How to Visit Oklahoma State Reformatory

Visiting Days and Hours

ODOC schedules visits on a statewide basis, and OSR’s visiting window runs from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM. The warden sets which days the facility actually opens its doors, but how many of those hours a specific inmate can use comes from the Visiting Privilege Level system explained next, not a single posted schedule. Visiting days include Saturday, Sunday, and any state-recognized holiday. When a holiday lands on a weekday, it becomes a bonus “free” visiting day at the inmate’s normal weekly allowance. Call the ODOC Visitation Unit at (405) 768-3269 or OSR at (405) 698-5263 before you make the drive to Granite, both to confirm the current schedule and to get your visit on the books.

How Weekly Hours Break Down by Custody Level

OSR doesn’t hand out the same visiting window to every inmate, and that catches a lot of families off guard the first time they call to schedule. ODOC ties weekly hours to two things: the inmate’s security classification and the privilege level they’ve earned within it, ranked Level 1 through Level 4. Since OSR houses mostly medium-security men with a smaller minimum-security group, most families here will land somewhere in the middle two rows below, though a reclassification can move someone between them.

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

No matter the security level, Level 1 always caps out at one non-contact hour a week. A contact visit, meaning the brief hug and kiss ODOC allows at the start and end of a normal visit, doesn’t kick in until the inmate reaches Level 2 or higher. Ask the person you’re visiting what level they currently hold. That single number tells you more about how much time to plan for than anything posted on a sign.

Special Management Housing and Disciplinary Time

OSR includes a special management unit for inmates held in administrative segregation or protective custody, and under OP-030118 that housing status limits visits to one non-contact hour per week, with only a mother, father, spouse, an attorney, or clergy allowed to visit. Some facilities get a named exception to that one-hour cap for long-term segregation and protective custody cases. OSR is not one of them. ODOC’s policy only carves out that exception for Oklahoma State Penitentiary, Lawton Correctional Facility (now operating as Red Rock Correctional Center), and Mabel Bassett Correctional Center. If someone you’re visiting is in OSR’s special management unit, plan around the standard one-hour, non-contact rule rather than assuming a longer allowance applies.

Inmates serving disciplinary time (DU time) don’t get regular visits at all, aside from an attorney or clergy. Once a disciplinary term passes 60 days, the inmate shifts to the same visiting allowance as long-term administrative segregation or protective custody.

Getting Approved to Visit

Nobody gets past the gate at OSR without clearing this first.

1. Request the Visitor Request Form (DOC 030118B). The inmate can mail it to you, or the ODOC Visitation Unit can send a copy on request. The faster route: use the email box at the top of this page and we’ll get you the direct link right away.
2. Fill out every section. You’ll need your full legal name, date of birth, current address, and your relationship to the inmate, plus a copy of your state-issued photo ID or driver’s license.
3. Submit it by Wednesday at 1:00 PM. Forms that arrive after that time roll into the following week’s processing batch.
4. Clear the background check. Every visitor 18 or older is run through an Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation and FBI criminal records check, along with a check against the Office of the Inspector General’s Visitor Alert system.
5. Wait for word that you’re approved. OP-030118 doesn’t publish a set turnaround for the background check, so if it’s dragging on, call the Visitation Unit and ask about your status instead of guessing at a deadline. Once you’re approved, you’re good for three years before you need to reapply.

Official ODOC form

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Just transferred in? Someone who recently arrived at OSR from Lexington Assessment and Reception Center (LARC), the men’s statewide intake facility, doesn’t have to wait on a fully processed visitor list before seeing family for the first time. Anyone already named in the inmate’s field file can get one visit within 30 days while the Visitor Request Form makes its way through approval.

Approved Visitor List Limits

An inmate can have up to 20 approved visitors, and children under 18 don’t count toward that total. No more than 5 approved visitors can be present at the same time. ODOC defines immediate family as a spouse, natural or surrogate parents, grandparents, in-laws, children including stepchildren and adopted children, grandchildren, siblings, and aunts or uncles.

A handful of rules trip families up:

• Friends only get one inmate. A visitor listed as a friend rather than family can be on just one inmate’s approved list, system-wide, across every ODOC facility and private prison holding ODOC inmates.
• Former inmates wait three years. A non-family visitor who was previously incarcerated has to wait three years after finishing their full sentence, including any supervision, and the facility head still has to sign off on top of that.
• You can’t switch to a different inmate right away. Anyone removed from one inmate’s list is locked out of joining a different inmate’s list for a full year.
• If the inmate removes you, there’s a cooldown. A visitor taken off the list by the inmate can’t be added back for 120 days.
• Former ODOC employees wait three years too. Anyone who worked for ODOC, or for a facility under contract with ODOC, has to wait at least three years after leaving before being added as a non-family visitor.

If You’re Bringing a Child

Kids need documentation every trip, no exceptions. If the child is the inmate’s own natural or adopted child, they need to come with an approved adult visitor. Any other child needs their own parent or legal guardian present, plus proof of the relationship, such as a birth certificate or adoption papers. Once that child turns 18, they go through the standard Visitor Request Form process like everyone else.

ODOC can restrict a child’s visitation if it receives documentation from a court, the Department of Human Services, a legal guardian, or a district attorney showing the visit isn’t in the child’s best interest.

Dress Code

ODOC’s dress code, form DOC 030118A, applies to every adult visitor and to children over age 11, unless a medical condition or disability makes compliance impossible. Any of the following can get a visitor turned away at the door or a visit cut short:

• Shorts, skorts, skirts, or dresses shorter than the top of the kneecap, or anything tight-fitting
• Wrap-around skirts, or skirts and dresses with a slit above kneecap height
• Tube tops, tank tops, crop tops, halter tops, spaghetti-strap tops, or sleeveless, transparent, or mesh tops
• Leggings, biker pants, or body suits
• Spandex clothing, including swimwear
• Blue, periwinkle, camouflage, or orange shirts, since those colors are reserved for inmate uniforms
• Tight-fitting sweat suits
• Low-cut clothing, or clothing with rips or cut-out designs
• Clothing printed with profanity, offensive wording, or offensive images
• Headgear, except religious head coverings
• Clothing that exposes the midriff, is extremely tight, sits off the shoulder, or exposes any part of the breast

Appropriate underclothing is required for everyone. If you’re not sure a piece of clothing will pass, bring a backup outfit or build in extra time at the gate.

What’s Allowed Inside, and What Stays in the Car

Bring your state-issued photo ID and not much else. Cell phones, cameras, recording devices, large bags, and outerwear that could conceal something all need to stay in your vehicle.

Contraband covers a lot of ground at OSR: cell phones and accessories, any electronic device, alcohol, firearms, ammunition, drugs or drug paraphernalia, unauthorized paperwork, photos that weren’t approved ahead of time, or anything else that could threaten facility security. Trying to bring any of it in, or leaving something on the grounds for an inmate to pick up later, can end your visiting privileges and lead to felony charges. Passing anything between you and the inmate that wasn’t cleared in advance, even something harmless, ends the visit on the spot and puts your place on the list at risk. Infant care items like bottles, diapers, and baby food are allowed at every ODOC facility.

What Happens at the Screening Checkpoint

Everyone entering the visiting area, and everything they’re carrying, gets checked first:

• Pat search. Required for every visitor 18 and older. Visitors under 18 aren’t searched.
• X-ray. Because OSR houses medium-security inmates, visitor property is scanned by x-ray.
• Metal detector. You get three chances to clear it. A fourth failed attempt ends the visit.
• Canine screening. At the facility head’s discretion, a drug-detection dog may screen visitors and vehicles. A first alert on a person or vehicle denies only that day’s visit. A second alert on the same person or vehicle brings a 90 to 180 day suspension. A third alert means a full year suspended.

You’re allowed one restroom break mid-visit, with no extra time added to make up for it. If OSR’s visiting room doesn’t have separate restrooms for visitors and inmates, the inmate is strip-searched before rejoining the visit. Refusing any part of the screening ends the visit immediately and puts your spot on the list at risk. Every visitor 18 and older shows a photo ID that’s checked against the approved list and matched to your appearance, every single visit, not just the first.

Cash for Snacks and Drinks

OSR doesn’t let inmates hold cash, so covering anything from the vending machines falls to the visitor. Bring up to $30 in quarters, held in a clear, quart-size bag, and you’ll usually find sandwich, snack, and drink machines available in the visiting area for both of you to use.

When You Can’t Make the Drive: Video Visitation

Granite sits in a rural corner of the state, and not every family has a free weekend to spend on the road. ODOC’s answer is video visitation through Securus Video Connect, available only to people already approved on the inmate’s visitor list.

• Create an account with Securus and submit an electronic application for OSR through their site. You’ll get an email once ODOC approves or denies the request, with a reason given for any denial.
• Once cleared, sessions run 20 minutes and must be booked at least 48 hours ahead, first-come, first-served, in 30-minute blocks.
• If the facility cancels a scheduled video visit for its own operational reasons, you can ask Securus for a visitation credit toward a future session.
• Only people on the inmate’s approved visitor list can appear on camera. Anyone else showing up in frame gets the visit suspended, or the account terminated.
• A minor can’t run their own account. Their session has to go through an approved adult’s account, with that adult present the whole time.
• You supply your own device and internet connection. ODOC isn’t responsible for connection quality or hardware issues, and the same dress code, conduct rules, and language standards apply as an in-person visit. Every video visit is recorded and can be monitored live by staff.

Securus, not ODOC, sets the price for video visitation, so check current rates directly with the provider before you set up an account.

Attorney Access and Other Exceptions

An attorney visit at OSR gets the same general privileges as a regular visit. Attorneys may be asked to show an Oklahoma Bar Association card, and paralegals, investigators, law students, or expert witnesses working the case may need a letter on the attorney’s letterhead explaining why they’re there. With advance notice and the facility head’s approval, an attorney visit can happen outside normal visiting hours, can be barrier-free and contact, and can include a laptop or tablet for document review. Staff observe these visits but don’t record the audio.

Special visits cover situations regular hours don’t fit: a visitor who traveled a long distance, a re-entry program volunteer, a visit tied to a hospitalized inmate, clergy visits, or a visit during disciplinary status, limited in that case to attorney or clergy only. The length and conditions of a special visit are set case by case by the facility head. Contact the facility or the ODOC Visitation Unit to arrange one.

Visit Conduct Rules and the Cost of Breaking Them

A regular visit allows one brief hug and kiss at the start, and one at the end. That’s as far as physical contact goes. Prohibited behavior includes continued embracing or excessive kissing, hickeys, touching or fondling the genitals, breasts, buttocks, thighs, back, or stomach through or under clothing, sitting on laps, straddling legs, lying down, and using a restroom designated for the opposite sex. Any of this ends the visit immediately and can get the visitor restricted for a period the facility head decides.

Beyond conduct in the room, ODOC applies a formal violation ladder to any rule infraction, applied the same way across every ODOC facility and private prison holding ODOC inmates:

• First violation: temporary restriction of 90 to 180 days
• Second violation: temporary restriction of 180 to 365 days
• Third violation: permanent restriction, which only a regional administrator or higher can lift

A handful of violations skip straight to permanent restriction on the first offense, because of how serious they are: helping someone escape, bringing in a weapon, bringing in a cell phone or other electronic device, bringing in illegal drugs or alcohol, or assaulting staff, a visitor, or an inmate.

These go beyond facility policy, too. Oklahoma Statutes, Title 57, Chapter 1, Section 21 makes bringing unauthorized items into a state penal institution an actual crime:

• Weapons, drugs, alcohol, or money and financial documents for anyone besides the inmate or their spouse: a felony carrying one to five years in ODOC custody, a fine of $100 to $1,000, or both.
• Tobacco or tobacco products: a misdemeanor carrying up to a year in county jail, a fine up to $500, or both.
• A cell phone or any electronic communication device brought into a secure area: a felony carrying up to two years in ODOC custody, a fine up to $2,500, or both.

Tobacco and tobacco-like products are banned system-wide. If you’re carrying any, it stays locked in your vehicle for the whole visit and can’t come back out until you’ve left state property entirely.

Contact

Oklahoma State Reformatory 1700 E. 1st Street Granite, OK 73547 Phone: (405) 698-5263 ODOC Visitation Unit: (405) 768-3269