Inmate Video Visitation in Texas

If someone you love is locked up in Texas, video can save you a long drive across an enormous state, but how it works depends on which kind of facility they're in. So the first thing to nail down is whether your person is in a state prison, a county jail, or federal or immigration custody, because that determines the vendor, the cost, and the rules.

Texas splits custody three ways. The state prison system (TDCJ, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice) runs the state's prisons and state jails. County and city jails are run by sheriffs and local governments and handle people awaiting trial and serving shorter sentences. And federal and immigration custody play by their own rules, with a large number of federal prisons and the biggest immigration-detention footprint in the country. Figure out which bucket your person is in first, because everything else flows from that.

Do Texas state prisons offer video visitation?

Yes. TDCJ runs two remote video systems, and which one applies depends on the unit. One is Securus remote video visitation, available at select units: sessions are 60 minutes, cost $10, and an inmate is limited to one remote video visit per month, booked into set scheduled time blocks. The other is Tablet Video Visitation, scheduled online through TDCJ's visitation portal. Not every unit has video, so check whether the specific unit is on the eligible list.

In-person visiting is central to the Texas system and runs by unit schedule under each warden, with visits typically on weekends. You must be on the incarcerated person's approved visitor list, and there's a key timing rule: your visitation application generally needs to be received at least five business days before your first visit. You create a profile and schedule through TDCJ's online visitation scheduler. Bring a government photo ID, follow the dress and conduct rules, and expect a metal-detector or wand screening; all visits except attorney-client visits can be electronically monitored.

A Texas-specific thing to know about mail: TDCJ uses digital mail. Personal letters are sent to a third-party processing center, scanned, and delivered to the inmate's tablet rather than handed over on paper, so use the digital-mail processing address, not the unit's street address (TDCJ notes some specific mail types still go directly to the unit). Phone calls run through the inmate telephone system (you register your number first), and there's an e-messaging system as well, all through Securus.

To get on the approved visitor list, submit your TDCJ visitation application through the online scheduler at least five business days before your first visit, and wait for approval.

County and city jails

Texas has 254 counties, and county and city jails are run locally, so each picks its own vendor. Cost and platform vary widely.

You'll see a mix of the major vendors, GTL/ViaPath, Securus, and ICSolutions are all common, with some jails on other platforms. A few examples of how setups differ: some jails offer free onsite (lobby) video plus paid remote video from home, others are video-only with posted daily windows. The only way to be sure of any county's setup is to check that jail's page or call.

The vendor is facility-specific, so the company that works for one county won't necessarily be the one next door. One warning that saves people money and grief: accounts do not transfer between vendors. If your person moves from a Securus jail to a GTL/ViaPath or ICSolutions jail (or into the TDCJ state system), your funds and account don't follow. You set up fresh with the new vendor.

How county jail video visitation usually works

There are two flavors, and the difference is the whole ballgame for your wallet.

Onsite (or "onsite video") means you drive to the jail and sit at a video terminal in the lobby to talk to the person, who's on a screen inside. Onsite video is frequently free or low-cost, when a jail offers it.

Remote video means you connect from your own phone, tablet, or computer at home. That convenience is what you pay for. Remote sessions are charged per session or per minute, you typically prepay into a vendor account, and you usually reserve a slot in advance.

Texas jail video rates shift around, partly because the FCC has been capping these rates through 2024 to 2026 and partly because every facility prices differently. I'm not going to print a per-minute number here, because by the time you read it, it'll be wrong. Look up the rate on your specific jail's vendor page before you pay. What's stable is the structure: onsite (where offered) is often free or cheaper, remote tends to cost, and there are usually advance-registration rules.

Setting up a video visit

The steps are roughly the same whichever system you're dealing with:

1. Find the system for that exact facility. For the state, that's TDCJ's video program (Securus remote video or Tablet Video Visitation, via the TDCJ visitation portal). For a county jail, check the sheriff's site for the vendor (GTL/ViaPath, Securus, or ICSolutions). Don't guess.

2. Create the right account and verify your identity, usually with a government photo ID.

3. Add your inmate and get on the approved list. You'll need the correct name and the TDCJ number (state) or booking number (county), and for the state you must be approved (apply at least five business days ahead).

4. Schedule your visit, choosing onsite (where offered) or remote, and pay for any paid remote session.

5. Test your device and log in early. For TDCJ's Securus remote visits in particular, log in a minute or two before the scheduled start, sessions begin and end on a fixed schedule and won't be extended, and a session not started within 15 minutes is forfeited. Generally, get on early, and check your camera, microphone, speakers, and internet. A failed connection on your end usually still burns the slot.

Federal and immigration custody

Texas has a large federal-prison presence. Bureau of Prisons facilities in the state include the Beaumont Federal Correctional Complex (high, medium, and low security), FCI Seagoville (near Dallas), FCI Bastrop (near Austin), FCI Three Rivers (between San Antonio and Corpus Christi), FCI Big Spring, the federal medical centers FMC Carswell (the BOP's main facility for women needing medical or mental-health care, in Fort Worth) and FMC Fort Worth, FPC Bryan, FCI La Tuna (near El Paso), and the Federal Detention Center in Houston, among others. The BOP runs primarily in-person visiting with only limited video, so use the BOP inmate locator to find the institution and check its specific visiting rules. If someone was recently arrested on a federal charge and isn't in the locator yet, they're likely still in U.S. Marshals custody during the designation period, often held in a county jail under contract.

Immigration custody is enormous in Texas, the state holds the largest immigration-detention population in the country, and it's an active, fast-changing area, so be careful with older information. Most ICE detention in Texas is in large facilities run by private companies (CoreCivic, the GEO Group, and others) under contract, plus some ICE-owned facilities and county jails. Among the major sites are the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley (which holds families), the South Texas ICE Processing Center in Pearsall, the Montgomery Processing Center in Conroe, the El Valle Detention Facility in Raymondville, the Port Isabel Detention Center near Los Fresnos, and the Bluebonnet Detention Center in Anson, among many others, and detention capacity in Texas has been expanding. Because the facility map is changing fast and people are frequently moved (sometimes across the state or out of it), confirm where your person actually is before making any plans. To locate someone in ICE custody, use the ICE Online Detainee Locator, which needs the person's A-Number (the nine-digit alien registration number) or their name plus country of birth. Each facility sets its own visiting and video rules, so confirm directly, and remember immigration bonds are handled through ICE, not posted at the facility.

A note on staying connected

Video is good for one thing money can't really replace: seeing a face, watching a kid wave, reading an expression. And in a state as big as Texas, where a unit can be a six-hour drive away, a video visit can be the difference between monthly contact and none.

But be honest with yourself about what carries the weight day to day. Mail is the steadiest line there is. It doesn't drop the call, doesn't need a scheduled slot, and the person can hold it and read it again at 2 a.m. when the walls close in. (In TDCJ, remember personal mail is scanned and delivered to a tablet, but it still matters just as much.) Phone calls are the backbone of staying in touch, the thing you'll actually do most weeks. Video is the bonus on top, the face-to-face when you can get it. Build your routine around mail and calls, and treat video as the thing that makes the distance feel a little smaller.

Related pages:

/prisons/texas

FCC 2026 call and video rate caps guide

Arrest Record Search (affiliate)