Erie County Holding Center Visiting Days and Rules

Tuesday and Wednesday Sign-Up Windows

Erie County publishes the sign-up times for the Holding Center, updated 6 January 2026:

Day	Sign-up windows
Tuesday	7:30 to 11:00 AM · 12:30 to 1:30 PM · 3:30 to 4:30 PM · 6:00 to 9:30 PM
Wednesday	7:30 to 11:00 AM · 12:30 to 1:30 PM · 3:30 to 4:30 PM · 6:30 to 9:30 PM

Note the only difference between the two days: the evening window opens at 6:00 on Tuesday and 6:30 on Wednesday.

An honest gap in the source. For its Alden facility the county publishes sign-up windows and the matching visitation windows. For the Holding Center it publishes only the sign-up windows. So we can tell you exactly when to arrive and put your name down, and we cannot tell you from published material exactly when the visit itself runs. Ring 716-858-7638 if the difference matters for your travel.

Putting Your Name Down, and What There Is Not

There is no appointment system here, and that cuts both ways.

• No booking to make and nothing to arrange days ahead.
• No visitor application, no approved-visitor list and no background check to clear first.
• No online portal for in-person visiting.

What there is instead is turning up inside a window. That makes the sign-up time the real deadline rather than the visit time, and arriving after a window closes means there is nothing to join.

Worth being precise about the language: the absence of an application here is a published fact about how Erie operates, not something we could not find.

Two Hours a Week, Two Visitors at a Time

The county’s allowance is two hours of visiting time per person per week, and it counts from when you sit down. Erie states that an incarcerated person’s visiting time begins when they are seated in the visiting area with their visitor, so time spent in the lobby and clearing security does not come out of it.

No more than two visitors may be in the visiting room at once. If one of those is a child, a tighter rule takes over, covered below.

Unless the county specifies otherwise, visits are contact visits. Erie says its visiting rules are strictly enforced because of contraband brought in through visits, which is the reason for everything in the next section.

Clearing Security, and the Three Attempts Rule

This is stricter than most county jails and it is published in detail.

• Three attempts at the metal detector. Fail all three and you are denied entry for that visit.
• Metal in your shoes is the usual culprit. The county says anyone with metal in their shoes will not clear the detector and will not get the visit, and separately advises wearing sneakers.
• Medical implants and pacemakers have a secondary detection route, and you will need documentation for any medical device on your person.
• Drug detection dogs patrol the lobby and visiting areas at unscheduled times.
• A strip search is possible as a condition of a visit. Erie states this requires a Superintendent’s order and reasonable suspicion.

The Clothing That Gets Refused

Erie publishes a list, and the first item is the one that catches people:

• Orange clothing of any kind. Not a shade, not a pattern. Any orange.
• See-through clothing
• Hats, scarves or hoods
• Shirts with inappropriate symbols or messages
• Suit coats
• Overly alluring, suggestive or revealing clothing

The county adds that the final decision on the appropriateness of dress rests with the sergeant assigned to the visiting area, so the list is a floor rather than a ceiling.

Accepted Identification

Every visitor needs photo identification. Erie accepts:

• A New York State driver’s license
• A New York State non-driver identification card
• A driver’s license issued by another state or province
• A United States passport card or passport

Bringing a Child, and the One-and-One Rule

Two rules stack here and together they are tighter than they first appear.

Only one child is allowed per adult, and only one child and one adult may visit a person at any one time. So a visit involving a child is a visit of exactly two people, not two adults plus a child.

Anyone under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian, and needs identification from this list:

• An original or certified copy of the birth certificate
• Original or certified adoption papers
• Original or certified guardianship papers
• A student identification card issued by a recognised school district
• A student bus pass
• A New York State learner’s permit

Erie also states that children are not to be left in the public lobby without a parent or guardian, and are not to run, scream or shout in the visiting area.

Video Visiting, and a Vendor Claim to Ignore

Erie County uses ICSolutions for video visitation, serving both of its jails. Registration is free at icsolutions.com, and there is an ICS Mobile app for phones. Onsite video uses terminals at the facility; offsite video works from a Windows computer or the app.

Offsite video costs $8.75 for a 25 minute visit, and the vendor states that connectivity problems during an offsite visit are not refunded.

One correction worth making explicitly. The vendor’s own page carries boilerplate saying video visitation replaces traditional face to face visits. That contradicts Erie County, which says all visits are contact visits unless otherwise specified. The county is the authority on its own jail, so treat the vendor line as generic copy that does not describe Erie.