North Dakota Prison Communication Directory

North Dakota operates a small correctional system through the North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, which manages the North Dakota State Penitentiary in Bismarck and the James River Correctional Center in Jamestown. County jails in each of North Dakota's 53 counties serve their local populations, ranging from the growing Fargo metro area in the east to the Bakken oil patch communities in the western part of the state. The oil boom that transformed western North Dakota over the past two decades brought significant population growth to areas like Williams and Mountrail counties, which had correctional infrastructure originally designed for much smaller communities. North Dakota also has a substantial Native American population, with Standing Rock, Turtle Mountain, Fort Berthold, and other reservations each involving their own jurisdictional considerations.

JPay is the primary platform for North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state facilities, covering messaging, photo sharing, and money transfer. Securus and GTL provide phone and video services at state prisons and county jails. Cass County, which includes Fargo and is the most populous county in the state, operates the largest county jail system. Burleigh County, which includes the capital Bismarck, operates the second largest. Federal Bureau of Prisons cases from North Dakota are typically housed at facilities in neighboring states, with those inmates communicating through CorrLinks.

North Dakota families navigating inmate communication face two common challenges: the rural nature of the state means correctional facilities are sometimes far from where families are located, and the jurisdictional complexity involving tribal courts and tribal detention on reservation lands adds a layer that families unfamiliar with the system may not anticipate. This directory organizes facility and provider information for North Dakota so families can identify the right communication platform quickly and get started without having to work through the jurisdictional and geographic complexity that the state's corrections landscape presents.