wisconsin inmate zoom visit

Video Visitation

Video visitation is a great way to connect with your loved one over the internet, without having to worry about unpredictable crowds and overly busy visitation hours.

Visits can be scheduled and paid for in advance, allowing you to visit with inmates at times that are convenient for you.

We offer two types of Video Visitation services:

At-Home Video Visits

These video visits can be conducted at home on your PC computer, laptop or mobile device (Android).

Save travel expenses, time, long lines and parking fees with at-home video visits.

Ease stress on children who can now communicate without visiting the facility in person.

On-site Video Visits

On-site video visits are conducted at visitation stations at the facility.

With these visits, you are still required to travel to the facility.

Through our easy-to-use website, you can schedule, register, and pay for (if applicable) the visit in advance. Then, conduct the visit in real-time over the internet.

Please note: These services can vary by facility and are not available at all locations.

How It Works

• Check to see if your inmate’s facility offers video visitation.
• If video visitation is offered at the facility, go to www.gtlvisitme.com . Register yourself and all visitors participating in the visitations.
• Select the facility where your loved one is located.
• Search for your inmate, and add them.
• Click “Schedule” to begin the scheduling process.
• You will see the cost associated with your visit at the time of scheduling. Enter your credit card or debit card information to complete the scheduling process. You will receive a confirmation email and receipt for your visit.
• For at-home video visits : sign in to the visitation scheduling site 15 minutes prior to your scheduled visit. Test your connection, and follow the steps to start your visit.
• For on-site video visits: arrive at the facility at least 15 minutes prior to check-in. A valid photo ID is required. Each facility has its own rules for on-site visits. Please review rules prior to arrival.

For additional helpful information and a list of useful questions about visitation, scheduling, and facility policies, view our v isitation FAQs .

What It Costs

Visitation costs vary by correctional facility and visitation duration.

Different types of visits may have different costs or no cost at all.

All costs associated with visits are clearly displayed at the time of scheduling. Visitors are aware of all the options and can choose based on their visitation preferences.

Ways to Pay

When scheduling fee-based video visitations through our visitation website , you will be asked to provide your payment information to complete the scheduling process.

We accept debit cards, charge cards, and Visa/Mastercard gift cards.

To get the best experience, you’ll need to upgrade to a newer browser.

Terms of Use governing use of ConnectNetwork services state that all services are intended to be used by persons over the age of 18.

To continue, please enter your date of birth to confirm you are over the age of 18.

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Visiting an inmate in Wisconsin

Visiting applications and rules for visiting wisconsin inmates.

The Wisconsin Department of Correction has acknowledged the importance of visitation and promotes all friends and family members who serve as positive role models to visit their inmate whenever possible.  Before anyone can visit they will need to be on the inmate's approved visitation list, and should be aware of the rules and regulations pertaining to visitation.  To make it easier for everyone we have compiled the most important information pertaining to visiting an inmate in Wisconsin.

• During the initial intake process, when an inmate is first incarcerated, they will submit a list of people they wish to have added to their visitation list.  This list can be updated every six months.
• Offenders are allowed up to twelve approved visitors on their visitation list.  Minors do not count.  During Assessment and Evaluation inmates are only allowed four adult visitors from close family members.
• Each prospective visitor will be mailed a visitation application.  We have provided a sample Wisconsin inmate visitors application  (DOC-21AA) for our users to get an idea of what the application consists of.  The actual application must be mailed from the inmate.
• Minors must also submit a visitors application, and must be accompanied by a parent/guardian who is also an approved visitor.
• One you have accurately completed the application you will need to mail it back to the facility the inmate is incarcerated in.
• A background check will be performed using the application.  This process can take 4-6 weeks to complete.  
• The offender will be notified of your approval or denial, and is responsible for informing you of the Department of Corrections decision.
• If your application has been denied you will be required to wait six months before you can re-apply.
• All visitors who are 16 years and older must provide a valid photo identification when they come to visit.  Valid ID includes a state ID, driver's license, US Passport/Visa, Military ID, or photo tribal ID.
• Every visitor is required to pass through a metal detector.  Visitors will have three attempts to pass through the metal detector, if they fail each attempt they will not be permitted to visit.  In order to minimize setting off the detector you should refrain from wearing anything metal, including jewelry, bras that contain under-wire, belt buckles etc.

Other important information you should know when visiting an inmate incarcerated in a Wisconsin prison:

• Lockers are provided at most facilities that allow visitors to store items in that are not allowed to enter into the visiting room.
• You may arrive at the institution and sign in up to 15 minutes before the visiting session begins, do not arrive any earlier then this as you will not be allowed to.
• All cars must have windows up and be locked.  Unsecured vehicles are prohibited and may result in your visit terminating.
• Cell phones, cameras, recording devices, pagers, music devices and electronics of any kind are not allowed to enter into the facility, leave these items in your car.
• Tobacco and tobacco related products such as lighters and matches are prohibited from entering the facility.
• Food and drinks are not allowed.
• Weapons, drugs, and alcohol are prohibited from being on institutional grounds.
• If you are traveling with an infant or small child you are allowed to bring one pacifier, a small amount of baby wipes in a clear plastic bag, up to four diapers, two small baby blankets, and two plastic baby bottles.  Strollers, diaper bags, toys and games are not allowed at the facility.
• You may bring up to $20 per visitor in small bills and coins to use in the visitation room vending machines.

Dress Code & Contact Rules for Visitors of Wisconsin Inmates

All correctional facilities in Wisconsin require visitors to adhere to a dress code.  If you fail to follow the dress code the staff will not let you attend a visiting session.  The dress code exists to ensure the safety, security and order of the institution.  Anyone who is planning on visiting a prison in Wisconsin should have a change of clothes with them that they leave in their car, this will allow you to quickly change if an article of clothing you are wearing is deemed inappropriate.

• All visitors are required to follow the directions of staff.  Visitors should remain courteous to others at all times.  If you are loud, disruptive or fail to listen to the staff your visit will end, and you will be required to leave the facility.
• Visitors are allowed a brief hug and kiss with their visitors at the beginning and end of the visiting session.  Excessive physical contact/inappropriate contact will result in the visit ending.
• An inmate is permitted to hold their own child who is five years old or under.
• Clothing with holes, tears, or that is unclean is not allowed.
• Clothes that expose undergarments are prohibited.
• Watches are prohibited.
• Clothing affiliated with gangs including shoes, hats/bandanas/headwear, logos and insignias are not allowed.
• Lycra, spandex and similar materials that are form fitting or excessively tight are not allowed.
• Strapless dresses and tops are not allowed.  Halter tops, tube tops, and tank tops are not permitted.
• Any clothing that exposes the back, shoulders, midriff, cleavage, thighs or other excessive skin is not allowed.
• Clothing that is transparent, sheer, or see through is restricted from being worn.
• Skirts, shorts, and dresses must extend to within three inches or less of the knee when standing.
• Clothes that contain offensive images or language, including depictions of drugs, alcohol or sex are not allowed.

If you have a question, would like to share your experience, or know of some other useful information related to visiting an inmate in Wisconsin please leave a comment below.

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Visiting Applications and Rules for Visiting Wisconsin Inmates

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The Wisconsin Department of Correction has acknowledged the importance of visitation and promotes all friends and family members who serve as positive role models to visit their inmate whenever possible.  Before anyone can visit they will need to be on the inmate's approved visitation list and should be aware of the rules and regulations pertaining to visitation.  To make it easier for everyone we have compiled the most important information pertaining to visiting an inmate in Wisconsin.

• During the initial intake process, when an inmate is first incarcerated, they will submit a list of people they wish to have added to their visitation list.  This list can be updated every six months.
• Offenders are allowed up to twelve approved visitors on their visitation list.  Minors do not count.  During Assessment and Evaluation inmates are only allowed four adult visitors from close family members.
• Each prospective visitor will be mailed a visitation application.  We have provided a sample  Wisconsin inmate visitors application   (DOC-21AA) for our users to get an idea of what the application consists of.  The actual application must be mailed from the inmate.
• Minors must also submit a visitors application and must be accompanied by a parent/guardian who is also an approved visitor.
• Once you have accurately completed the application you will need to mail it back to the facility the inmate is incarcerated in.
• A background check will be performed using the application.  This process can take 4-6 weeks to complete.  
• The offender will be notified of your approval or denial and is responsible for informing you of the Department of Corrections decision.
• If your application has been denied you will be required to wait six months before you can re-apply.
• All visitors who are 16 years and older must provide valid photo identification when they come to visit.  Valid ID includes a state ID, driver's license, US Passport/Visa, Military ID, or photo tribal ID.
• Every visitor is required to pass through a metal detector.  Visitors will have three attempts to pass through the metal detector, if they fail each attempt they will not be permitted to visit.  In order to minimize setting off the detector you should refrain from wearing anything metal, including jewelry, bras that contain under-wire, belt buckles etc.

Other important information you should know when visiting an inmate incarcerated in a Wisconsin prison:

• Lockers are provided at most facilities that allow visitors to store items in that are not allowed to enter into the visiting room.
• You may arrive at the institution and sign in up to 15 minutes before the visiting session begins, do not arrive any earlier then this as you will not be allowed to.
• All cars must have windows up and be locked.  Unsecured vehicles are prohibited and may result in your visit terminating.
• Cell phones, cameras, recording devices, pagers, music devices and electronics of any kind are not allowed to enter into the facility, leave these items in your car.
• Tobacco and tobacco related products such as lighters and matches are prohibited from entering the facility.
• Food and drinks are not allowed.
• Weapons, drugs, and alcohol are prohibited from being on institutional grounds.
• If you are traveling with an infant or small child you are allowed to bring one pacifier, a small amount of baby wipes in a clear plastic bag, up to four diapers, two small baby blankets, and two plastic baby bottles.  Strollers, diaper bags, toys and games are not allowed at the facility.
• You may bring up to $20 per visitor in small bills and coins to use in the visitation room vending machines.

Dress Code & Contact Rules for Visitors of Wisconsin Inmates

All correctional facilities in Wisconsin require visitors to adhere to a dress code.  If you fail to follow the dress code the staff will not let you attend a visiting session.  The dress code exists to ensure the safety, security and order of the institution.  Anyone who is planning on visiting a prison in Wisconsin should have a change of clothes with them that they leave in their car, this will allow you to quickly change if an article of clothing you are wearing is deemed inappropriate.

• All visitors are required to follow the directions of staff.  Visitors should remain courteous to others at all times.  If you are loud, disruptive or fail to listen to the staff your visit will end, and you will be required to leave the facility.
• Visitors are allowed a brief hug and kiss with their visitors at the beginning and end of the visiting session.  Excessive physical contact/inappropriate contact will result in the visit ending.
• An inmate is permitted to hold their own child who is five years old or under.
• Clothing with holes, tears, or that is unclean is not allowed.
• Clothes that expose undergarments are prohibited.
• Watches are prohibited.
• Clothing affiliated with gangs including shoes, hats/bandanas/headwear, logos and insignias are not allowed.
• Lycra, spandex and similar materials that are form fitting or excessively tight are not allowed.
• Strapless dresses and tops are not allowed.  Halter tops, tube tops, and tank tops are not permitted.
• Any clothing that exposes the back, shoulders, midriff, cleavage, thighs or other excessive skin is not allowed.
• Clothing that is transparent, sheer, or see through is restricted from being worn.
• Skirts, shorts, and dresses must extend to within three inches or less of the knee when standing.
• Clothes that contain offensive images or language, including depictions of drugs, alcohol or sex are not allowed.

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Families raise alarm about prison phone and video issues in Wisconsin

A recent blackout across 11 facilities prompts outcry, by: isiah holmes - june 24, 2024 5:30 am.

The Wisconsin Department of Corrections Madison offices. (Henry Redman | Wisconsin Examiner)

When you’re locked up in prison, talking someone you care about takes on new significance. It may be one of the only things to look forward to, one of the only things holding you together. When that lifeline is suddenly cut, both your life and the lives of people waiting for you on the outside can be thrown into freefall. It’s something experienced by many Wisconsin families, who say they’re forced to navigate often unreliable phone and video services provided by the Department of Corrections (DOC).

“The phone lines do randomly go down for an hour or two at a time,” said Emily Curtis, who knows someone incarcerated in the Stanley Correctional Institution (SCI). “The phones will just randomly hang up on you in the middle of a call, you’ll try to press five to accept the call and it doesn’t work, just things like that — very, very terrible and unreliable service.” Part of an advocacy group called Ladies of SCI, Curtis said that the video services aren’t any better. “Those work maybe 50% of the time, and I’m being generous,” she told Wisconsin Examiner. 

At Stanley and other DOC facilities, phone calls and video visits are provided by ICSolutions. In 2018, a contract was signed with CenturyLink for those services. Two years later in 2020, ICSolutions took over after acquiring CenturyLink’s phone business. DOC spokesperson Beth Hardtke told Wisconsin Examiner that from 2019 to 2023, some facilities “may have used Zoom for visitation.” However, “ICSolutions now provides all video visitation and phone call services for persons in our care. There are no additional vendors currently.”

Squeezed for contact 

In Wisconsin, ICSolutions has cornered the contract for corrections communications. More than 22,000 people, according to recent population reports , are in DOC facilities. Not everyone has someone on the outside, but many do. And even those who don’t have family to contact still need phone and video access to the outside world. 

“We pay $2.50 for a visit, and most of the time they won’t connect, or they’ll cut out in the middle of the visit,” said Curitis. “Or, you know, just various technical issues with these visits. And, if it shows that it connected on their end, which it does most of the time even when it doesn’t connect, they still charge us that $2.50 for the visit.” Refunds are possible, said Curtis, but only if ICSolutions can see that the visit doesn’t start. “But if it does start and cuts out, or even sometimes it doesn’t even start but it shows on their end that it did, we’re still charged for it. And that’s a huge expense, when you’re talking $2.50 per visit, that adds up, and it’s really expensive.”

Amber Ostergaard, whose loved one — whom she prefers not to identify for fear of retaliation — is at SCI, has also felt the financial strain. In the last year alone, Ostergaard says she’s spent at least $1,000 on phone calls alone. “These phone calls are their lifeline, they’re our lifeline,” she told Wisconsin Examiner. Similar to solitary confinement, Ostergaard feels that not being able to contact friends and family is its own form of isolation for incarcerated people. “This is how they can reintegrate back into society. This is how they have support, you know? This is supposed to be a rehabilitative system. It’s not rehabilitative. It’s punitive; it’s purely punishment. And it’s not only them that’s being punished, it’s us that’s being punished outside those walls. We’re also being isolated from them when we can’t receive their call, and that’s not right.”

Even during in-person visits, limitations keep incarcerated people at arm’s length. Families connected to Stanley Correctional told Wisconsin Examiner that the facility limits hugs and kisses to just a few seconds. Since making in-person visits can be costly and time consuming, remote communication is in high demand. Not only do calls cost money, but the number of phones available is limited. The number of minutes incarcerated people are allowed for calls can also be reduced according to the needs of the facility.

Hardke said that for phone calls, adults are charged 6 cents per minute, while juveniles are charged 1 cent. “DOC does not pay ICSolutions to provide phone services,” said Hardtke. “The company is paid through the fees on phone calls made by persons in our care.” Hardtke explained that ICSolutions keeps 100% of call revenue at juvenile correctional facilities. In adult facilities, 4 cents per minute is returned to DOC with the remaining 2 cents going to the company. “State law requires that two-thirds of the commission paid to DOC be sent to the Department of Administration,” she explained. “The remaining one-third can only be spent by DOC on things to benefit persons in our care — this is how the state subsidizes things like video visits, free postage, microwaves in housing units, etc.” 

Although incarcerated people may get four free video visits a month, additional video visits are charged $2.5o per visit. “Because the number of video visits persons in our care choose to take part in doesn’t meet the minimum set in the contract, DOC is also required to pay a fee for this service,” said Hardtke. “So in the calendar year 2023, ICSolutions took in $8.8 million in revenue from phone calls at DOC facilities and paid DOC nearly $5.9 million in commission.” Per state law, two-thirds of the funds paid to the DOC went to the Department of Administration (DOA).

“The entire system is backwards, it doesn’t make sense,” Amy Ruth, whose family member is also incarcerated, told Wisconsin Examiner. “You have all these families spending hundreds of thousands of dollars each month and they’re making millions, and the services are not reliable.” 

“I can’t understand why the monopoly is in place the way it is,” Ruth added, “when you’re already facing the isolation of your loved one … to just make it even harder. And on top of it, you’re making all of this money.”

Amy Rolack, whose partner is incarcerated at Fox Lake Correctional, has experienced the same issues. Describing  how little she trusts the DOC and ICSolutions, Rolack told Wisconsin Examiner, “it’s a money pit.” 

A blackout raises suspicions

High fees and frequent service failures have made families of incarcerated people suspicious of the DOC. Wisconsin Examiner has interviewed family members of seven people incarcerated in Wisconsin prisons who all shared similar experiences. Some were concerned that speaking out might lead to retaliation against their incarcerated family members. The fears were heightened recently by the news about wrongdoing leading to deaths at Waupun Correctional Institution (WCI). 

In early June, news broke that Waupun’s prison warden and eight other staff members had been jailed. Their charges stemmed from investigations into the deaths of four people incarcerated in the prison. Wisconsin’s oldest prison, Waupun began attracting controversy after implementing a “restrictive movement” order, or lockdown. Activity, recreation, communication and movement generally for its population were heavily curtailed Several people died during the lockdown, and the Dodge County sheriff pointed to negligence and indifference among staff as contributing factors. Word of the arrests led to protests outside the prison and reports of protests inside the prison circulated online. 

After the arrest of Waupun’s warden, Ruth, Curtis and Ostergaard noticed that their own contact with incarcerated family members had ceased. “I believe it was around the 6th [Thursday],” Ostergaard told Wisconsin Examiner, “I noticed that I had not gotten a call.” Ostergaard thought perhaps the phones were busy, or maybe the service was being reliably unreliable. “And it went pretty much throughout the entire day so I’m sitting here thinking, ‘OK, I’m starting to get a little bit worried here.” Going online to support groups like Ladies of SCI, Curtis saw messages about similar problems from other families. “This isn’t just at Stanley, this was widespread,” said Ostergaard. 

Curtis also noticed that days passed without a call since the outage of June 6. “And it was interesting because there were facilities like Chippewa Valley Correctional, 30 minutes away from Stanley, but their phones were not out,” said Curtis. “So it was just odd,” she said, noting that numerous facilities across a wide geographic range were affected. “The phones began working intermittently Saturday morning, they were down again Saturday afternoon, they came up again Saturday evening,” said Curtis. 

Rolack recalled that the morning the news about Waupun broke, she heard from her husband. “That was the last time I heard from him,” said Rolack. “And I finally heard from him again Saturday night, so I want to say that was Thursday morning. So I didn’t hear from him all the rest of the day Thursday, all of Friday, all of Saturday until Saturday night.”

Rolack reached out to Fox Lake, and was told that ICSolutions was fixing the phones and that “it was an internal issue.” But the phone service didn’t return when the facility said it would. Rolack had experienced problems with ICSolutions before, particularly over the last month. “They get two free calls every Sunday,” she said. But every time he tries to use his first free call, she said, “the call drops, and it’s been doing that for a month. So he has to actually use a call that I paid for first, and then he can call back later and use the free call. So then it’s a free call lost because they think that he’s used it.”

Hardtke said that 11 DOC facilities were “among a number of customers who experienced phone outages over the weekend due to a problem with fiber optic cable.” Phone and video services were disrupted by the outage, which began June 6, the day after news broke about the Waupun arrests. Although Hardke said service was restored on June 8, some of the family members who spoke with Wisconsin Examiner continued having problems the following week. Spanning nine Wisconsin counties, facilities with interrupted phone service were:

• Lincoln Hills/Copper Lake Schools for Boys and Girls (Lincoln County)
• Stanley Correctional Institution (Chippewa/Clark Counties)
• Black River Correctional Center (Jackson County)
• Prairie du Chien Correctional Institution (Crawford County)
• Wisconsin Secure Program Facility (Grant County)
• Redgranite Correctional Institution (Waushara County)
• Fox Lake Correctional Institution (Dodge County)
• Flambeau Correctional Center (Price County)
• St. Croix Correctional Center (St. Croix County)
• Gordon Correctional Center (Douglas County)
• Jackson Correctional Institution (Jackson County)

According to an ICSolutions document dated June 13, the fiber optic cable was cut by a “third party construction crew” in Red Wing, Minnesota. Technicians dispatched to locate the problem found that the construction crew “was digging in a restricted area and inadvertently cut a major fiber,” the document states. It added, “to complicate the issue, repair work needed to be performed in an area controlled by the railroad authority and required manual excavation.” A new fiber was installed to restore service on June 8, according to the document. 

ExecutiveSummary_June_2024_JK

ICSolutions didn’t respond to a request for comment. Hardke said in a statement, “no telecommunications vendor is perfect and many outside factors including storms, cut wires or cables and more can impact service. DOC uses a competitive contracting process to select vendors and works closely with the selected provider to resolve issues quickly and provide the best service we can.”

For families, assurances from DOC and ICSolutions are worth little. Nicole Christine recalled once not being able to reach her loved one for more than 48 hours. Both Ruth and Nicole added that at times, other members of their families could get through more reliably. The pattern led Ruth to contact ICSolutions wondering whether her phone had been blocked, but she was told there was no issue on the company’s end.

In the days after the arrests and protests at Waupun, Ruth participated in solidarity actions and helped spread the word. “I was going to the protests in Waupun,” she said, “and I don’t know if it was just coincidence or because the calls are recorded or monitored, but he tried calling 22 times and out of those 22 times, we couldn’t connect once. And just the level of frustration is incredible because you’re paying for these calls.” 

While Ruth and others describe the recent blackout as suspicious, there’s also the broader issue of poor service by ICSolutions, and on top of that the problems of overcrowding and understaffing across Wisconsin prisons. 

Families also described other problems with Wisconsin prisons. Often they hear concerns about the quality of food and water, overcrowding due to transfers from other prisons, and excessive punishments of prison residents for minor infractions. None of this, the families interviewed by Wisconsin Examiner said, can help lead someone to a better place before their prison time ends.

Curtis wondered, “Do you want just to warehouse somebody, and neglect them, and treat them like garbage for 10 years and then let them out and expect them to be great citizens, or do you want to provide them with the opportunities that they need to be able to change and to grow?”

“There are people who have already done that,” she added. “They have already been rehabilitated. And they are just sitting there just waiting and wasting taxpayer dollars.” 

Her partner owns a real estate company from prison, and has five degrees in business, accounting and other certifications. At the end of the day, Curtis said, people in Wisconsin’s prisons “need to be seen as people.”

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Correction: An earlier version of this piece mistakenly stated that additional video calls are charged at $25 per visit. In fact the charge is $2.50 per visit. We also corrected the spelling of Beth Hardtke’s name and the loction of the fiber-optic cable that was cut, which was in Minnesota, not Michigan. We regret the errors.

Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our website. AP and Getty images may not be republished. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of any other photos and graphics.

Isiah Holmes

Isiah Holmes is a journalist and videographer, and a lifelong resident of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His writing has been featured in Urban Milwaukee, Isthmus, Milwaukee Stories, Milwaukee Neighborhood News Services, Pontiac Tribune, the Progressive Magazine, Al Jazeera, and other outlets.

Wisconsin Examiner is part of States Newsroom , the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.

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Wisconsin Department of Corrections Inmate Search Instructions

Search wisconsin state prison inmates.

Wisconsin Department of Corrections Inmate Locator

How do you look up a Wisconsin Department of Corrections Inmate?

The Wisconsin Department of Corrections maintains a searchable public database of all of the inmates they have in custody.

In addition, the offender search contains information about prisoners, parolees, and probationers who are currently under supervision, and who have been discharged. It also contains those inmates who have absconded, or escaped.

The actual prison that an inmate is assigned to depends on factors such as security classification, remaining time of their sentence, gang affiliation, and location of their residence.

The Wisconsin Department of Corrections began in 1850, when the first prison, Waupun, was built.

Today the state of Wisconsin's Prison System, with 10,000 employees, maintains 37 state correctional institutions.

As of the end of 2023 the Washington State DOC oversees approximately 20,000 state  inmates , with another 64,000 on parole and probation.

The following will explain the instructions, tricks and hacks you can use to find any inmate in custody with the Wisconsin Department of Corrections.

Wisconsin Department of Corrections Inmate Search Instructions

The Wisconsin Department of Corrections provides a limited amount of information you may want to know about any inmate in their system, however they do list every inmate, including those released. Inmates in custody have their crimes listed, as well as previous convictions. To look up an inmate  (or parolee, or those who have been released), you need the full last name. 

NOTE:  You first have to agree to the disclaimer page below.

When you begin your search by entering the inmate's name, make sure you click the 'Perform Search' link at the bottom the page that the arrow is pointed to.

The first set of results if you used the full last name, provided there are more than one with that same name, will list their Name, Birth Year, Race, County of Commitment, Zip Code of Commitment and Status. Click on the Name to get to the inmate's page.  

The inmate's page has complete information about the inmate; visitation hours, etc., including the inmate's most recent mugshots.

Notice the menu bar at the top. Clicking on each of the tabs, Demographics, Status, Addresses, Movement, Court Cases and Photo Set, will give you all the information about each inmate.

Wisconsin State Prison Facilities

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Federal - Bureau of Prisons - Inmate Locator

How to search for a federal inmate in the bureau of prisons.

The Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator includes inmates that are not only in custody, but who have been in custody and have been released (or who died in custody) since 1982. 

For inmates in custody prior to 1982, visit the  National Archives Records Administration  and provide the following information:

• Inmate name (including middle name/initial),
• Inmate's date of birth or approximate age at time of incarceration,
• Inmate's race, and
• Inmate's approximate dates in prison.

Federal Inmate Search

Searching by Name

• You must enter the exact spelling of the inmate's FIRST and LAST name.
• If the inmate's name is a common name, you may want to type in their age (as of today) and race to limit the number of results.
• If you enter only an inmate's LAST name and an initial for the first name, you will NOT get a result.

Searching by Name Results

Searching by Number

• If you know the inmate's BOP Register Number (ex: 12345-678), you can enter that to get an exact result.
• You can also enter an inmate's DCDC Number, FBI Number or INS Number to get an exact result. The listing of the inmate will display their BOP Register Number.

Searching by Number Result

Things to Know About Federal Inmate Search Results

• The data in the Federal Inmate Locator is updated daily.
• Hispanic's race can either be Black or White.
• Release dates are only considered absolute if they have already been released. For those still in custody the release date is either UNKNOWN, subject to change, or projected.
• Unless an inmate shows as being RELEASED, their location is subject to change, as inmates are occasionally moved to another facility with no notice.
• The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) allows certain information about Federal inmates to the general public if someone requests it. To obtain information beyond what is provided from the inmate locator and/or publicly available, submit a (Freedom of Information) FOIA request along with a properly completed Form DOJ-361 . For further information, refer to the BOP's FOIA website .
• If you are experiencing problems when using the inmate locator system, send a Technical Issue email (using the drop down menu) from the CONTACT US page. 
• You may also contact the BOP by writing to: FEDERAL BUREAU OF PRISONS Att: Inmate Locator 320 First St., N.W. Washington, DC 20534

ICE Online Detainee Locator System

How to find someone in the immigration and customs enforcement (ice) detainee locator.

When someone that is not a US Citizen gets arrested in the United States, and they are here illegally, depending on what state or city they are arrested in, the person may be turned over to ICE. 

Many states such as New York and California, as well as hundreds of US cities, have declared themselves 'sanctuary cities' and do not turn over foreigners here illegally, even if they are committing crimes in their jurisdiction.

However, when an alien here illegally is turned over to ICE, and sent to one of the over 100 Immigration Detention Centers in the United States, the only way to try and locate where they are being detained is using the Online Detainee Locator System .

There are two ways to search for an ICE Detainee:

You can look them up using their assigned A-Number .

• An A-Number is a 9-digit number that either looks like this: A-123456789 , or like this 123-456-789 . This is required if you do not know their name. It is also called a Registration Number when on a visa, or a USCIS# when on a Green Card. If for whatever reason the A-Number you have does not have 9-digits, you need to add 0s (zeroes) to the front of the number until the number has 9-digits. That number might then look like this:  001234567.

You can also try and look them up by using their name.

• In order for this to be effective, you need to have the exact name that is either on their paperwork, or the the name with the exact spelling that they gave ICE. This is required.
• You also need to know the country of their birth , or the country of their birth that they gave ICE. This is required.
• Knowing their Date of Birth is helpful but not required to find them in the system.

Important things to know about using the ICE Detainee Locator

• You do not need to set up an account to use the Detainee Locator System .
• A-Number stands for 'Alien Registration Number'.
• The System does not have information on all detainees in custody.
• Juvenile names are NOT in the System.
• The Detainee Locator System is updated every 8 hours, sometimes sooner.
• If the detainee is being moved to a new facility, the new location will not be shown until they have arrived and are processed. 
• No warnings or prior notice are given in advance of a detainee being moved.
• While being transferred to a different facility they may still be shown online as being in the original facility.
• If you are planning a visit, always call before you come to confirm the detainee is still at the facility and has not been moved.
• To visit a detainee you must have some type of government issued photo ID, or other identification when photo identification is unavailable for religious reasons.
• If you are unable to find the detainee using the System, contact the ICE Office of Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) in the area where you believe the person's immigration case was initiated or the Detainee Reporting and Information Line (DRIL) at 888-351-4024 .

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