How to Visit Charles E. Bill Johnson Correctional Center

Visiting Hours and How to Schedule

ODOC runs visiting statewide inside an 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM window, and CEBJCC opens for visits within that range on the days the warden sets, typically Saturday, Sunday, and state holidays. What actually changes from one inmate to the next isn’t that window, it’s how many hours inside it a given inmate is cleared to use, covered in the next section. If a state holiday lands on a weekday, ODOC treats it as an extra “free” visiting day at the inmate’s usual weekly hour total. Call the ODOC Visitation Unit at (405) 768-3269 or CEBJCC at (580) 327-8000 before you make the drive, both to confirm the current schedule and to get your visit set up.

How Weekly Visiting Time Gets Decided

Not every inmate at CEBJCC gets the same amount of visiting time, and that surprises a lot of families the first time around. ODOC ties the number of hours to two things: the inmate’s security classification and an earned “privilege level,” Level 1 through Level 4. Someone who just arrived, or who’s still at Level 1, gets a single non-contact hour a week regardless of security class. From there, the ceiling rises with both the security level and the privilege level, as the table below shows.

Security Level	Level 1	Level 2	Level 3	Level 4
Maximum	1 hour, non-contact	Up to 2 hours/week	Up to 3 hours/week	Up to 4 hours/week
Medium	1 hour, non-contact	Up to 2 hours/week	Up to 4 hours/week	Up to 6 hours/week
Minimum	1 hour, non-contact	Up to 4 hours/week	Up to 6 hours/week	Up to 8 hours/week

Contact visits, meaning the brief hug or kiss ODOC allows at the start and close of a visit, aren’t available at Level 1 under any security class. An inmate has to reach Level 2 before any physical contact is permitted at all. The fastest way to know what to plan for: ask the person you’re visiting what level they’re currently at. They’ll know, and ODOC updates it as behavior and time served change.

Segregation, Protective Custody, and Disciplinary Time

Inmates held in special management housing, whether that’s administrative segregation or protective custody, are limited to one non-contact hour a week, and only their mother, father, spouse, an attorney, or clergy can visit during that time. OP-030118 carves out an exception to that one-hour cap for exactly three ODOC facilities: Oklahoma State Penitentiary, Red Rock Correctional Center (formerly Lawton Correctional Facility), and Mabel Bassett Correctional Center, where hours for long-term segregation or protective custody are instead set by the facility’s own internal post orders. CEBJCC isn’t one of those three, so the standard one-hour limit applies here without exception.

Disciplinary status is stricter still. An inmate serving disciplinary detention, often called DU time, can’t have any visitors besides an attorney or clergy member. If that detention runs past 60 days, the inmate’s visiting privileges drop to the same level as long-term segregation or protective custody.

Getting Approved to Visit

Before your first trip out to Alva, you need to clear ODOC’s approval process.

1. Request the form. Have the inmate mail you a copy of DOC 030118B, or use the email box at the top of this page and we’ll send you the official link right now.
2. Fill in every line. Full legal name, date of birth, mailing address, and your relationship to the inmate, along with a copy of a state-issued photo ID.
3. Turn it in by Wednesday, 1:00 PM. The ODOC Visitation Unit processes submissions on a weekly cycle; anything late waits for the next round.
4. Clear the background check. ODOC runs an Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation and FBI criminal history check on every visitor 18 or older, plus a check against the Inspector General’s Visitor Alert list.
5. Watch for approval. There’s no published timeline for how long this takes. If it’s dragging on, a call to the Visitation Unit is the fastest way to get a status update.

Official ODOC form

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Fresh transfer from intake? Someone who just arrived at CEBJCC from Lexington Assessment and Reception Center without an approved list yet isn’t shut out right away. Family members already on record in the inmate’s intake paperwork can get one visit within the first 30 days while the Visitor Request Form works its way through processing.

Who Can Be on the List

Each inmate can have as many as 20 people approved to visit, though children under 18 don’t count toward that cap. No more than 5 approved visitors can show up for the same visit. ODOC’s definition of immediate family is broader than most people expect: spouse, birth or surrogate parents, grandparents, in-laws, children (birth, step, or adopted), grandchildren, siblings, and aunts or uncles.

A few lesser-known rules worth knowing before you apply:

• A visitor added as a “friend” rather than family can only be approved for one inmate system-wide, at any ODOC facility or contracted private prison.
• A non-family visitor with a prior conviction has to wait three years after finishing their full sentence, supervision included, and still needs the facility head’s sign-off.
• Get removed from one inmate’s list, and you’re locked out of joining a different inmate’s list for a full year.
• If the inmate is the one who asks to have you removed, you’re barred from being re-added for 120 days.
• Former ODOC staff, or anyone who worked for an ODOC contractor, need three years off the job before applying as a non-family visitor.

Visiting With Children

A child who belongs to the inmate has to be accompanied by an approved adult visitor. Any other child needs their own parent or legal guardian present, along with paperwork, a birth certificate or adoption record, proving the relationship. Once that child turns 18, the standard Visitor Request Form process applies to them just like any adult. ODOC can also restrict a child’s visit if a court, the Department of Human Services, a guardian, or a district attorney provides documentation showing the visit wouldn’t be in the child’s best interest.

Dress Code

ODOC’s attachment DOC 030118A spells out what you can and can’t wear, and it applies to every adult visitor plus children older than 11 unless a medical condition prevents compliance. Any of the following can get you turned away at the door:

• Shorts, skirts, or dresses that sit above the top of the kneecap, or clothing that’s too tight to pass inspection
• Wrap skirts, or any skirt or dress with a slit rising above the kneecap
• Tank tops, tube tops, crop tops, halters, spaghetti straps, or anything sleeveless, sheer, or mesh
• Leggings, biker shorts, or body suits
• Spandex, including swimwear
• Blue, periwinkle, camouflage, or orange shirts, all reserved for inmate uniforms
• Snug-fitting sweat suits
• Low-cut tops or clothing with rips and cutouts
• Profanity, offensive language, or offensive images printed on clothing
• Any headgear other than religious head coverings
• Anything that shows the midriff, sits off the shoulder, or exposes part of the breast

Appropriate underclothing is required for everyone. If you’re not sure whether something crosses the line, change before you leave the house. A borderline outfit is one of the easiest ways to lose visiting time to a screening delay.

What You Can Bring, and What Stays in the Car

A state-issued photo ID is close to the only thing you truly need. Cell phones, cameras, recording equipment, oversized bags, and heavy outerwear that could hide something all need to stay in the vehicle.

Contraband covers a long list at CEBJCC: electronics of any kind, alcohol, weapons and ammunition, drugs or paraphernalia, paperwork that hasn’t been cleared, photos that weren’t pre-approved, or anything else that could put security at risk. Even leaving a prohibited item somewhere on facility grounds for an inmate to retrieve later counts as smuggling, and it can end your visiting privileges and lead to felony charges. Handing an inmate anything that wasn’t approved in advance, even something harmless, cuts the visit short immediately and puts your spot on the visitor list at risk.

One exception to all of this: bottles, diapers, and baby food for infants are welcome at every ODOC site.

Security Screening

Every visitor, and everything they’re carrying, gets checked before entering the visiting room.

• Pat search. Required for every visitor 18 and up. Visitors under 18 skip this step.
• X-ray. Property is scanned by x-ray machine at facilities operating medium security or higher.
• Metal detector. You get three attempts to clear it. Fail a fourth time and the visit ends.
• Drug-detection canine. Used at the facility head’s discretion. A first alert on you or your vehicle costs you just that day’s visit. A second alert brings a 90 to 180 day suspension. A third means a full year off the list.

Need the restroom mid-visit? You get one trip, with no extra time added afterward. If the visiting room doesn’t have separate restrooms for visitors and inmates, the inmate is strip-searched before rejoining the visit. Refusing a search ends the visit right there and can cost you your visiting privileges entirely. Photo ID gets checked against the approved list and matched to your face at every single visit, not just your first.

Vending Machine Money

Inmates can’t hold cash, so if you’re planning to grab a snack or drink together, you’re the one bringing the money. Visitors may carry up to $30 in quarters, kept in a clear, quart-size bag. Most visiting rooms have sandwich, snack, and beverage machines available during the visit.

Video Visitation Through Securus

Can’t make the drive to Alva? ODOC offers video visits through Securus Video Connect, open to anyone already approved on the inmate’s visitor list.

• Set up an account with Securus and apply online for CEBJCC specifically. You’ll hear back by email whether it’s approved.
• Each video visit runs 20 minutes and has to be booked at least 48 hours ahead, in 30-minute slots, first-come, first-served.
• If CEBJCC cancels a scheduled video visit for its own operational reasons, Securus can issue a credit toward a future one.
• Only approved visitors can be on camera. If someone unapproved steps into frame, the visit gets suspended or the account shut down entirely.
• Children can’t hold their own video visitation account. Their visit has to run through an approved adult’s login, with that adult present the whole time.
• You’re responsible for your own device and internet connection; ODOC won’t troubleshoot your hardware. The same dress code and conduct rules from an in-person visit still apply, and every video visit is recorded and can be watched live by staff.

Securus, not ODOC, sets pricing for video visits, so check current rates directly with them when you sign up.

Attorney Visits and Special Circumstances

Attorneys get the same general access as any approved visitor, though they may be asked for an Oklahoma Bar Association card at the door. Paralegals, investigators, law students, or expert witnesses working a case may need a letter on the attorney’s letterhead confirming their role. With advance notice and sign-off from the facility head, an attorney visit can happen outside standard hours, without a barrier, and with a laptop or tablet allowed for reviewing documents. Staff observe these visits but don’t record the audio.

Special visits fill in the gaps regular hours don’t cover: a family member who traveled a long way, a re-entry program volunteer, visiting someone who’s hospitalized, a clergy visit, or a visit during disciplinary status, where only an attorney or clergy member can come. At CEBJCC, special and attorney visits are arranged for Mondays and Thursdays. Reach out to the facility or the ODOC Visitation Unit ahead of time to set one up, and expect the exact length and terms to be decided case by case.

Conduct Rules and What Breaking Them Costs You

Physical contact during a regular visit is limited to a short hug and kiss when you arrive and again when you leave. Beyond that, ODOC prohibits prolonged embracing, excessive kissing, hickeys, touching genitals, breasts, buttocks, thighs, back, or stomach through or under clothing, sitting on laps, straddling, lying down, or using a restroom meant for the opposite sex. Any of it ends the visit on the spot and can get you pulled from the visitor list for a length of time the facility head decides.

ODOC also runs a standard escalation ladder for rule violations, applied the same way at every ODOC site and contracted private prison:

• First violation: 90 to 180 days off the list
• Second violation: 180 to 365 days off the list
• Third violation: permanent restriction, reversible only by a regional administrator or higher

Certain violations skip straight to permanent restriction on the first offense, no second chances: helping someone escape, bringing in a weapon, smuggling a phone or other electronic device, bringing in drugs or alcohol, or assaulting staff, a visitor, or another inmate.

These aren’t just internal facility rules. Oklahoma Statutes Title 57, Section 21 makes several of them criminal offenses. Weapons, drugs, alcohol, or money or financial paperwork meant for anyone other than the inmate or their spouse is a felony carrying one to five years in ODOC custody, a fine between $100 and $1,000, or both. Bringing in a cell phone or any electronic communication device is also a felony, carrying up to two years in custody and a fine as high as $2,500. Tobacco is a misdemeanor, up to a year in county jail and a fine up to $500. Tobacco of any kind is banned on facility grounds entirely; if you have some, it has to stay locked in the car for the whole visit and can’t come back out until you’re off state property.

Contact

Charles E. Bill Johnson Correctional Center 1856 E. Flynn Street Alva, OK 73717-3005 Phone: (580) 327-8000 ODOC Visitation Unit: (405) 768-3269