To put money on a jail phone, you deposit funds with the phone-service company the facility contracts with — most commonly Securus Technologies, ViaPath (ConnectNetwork), or JPay — using their website, their toll-free number, a lobby kiosk at the facility, or a mailed money order. Before you pay, you need to know the inmate’s ID number and decide whether you’re funding the inmate’s own calling account or a prepaid balance tied to your phone number. Those two things determine everything else.
What to Have Ready Before You Deposit
Every deposit needs three pieces of information: the inmate’s full legal name, their identification or booking number, and the exact name and location of the facility. The ID number matters more than the name. Facilities house people with identical names, and the number is what routes your money to the right account.
If you don’t have the ID number, look it up. For federal inmates, the Bureau of Prisons runs a free locator at bop.gov that returns the registration number, facility assignment, and projected release date from a name search.1Federal Bureau of Prisons. Inmate Locator For state and county facilities, most states maintain an inmate search on their department of corrections website, and VINELink (vinelink.com) covers participating jurisdictions by state. If the online tools come up empty, call the facility’s records office. They can usually confirm the booking number over the phone.
PIN Debit or AdvancePay: Pick the Right Account
Most providers offer two account types, and funding the wrong one is the most common mistake people make.
PIN Debit is the inmate’s own account inside the facility. The inmate places calls with a personal identification number, and the per-minute cost comes out of their balance. Choose this when you want them to have the flexibility to call anyone on their approved list, not just you.
AdvancePay (sometimes called prepaid collect) is tied to your phone number, not the inmate. When the inmate calls you, the cost comes out of the balance on your number. You control the funds and can only receive calls to that specific line. With AdvancePay, your 10-digit phone number essentially is your account number. If you mail a money order, write your phone number on it. Payments received without it cannot be posted.
Four Ways to Add the Money
Online (Fastest)
Create an account at securustech.net, connectnetwork.com, or jpay.com — whichever company serves the facility. Search for the inmate for a PIN Debit deposit, or enter your phone number for AdvancePay, then pay by credit or debit card. Online deposits usually post within minutes to a few hours. Expect a processing fee on top of your deposit, generally in the $3 to $7 range depending on provider, deposit size, and facility.
By Phone
Each provider runs an automated phone line, with live agents available in some cases. You call the toll-free number, follow the prompts, and pay by card. Fees tend to run a bit higher than online. Securus customer service, for example, is at 1-800-844-6591.
Money Order by Mail
Mail a money order (personal checks are usually not accepted) to the address the provider specifies. This method avoids the electronic processing fee, but posting can take anywhere from several business days to a couple of weeks. You still pay the retailer or post office a dollar or two for the money order itself. Follow the mailing instructions to the letter, including the inmate’s name, ID number, and any required deposit form. For AdvancePay, put your phone number on the document.
Lobby Kiosk
Many facilities have kiosks in the visitor lobby that take cash, credit, or debit. These are useful if you don’t have a bank card, but the kiosk charges its own per-transaction fee that varies by facility.
What the Calls Will Cost
Knowing the per-minute rate helps you decide how much to deposit. As of April 6, 2026, the FCC caps audio-call rates by facility size:2Federal Communications Commission. Incarcerated People’s Communications Services
- Prisons of any size: $0.09 per minute
- Large jails (1,000+ inmates): $0.08 per minute
- Medium jails (350–999): $0.10 per minute
- Small jails (100–349): $0.11 per minute
- Very small jails (50–99): $0.13 per minute
- Extremely small jails (under 50): $0.17 per minute
Providers may add a $0.02-per-minute facility fee on top of the base cap.3Federal Communications Commission. Implementation of the Martha Wright-Reed Act – Report and Order The caps apply to both prepaid and collect calls. International calls may carry an extra charge for foreign termination costs.
A practical example: a 15-minute call from a federal prison at $0.09 per minute plus the $0.02 facility fee runs about $1.65. At a medium jail rate, the same call is roughly $1.80. If the facility offers video visits, those come out of the same balance and cost more, with caps running from $0.19 per minute in large jails up to $0.44 per minute in the smallest ones, and $0.25 per minute in prisons.2Federal Communications Commission. Incarcerated People’s Communications Services
Deposit Fees to Watch For
The per-minute rate is separate from what the provider charges you to add money. Historically these processing fees stacked up quickly for people making small, frequent deposits. The FCC’s 2024 order prohibited most ancillary charges, including automated payment fees and third-party financial transaction fees, folding those costs into the per-minute caps.4Federal Register. Incarcerated People’s Communication Services; Implementation of the Martha Wright-Reed Act
Even so, you may still see processing fees at checkout. The rules have been in flux and providers have sought to reinstate certain charges. Review the fee disclosure before completing any transaction, and if you’re a regular depositor, fewer larger deposits will cost less overall than many small ones.
When the Money Doesn’t Show Up
If you deposited funds and the inmate says the balance hasn’t moved, start with the obvious. Confirm you funded the right account type. A deposit to your AdvancePay balance will never appear on the inmate’s PIN Debit account, and vice versa. Double-check the ID number on your receipt. Online and phone deposits typically post within minutes to one business day. Money orders can take more than a week.
If the timing looks wrong, contact the provider’s customer service with your confirmation number, deposit date, amount, and the inmate’s full name and ID. Most providers offer support around the clock.
When Funded Calls Still Won’t Connect
A funded account doesn’t guarantee the phone will ring. The most common — and most frustrating — cause is your own mobile carrier’s spam filter blocking the call. Jail phone systems use automated prompts asking you to press a key to accept the charge, and carriers increasingly flag these as robocalls. The call might ring once on the inmate’s end and then drop without ever ringing on yours. If calls used to connect and suddenly don’t, your carrier’s filtering probably got stricter. Call your carrier and ask them to whitelist the facility’s outgoing number or disable robocall filtering for your line. Some carriers let you toggle this in their app.
Other reasons calls fail: your number isn’t on the inmate’s approved calling list, there’s a collect-call block on your phone line (common by default with many carriers), or the inmate has hit their daily call limit. If you’ve ruled out carrier-side blocking, contact the facility’s inmate services department.
Getting Unused Money Back
If the inmate is released or transferred, or you simply want your AdvancePay balance back, contact the phone provider directly and request a refund. Have your account number, the inmate’s details, and your original transaction information ready. Processing usually takes 7 to 30 business days depending on the provider and refund method. Some providers charge a small refund processing fee, though ongoing FCC rulemaking may limit or eliminate those charges.
Don’t let a balance sit forever. If an account goes dormant long enough, the money can be turned over to the state as unclaimed property under that state’s abandoned-property laws. Once that happens, recovering it means filing a claim with the state treasurer or comptroller rather than the phone company, which is a much slower process. Request the refund promptly when you no longer need the account.