Phone calls from California jails and prisons are free. Since January 1, 2023, the Keep Families Connected Act has required state prisons, county and city jails, and youth detention facilities to provide voice calls at no cost to either the person in custody or the person they are calling. Senate Bill 1008 added Penal Code sections 2084.5 and 4015.5, and it bars state and local agencies from taking revenue on voice calls or other communication services provided to incarcerated people.
What “Free” Actually Covers
The law’s free-service mandate applies to voice communication. It does not cover video visitation or electronic messaging, which remain paid services at most facilities. Electronic messages typically run 15 to 50 cents each, and photo attachments often cost double. Video call rates are governed by federal caps rather than state law.
So if your loved one is calling you on the phone from a California facility, expect no charge. If they are sending you a message or requesting a video visit through a facility tablet, expect to pay.
How Calls Work Day to Day
Calls are placed by the person in custody, not by you. Outsiders cannot dial in. The incarcerated person uses a wall-mounted phone in a housing unit or common area, or a tablet where those are available, and dials from a pre-approved contact list.
Each call is capped at 15 minutes. There is no limit on the number of calls someone can make in a day. Calls can reach domestic or international numbers. Facility calling hours apply, so phones are not necessarily accessible around the clock.
Setting Up to Receive Calls
Even though the call itself is free, the incoming call may show up as a collect call or from a blocked number, and the routing still runs through a contracted provider. You generally need an account with that provider so the system can connect the call to you. No funds have to sit in the account, because nothing is being charged.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is currently transitioning its phone and tablet services from ViaPath Technologies to Securus. If the facility still uses ViaPath, that means a ConnectNetwork Advance Pay account. If it has moved over, you register with Securus instead. When you are not sure which provider a particular facility is using, check the CDCR family resources page or call the facility.
Calls Are Monitored and Recorded
Nearly every call from a California correctional facility is monitored and recorded. A recorded announcement plays at the start of the call and at random intervals during the conversation, telling both parties the call is from an incarcerated person and is being recorded. Assume anything said on the line can be listened to later.
Attorney-client calls are the exception. A confidential legal call cannot be placed on a standard incarcerated-person telephone and is not subject to monitoring or recording. These calls go through a separate request process at the facility, and incarcerated people who need one should ask staff how their facility handles it rather than relying on the general phone system.
Federal Prisons in California Are Not Covered
The Keep Families Connected Act reaches state prisons, local jails, and youth facilities. It does not reach federal prisons located in California. If your loved one is in federal custody, the FCC’s rate structure applies instead.
Under the Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act, which Congress passed in January 2023, the FCC set interim audio rate caps taking effect April 6, 2026. For prisons of any size, the cap is $0.11 per minute (a $0.09 base rate plus a $0.02 facility additive). A 15-minute call from a federal prison will cost no more than $1.65 under those caps. The FCC also banned various add-on charges providers had stacked onto per-minute rates, prohibited minimum balance requirements on prepaid or debit calling accounts, and required refunds of unused funds after 180 days of inactivity.
Video calls from federal prisons are capped separately at $0.25 per minute ($0.23 base plus $0.02 facility additive) under the same FCC order.