Q
Which counties does South Central Regional Jail serve?
Jackson and Kanawha, and only those two. That is the narrowest catchment of any West Virginia regional jail, several of which take people from eight or more counties.
General
Updated September 8, 2026
Verified from official government sources
South Central Regional Jail, WV
Physical Address
1001 Centre Way, Charleston, WV 25309
South Central Regional Jail and Correctional Facility in Charleston holds people from Jackson and Kanawha counties, along with state-sentenced inmates waiting for prison beds and federal detainees held for the U.S. Marshals Service. Run by the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation, it opened in 1993 and contains the state's only Forensic Evaluation Unit. This guide covers its published visiting schedule, the three separate accounts families have to keep straight, and the Maryland PO Box that every letter has to go to.
South Central Regional Jail
City
Charleston
County
Kanawha County
State
WV
Facility Type
county jail
Gender
Male and Female
Capacity
460
Custody Levels
Minimum to maximum
Operator
West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation
Address
1001 Centre Way, Charleston, WV 25309
Phone
304-558-1336
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Quick Facts
The Jail
- 1 1001 Centre Way, Charleston, in Kanawha County. Main line 304-558-1336.
- 2 Serves only two counties, Jackson and Kanawha, the narrowest catchment in the state system.
- 3 Rated for 460, with an average daily population of 546 in the 2025 fiscal year.
- 4 Holds the state's only Forensic Evaluation Unit.
Visiting
- 1 Thursday 1:00 PM to 9:00 PM, Saturday and Sunday 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
- 2 All visits are non-contact, and each one lasts 30 minutes.
- 3 Visits are scheduled by the person inside, not by the family.
- 4 Two adults, or one adult and two juveniles, per visit.
Three Separate Accounts
- 1 Trust account for commissary, through ConnectNetwork or the lobby kiosk.
- 2 AdvancePay for calls to one phone number, through ConnectNetwork.
- 3 Family and Friends for messaging and video visits, through GettingOut.
- 4 Money mailed to an inmate is returned to sender.
- 1 All general mail goes to PO Box 336, Phoenix, MD 21131.
- 2 Letters are scanned and delivered to a tablet, not handed over on paper.
- 3 Photographs cannot be mailed at all and are returned to sender.
- 4 Books and publications go to the jail's own street address instead.
Articles for This Facility
Inmate Search
Find Someone at South Central Regional Jail
West Virginia runs separate searches for jails and prisons. Using the wrong one finds nothing.
View Article Visitation
Visiting: Thursday, Saturday and Sunday
Non-contact, 30 minutes, and requested by the person inside rather than by you.
View Article Send Money
Three Accounts, and Which One You Need
Commissary, phone and messaging are funded separately. Mailing money does not work.
View Article Phone Calls
Calls Through GettingOut
All calls prepaid, none incoming, and three-way calling ends a call every time.
View Article Mail & Photos
Letters to Maryland, Photos Not at All
General mail is scanned to a tablet. Photographs in an envelope are returned.
View ArticleWhat You Need to Know
West Virginia publishes separate searches for regional jails and for state prisons. Someone at South Central appears in the jails search, and moves to the prisons search if they transfer to a state prison. There is also a daily incarcerations list. Using the prisons tool for a jail inmate returns nothing, which is the most common reason a family thinks someone has been released.
See the full breakdownThursday 1:00 PM to 9:00 PM, Saturday and Sunday 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. All visits are non-contact and run 30 minutes, and the person inside requests them rather than the family booking. Two adults, or one adult and two juveniles. Bringing a child requires a notarised Juvenile Visitation Form, and it cannot be notarised at the jail.
See the full breakdownThree separate accounts. A trust account for commissary, funded through ConnectNetwork or the lobby kiosk. AdvancePay for calls to one number. A Family and Friends account with GettingOut for messaging and video visits. Money mailed to an inmate is returned to sender, with narrow exceptions for government and settlement checks.
See the full breakdownGettingOut, operated by ViaPath Technologies, provides calling and video visits statewide. Every call is prepaid, staff will not permit free calls, and inmates cannot receive incoming calls. Three-way, forwarded and conference calls are prohibited and are the usual reason a family's calls stop connecting. Per-minute rates are not published anywhere.
See the full breakdownGeneral mail goes to PO Box 336, Phoenix, MD 21131, where it is opened, scanned and delivered to the person's tablet. Mail sent to the jail instead is returned, and mail with no return address is destroyed. Photographs cannot be mailed at all. Books, publications and legal mail still go to the jail's own street address.
See the full breakdownFamilies Also Ask
6 of 7 questions
Q
How do I arrange a visit?
You do not arrange it, the person inside does. This jail schedules visits by inmate request rather than by visitors calling in, which is the opposite of what most families expect. Ask them to put in the request, then have your name, address, date of birth, phone number and driver's licence number ready.
Visitation
Q
When can I visit?
Thursday from 1:00 PM to 9:00 PM, and Saturday and Sunday from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. There is no visiting Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Friday. All visits are non-contact and last 30 minutes, and arriving late means you get only the time remaining in your slot.
Visitation
Q
How often can I visit?
The jail's own page says one visit every 30 days from the last visit. Statewide policy for West Virginia jails allows one visit per week. Both are official and they do not agree, so treat the jail's 30-day rule as the one that governs here and confirm when the visit is requested.
Visitation
Q
Why do I need three different accounts?
Because West Virginia splits them. A trust account funds commissary. AdvancePay funds calls to one specific phone number. A Family and Friends account with GettingOut funds messaging and video visits. Money put in one does not work for the others, and this is the single most common and expensive mistake families make.
Send Money
Q
Can I mail photos to someone here?
No. West Virginia policy states that incoming mail shall not include photographs and that mail containing them is returned to sender. Photos have to be sent through photo sharing on the tablet system instead, which is a GettingOut feature. Any advice telling you to post photographs to a West Virginia facility is out of date.
Mail
Q
What is the Forensic Evaluation Unit?
West Virginia's corrections agency states that this jail contains the state's only Forensic Evaluation Unit. It is the one genuinely unique thing about this facility among the state's ten regional jails. The agency publishes nothing further about how it operates.
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All information on this page comes directly from official government and facility sources. How we verify information › Last verified September 8, 2026. Official source: dcr.wv.gov/facilities/Pages/prisons-and-jails/scrjcf.aspx ›