A 15-minute phone call from jail costs roughly $1.20 to $2.85 under federal rate caps taking effect April 6, 2026. The exact price depends on the size of the facility and whether the provider adds a small facility surcharge. Video calls cost more. Before these caps, the same 15-minute call ran over $24 in some jails, and a handful of states have gone further by making calls from state prisons free.
What You’ll Pay Per Minute for an Audio Call
The FCC sets the maximum per-minute rate a provider can charge, and the cap depends on the facility’s average daily population. Effective April 6, 2026, the interim caps are:
- Prisons (any size): $0.09 per minute
- Large jails (1,000 or more people): $0.08 per minute
- Medium jails (350–999): $0.10 per minute
- Small jails (100–349): $0.11 per minute
- Jails with 50–99 people: $0.13 per minute
- Jails with 49 or fewer: $0.17 per minute
Providers can add up to $0.02 per minute on top of the cap to cover costs the facility incurs in making the service available.1eCFR. 47 CFR 64.6030 – Incarcerated Peoples Communications Services Interim Rate Caps The caps apply to both in-state and out-of-state calls. International calls fall under the same caps, though the provider can pass through the extra cost of terminating the call to a foreign destination.2Federal Communications Commission. Incarcerated People’s Communications Services
In practical terms: a 15-minute call from a large jail tops out at $1.50 with the surcharge included. The same call from one of the smallest jails could reach $2.85. Most people will land somewhere between those two figures.
The rules also ban “site commissions,” which were payments providers used to make to correctional facilities as part of their contracts. Those payments had nothing to do with providing phone service and effectively worked as kickbacks that pushed per-minute rates higher. They are prohibited as of April 6, 2026.2Federal Communications Commission. Incarcerated People’s Communications Services
Video Calls Cost More
Video calls have their own interim caps, also effective April 6, 2026, and every tier is priced higher than the audio equivalent:
- Prisons (any size): $0.23 per minute
- Large jails (1,000 or more): $0.17 per minute
- Medium jails (350–999): $0.17 per minute
- Small jails (100–349): $0.19 per minute
- Jails with 50–99: $0.23 per minute
- Jails with 49 or fewer: $0.42 per minute
The $0.02 facility surcharge can apply here too.1eCFR. 47 CFR 64.6030 – Incarcerated Peoples Communications Services Interim Rate Caps A 15-minute video call from a large jail runs up to $2.85. From the smallest jails, it can reach $6.60. These are the first federal caps ever applied to video calling from correctional facilities.
States That Make Prison Calls Free
At least six states have eliminated phone charges from state prisons entirely, covering the cost through their corrections budgets instead of billing families. The movement started in 2021 and has picked up since. One important limit: these policies generally cover state prisons, not county jails. If your family member is in a county jail, per-minute charges likely still apply even in a state that has made prison calls free. Check the specific facility before assuming.
How Families Pay for Calls
There are usually three ways to pay, and which are available depends on the facility’s contracted provider.
Collect calls. The person receiving the call pays. An automated system announces who is calling and asks whether you accept the charges. Your home phone carrier has to support collect calls for this to work, and many no longer do. Historically the most expensive option.
Prepaid accounts. You deposit money into an account linked to your phone number, and each call is deducted from that balance. Set up an account through the facility’s phone provider using a credit card, debit card, or money order. Some facilities also have deposit kiosks on site. This option gives you the most control because you can cap the balance and track what’s being spent.
Debit accounts. Calls draw from funds held in the incarcerated person’s commissary or trust account. In some facilities, family members can deposit into that account directly, and the person inside uses it for calls and other purchases.
Messaging and Tablet Fees Are Not Capped
Most facilities now offer electronic messaging through provider-issued tablets. A message typically costs $0.25 to $0.50, and adding a photo usually doubles the price. Some systems charge the incarcerated person per minute to read and reply rather than per message sent. Character limits run from as few as 500 to as many as 20,000 depending on the system. These fees are not yet subject to the federal rate caps that govern phone and video calls, so pricing varies widely between facilities.
Assume the Call Is Being Recorded
Every outgoing call from a jail or prison opens with an automated warning that the call may be monitored and recorded. Courts have consistently treated a recipient’s decision to accept the call after that warning as consent to the recording. Recorded calls are routinely used as evidence in criminal cases, including the caller’s own. Prosecutors listen for admissions, inconsistencies, and signs of witness tampering. Treat anything said on a jail line as a statement on the record.
Attorney calls are supposed to be exempt under attorney-client privilege, but in practice the attorney’s number has to be registered with the facility’s phone system so the recording system skips it. An unregistered number gets recorded like any other call, and the privilege may not save it after the fact.
If You’re Being Overcharged
If a provider is charging above the federal caps or adding banned fees, you can file a complaint with the FCC:
- Online through the FCC complaint portal: select “Billing” under Phone Issues, then choose “Incarcerated People” as the sub-issue.
- By phone: 1-888-225-5322 (ASL users: 1-844-432-2275).
- By mail: FCC Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, Consumer Inquiries and Complaints Division, 45 L Street NE, Washington, DC 20554.
For in-state call charges that may violate state rules, contact your state’s public utility commission. Contact information for each state’s commission is available through the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners at naruc.org.3Federal Communications Commission. Incarcerated People’s Communications Services