmate, per visit. A minor must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian, and that guardian must bring the child’s birth certificate and proof of guardianship, if applicable, to every single visit, not only the first one.

Rules for Conduct

Visitors are expected to stay respectful and calm throughout a visit. Loud, rude, or profane behavior, or any physical contact or confrontation with another person, results in losing visiting privileges. An inmate can also refuse a visit at any time, for any reason. Children must stay seated during the visit and can’t be left unattended anywhere on jail property, including in the lobby or a car in the parking lot.

Smoking is prohibited inside the facility and anywhere else on county property, except for a designated area at the end of the sidewalk near the railroad tracks.

Who Isn’t Eligible to Visit

If you were incarcerated at any correctional facility within the last 12 months, you are not eligible to visit an inmate at Cumberland County Jail. If your last incarceration was more than 12 months ago, or you’re a convicted felon, you can still request to visit by completing Form F-154-A, the Former Inmate/Felony Conviction Form Requesting to Visit. Mail or hand-deliver the completed form to Cumberland County Jail, 50 County Way, Portland, Maine 04102, Attn: Jail Administration, and allow about two weeks for processing.

Anyone with pending criminal charges, on bail conditions, or under Probation and Parole supervision is denied visiting privileges outright. Failing to disclose your supervision status to the Lobby Officer can lead to criminal charges under Maine’s Title 34-A, Chapter 3.

Inmates held in disciplinary segregation don’t have visiting privileges, though this doesn’t apply to attorney or clergy visits. Inmates housed in the medical unit need prior clearance from medical staff before a visit is approved.

Professional Visits (Attorneys, Clergy, and Medical Providers)

A professional visitor, meaning someone like an attorney, doctor, or clergy member visiting in a professional capacity, can arrange a video or in-person visit by emailing [email protected]. Professional visitors follow the same general guidelines as family visitors and must present a photo ID or professional identification card at the lobby.

Professional visit times run Monday through Friday: video visits from 8:45 to 10:30 a.m. and 12:15 to 4:00 p.m., and in-person visits from 8:45 to 10:30 a.m. and 12:15 to 2:30 p.m. Confirm the inmate’s location using the inmate locator before heading to the jail.

If Your Family Member Transfers

If you can’t confirm the person is still at Cumberland County Jail, check the inmate search guide before you submit a visit request or make the trip to Portland.

No Standalone Family Handbook Found

We checked specifically for a downloadable inmate or family handbook PDF published by Cumberland County. We did not find one. What exists instead is Form F-154 (Rules for Visitors), which every visitor reads and signs at check-in, and Form F-151 (the visit schedule by housing unit). The jail’s Standard Operating Procedures are published separately through PowerDMS, but that library is written for staff, not visiting families. Call (207) 774-5939 for anything not answered here.