In most prisons and larger jails, incarcerated people can make phone calls on tablets issued by the facility. The tablet dials out through the same secure network as a wall phone, but from a housing unit or cell rather than a shared line. Calls go only to numbers on a pre-approved contact list, run on a per-minute charge that is now capped by federal rules, and are recorded and monitored.
How a Tablet Call Works
The person opens a calling app on the tablet, selects a name from their approved contact list, and the system places the call through the facility’s secure network. Earbuds usually come with the tablet so the call doesn’t disturb others, and replacements can be bought through the commissary. The devices themselves are locked down: no cameras in most cases, no open internet, no app store.
On your end, it sounds like any other call from a correctional facility. A recorded message announces where the call is coming from and warns that it may be monitored, and you accept or decline. Once you’re connected, it’s a normal conversation with a time limit and a warning tone before the line cuts.
Approved Contacts
Every number has to be registered and approved before the tablet will dial it. In federal facilities, the incarcerated person submits the numbers they want to call, and the Bureau of Prisons notifies non-family contacts in writing and gives them a chance to object before they’re added.1Federal Bureau of Prisons. Program Statement 5264.08 – Inmate Telephone Regulations People on the list agree to certain conditions, most importantly not to forward the call or connect a third party through three-way calling. State and county facilities use similar processes with their own verification steps.
What Calls Cost
Phone charges from correctional facilities dropped sharply after Congress passed the Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act, signed in January 2023, which gave the FCC authority to set rate caps on audio and video calls from correctional facilities.2Congress.gov. S.1541 – Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act of 2022
The FCC’s 2024 permanent caps for audio calls are $0.06 per minute in prisons and large jails, $0.07 in medium jails, $0.09 in small jails, and $0.12 in very small jails. Separate ancillary fees, like per-deposit charges, were rolled into the per-minute rate.3Federal Communications Commission. FCC Caps Exorbitant Phone and Video Call Rates for Incarcerated Persons and Their Families In late 2025, the FCC adopted interim rules letting facilities add up to $0.02 per minute to cover site-specific costs, with compliance required by April 2026.4Federal Register. Incarcerated People’s Communication Services; Implementation of the Martha Wright-Reed Act; Rates for Interstate Inmate Calling Services
Six states have gone further and made audio calls free: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and New York. Incarcerated people in those states pay nothing to call, and neither do their families.
Video calls placed through tablets have their own interim caps, running from $0.17 per minute in large and medium jails up to $0.23 in prisons and very small jails, and as high as $0.42 in the smallest facilities. The same $0.02 facility-cost additive can apply.4Federal Register. Incarcerated People’s Communication Services; Implementation of the Martha Wright-Reed Act; Rates for Interstate Inmate Calling Services
Funding the Account
Charges come out of the incarcerated person’s trust fund account or a prepaid account that family or friends set up through the facility’s telecom provider. Securus Technologies and ViaPath Technologies (formerly Global Tel Link) together serve roughly 80% of correctional facilities, and each runs its own deposit portal. You can typically add money online, by phone, or with a money order, and some facilities take deposits at a lobby kiosk.
Call Length and Monthly Limits
Most facilities cap individual calls at 15 minutes, with some allowing up to 30. In the federal system, each institution’s warden sets the maximum, ordinarily 15 minutes, and total phone use is capped at 300 minutes per calendar month.1Federal Bureau of Prisons. Program Statement 5264.08 – Inmate Telephone Regulations Incarcerated people participating in First Step Act programming get 300 free minutes per month, with a 30-minute daily cap.5Federal Bureau of Prisons. FBOP Updates to Phone Call Policies and Time Credit System
State prisons and county jails set their own rules. Some limit the number of calls per day; others cap total daily minutes. A warning tone usually signals the last minute of a call so both sides can wrap up.
Who Can Use a Tablet
Tablets have spread widely but not universally. As of 2022, at least 25 states had deployed tablets in their prisons, and the number keeps growing as more agencies sign provider contracts. The federal Bureau of Prisons runs its own tablet rollout, and larger county jails often have programs too.
Under the typical contract, Securus or ViaPath supplies the tablets at no cost to the facility or to the person using them, and makes its money from calls, messages, and paid content. Some facilities issue a personal tablet to each person in general population; others place shared devices at kiosks or in common areas.
Access is a privilege, not a right, and it’s usually limited to general population. People in administrative segregation, protective custody, or restricted housing generally cannot use tablets. Intake status, active disciplinary infractions, and higher security classifications can also block access.
Losing Tablet Access
Because it’s a privilege, tablet access can be suspended or revoked. Common triggers are misusing the device or its apps, damaging a tablet, failing to return it on time, or returning the wrong one. Violations go through the facility’s regular disciplinary process, and consequences range from a temporary suspension to permanent loss of access.
Anything that looks like an attempt to bypass security is treated more seriously. Trying to reach blocked sites, tampering with the hardware or software, or using the calling function to contact someone who isn’t on the approved list can bring disciplinary charges that reach beyond the tablet itself, affecting housing, commissary, or earned time credits.
Monitoring and Attorney Calls
Calls placed from a tablet are recorded and monitored. The incarcerated person has to acknowledge that before using the phone system, and facilities post notices at or near the equipment. The legal basis is federal wiretapping law, which allows interception when one party to the call has consented.6U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General. Special Report – Investigation of Federal Bureau of Prisons Telephone Policies and Practices
Attorney calls are supposed to be protected by attorney-client privilege, and BOP policy provides for unmonitored legal calls. In practice, monitoring of privileged calls has been a persistent concern: automated systems don’t always flag attorney numbers correctly, and some facilities have been criticized for failing to separate legal calls from general monitoring. If you’re an attorney or a client relying on privileged communication over a tablet, don’t assume the protection is automatic. Confirm the facility’s process for registering the number.
Messaging and Video, Briefly
Tablets generally do more than place calls, and the rules for those other functions are not the same. Electronic messaging works like a stripped-down email system: the incarcerated person types a message to someone on the approved list, and it passes through screening before delivery. Text-only messages often clear automated review in seconds; anything with a photo attachment goes to a staff member for manual review that can take a day or several weeks. A single message usually costs $0.25 to $0.50, with photos and video costing extra. The FCC’s rate caps cover voice and video calls, not messaging.
Video visitation is available on some tablet programs and falls under the FCC caps described above, running roughly $0.17 to $0.25 per minute in most facilities as of 2026.4Federal Register. Incarcerated People’s Communication Services; Implementation of the Martha Wright-Reed Act; Rates for Interstate Inmate Calling Services Not every tablet has a working camera, though. In some federal facilities the cameras are disabled entirely, and incarcerated people have voiced frustration about not being able to see their families despite holding a device with the hardware for it.