How Video Visitation Works: Complete Guide for Families

Video visitation uses a secure video connection to allow families and approved contacts to visit with an incarcerated person without being physically present at the facility. The inmate connects through a video terminal, kiosk, or tablet inside the facility. You connect through your smartphone, tablet, or computer from home or another approved location.

Sessions are scheduled in advance through the provider platform. You choose a date and time from available slots, pay for the session, and receive a confirmation. At the scheduled time, you log in to the platform and join the video call. The inmate joins from their end at the facility.

All video visits are recorded and monitored by facility staff. The same content rules that apply to physical visits and messaging also apply to video visits. Visits can be terminated by staff at any time if rules are violated.

Remote video visits are conducted from your home or any location with a reliable internet connection. You use your own device - a smartphone, tablet, or computer with a camera and microphone. Remote visits are the most common type and are available at most facilities that offer video visitation.

On-site video visits take place in the facility lobby or a designated visitation room. You visit the facility in person but connect through a video terminal rather than a physical booth. Some facilities provide on-site video visits for free or at a lower cost than remote visits.

Some facilities have eliminated in-person face-to-face visitation entirely and replaced it with video visitation only. In these cases, video visits through the facility approved platform are the only option for seeing your loved one in real time.

Step one is confirming that your loved one's facility offers video visitation and which provider they use. You can search our facility directory or call the facility directly to find out.

Step two is creating a free account on the provider platform. For ConnectNetwork, go to connectnetwork.com. For JPay, go to jpay.com. For GettingOut, go to gettingout.com. Account creation requires your name, email, and in some cases a government ID.

Step three is finding your loved one on the platform and connecting as an approved contact. The approval process varies by facility and may require submitting your name, date of birth, and government ID. Some facilities also run a background check.

Step four is scheduling the visit. Select your loved one, choose an available date and time slot, review the cost, and enter your payment information. You will receive a confirmation email with the visit details.

Step five is joining the visit at the scheduled time. Log in to the platform five to fifteen minutes before the scheduled start. Test your camera and microphone before the session begins. Join the call at the scheduled time and wait for the inmate to connect from their end.

You need a device with a camera and microphone. A smartphone works well for most platforms and is the most convenient option. A tablet or laptop with a built-in camera also works. Desktop computers require an external webcam and microphone if they do not have them built in.

You need a reliable internet connection. A stable Wi-Fi connection is recommended. Video calls over a weak mobile data signal may drop or freeze, which can end the session without a refund.

Most platforms have a dedicated app for mobile devices. Download the provider app before your scheduled visit and test your connection in advance. Some platforms also work through a web browser without requiring an app.

Video visit costs vary by facility and provider. Most remote video visits cost between $7.50 and $15 per session. Some facilities charge by the minute rather than by session, with rates typically ranging from $0.25 to $1.00 per minute.

On-site lobby video visits are often free or available at a reduced rate compared to remote visits. Some facilities provide a set number of free video visits per week for inmates and their families.

Payment is made at the time of scheduling through the provider platform. Most providers accept credit cards and debit cards. If a session is ended early due to a technical issue on the provider side, contact customer service to request a refund or credit.

Video visits are typically 20 to 30 minutes long. The session ends automatically when the time limit is reached. If you want to continue, you must schedule and pay for another session.

The inmate joins from a facility terminal or tablet. The image and audio quality depend on both the facility equipment and your own connection. Have a backup plan if your connection is unstable - reschedule rather than risk a dropped session.

All video visits are recorded. Treat the visit the same way you would a monitored phone call. Do not discuss anything that could be interpreted as violating facility rules, including legal strategy, ongoing cases, or anything prohibited by the facility policy.

If a visit is terminated early by staff, contact the provider customer service with your confirmation number. Most providers will review terminated visits and issue a credit if the termination was not due to a rule violation.

The Federal Communications Commission capped prison video call rates for the first time under FCC rules that took effect in 2024 and 2025. Before these rules, video calls were completely unregulated and providers charged whatever the facility contract allowed. The original 2024 rules capped video call rates at $0.16 per minute at prisons and between $0.11 and $0.25 per minute at jails depending on size. In October 2025 the FCC voted to raise these caps, and the current rates in force are $0.25 per minute at prisons and between $0.19 and $0.44 per minute at jails depending on size. Transaction fees for video calls remain eliminated under the current rules.

Securus and JPay notified users in late 2024 that they were making system updates to comply with the new per-minute video call billing requirement. Some facilities experienced temporary video visit disruptions during these compliance updates. If your scheduled video visit was cancelled during a provider system update, the visit should have been automatically refunded. Contact the provider with your booking confirmation if you did not receive the refund.

GTL ViaPath Technologies was ordered to pay $3 million for violations of consumer protection laws in 2025, following complaints about video visitation service quality and billing practices. If you experienced billing issues or failed video visits through GTL ConnectNetwork or GettingOut, you may be eligible to file a complaint with your state attorney general consumer protection office.

Video visit technical failures are among the most frustrating experiences families report. Common problems include the visit freezing or pixelating, audio delays making conversation impossible, the platform redirecting users to download plugins in a loop, and the visit simply never connecting despite both parties being present at the scheduled time.

Audio delays are a frequently reported problem with JPay video visits. Families report delays of up to 10 seconds between speaking and being heard on the other end. This is caused by insufficient bandwidth on the facility side rather than the family connection. There is no fix available to families for facility-side bandwidth issues, but using the clearest audio setup possible on your end helps. Use a quiet room, position yourself close to your device microphone, and avoid speakerphone if possible.

If the platform keeps redirecting you to download a plugin despite already having it installed, try a different browser. Google Chrome is the most compatible browser for most video visit platforms. If Chrome does not work, try Firefox or Edge. Clearing all browser data including cookies, cache, and plugin data before the visit can resolve redirect loops that persist through normal troubleshooting.

If both parties were present at the scheduled time but the visit never connected, contact provider customer service within 24 hours with your booking confirmation number. Document the exact time you joined and how long you waited. Most providers will issue a credit for a failed visit caused by their system rather than your connection, but only if you report the issue promptly with documentation.

If a video visit fails due to a technical problem on the provider side, you are generally entitled to a credit or refund. The process and likelihood of getting one depends on which provider you use and how quickly you report the issue. The key rule is to report immediately after the failed visit, not days or weeks later.

Contact provider customer service the same day the visit fails. Provide your account details, the booking confirmation number, the scheduled date and time, and a clear description of what happened. State specifically that you want a credit or refund for the failed session. Some providers issue credits automatically when a session drops below a minimum length, but most require you to contact them.

If the provider refuses a refund for a clearly failed visit, escalate to your state attorney general consumer protection office. Prison communication providers operate under state contracts and state consumer protection laws apply to their services. A formal complaint filed with the attorney general carries more weight than a customer service call.

Keep records of every failed visit including screenshots of error messages, the exact time you joined and left, and any communication with customer service. These records are essential if you need to dispute a charge with your bank or file a formal complaint.

A growing number of facilities have eliminated traditional in-person contact visits entirely and replaced them with video-only visitation. This means even when you travel to the facility, you do not see your loved one face to face. Instead, you sit at a video terminal in the lobby and connect through a screen. Some advocates argue this model reduces meaningful family connection while generating revenue for providers.

Colorado is among the states where specific facilities have maintained video-only visitation policies that began during the pandemic and were never reversed. Children of incarcerated parents have filed lawsuits in Colorado challenging visitation bans as violations of their rights to family connection. Colorado also passed new legislation in 2025 to expand prisoner visitation rights in response to these concerns.

Before traveling to visit a facility in person, always call ahead to confirm whether the facility offers contact visits or video-only visits. This information is not always clearly stated on facility websites and policies can change without public notice. If you arrive for a contact visit and the facility has moved to video-only, you may be able to conduct a lobby video visit at no charge depending on the facility policy.