How to Fill Out and Mail CDCR Form 106: Visitor Questionnaire

CDCR Form 106 is the visitor questionnaire every adult must complete to be approved to visit someone in a California state prison, and you cannot get it on your own. The incarcerated person has to request the blank form from their facility, sign it, and mail it to you.¹ You then complete it, sign under penalty of perjury, and mail it back to the prison, where staff run a background check and decide whether to approve you.

How to Get the Form

There is no download link and no counter you can walk up to. The incarcerated person you want to visit must ask their facility for the questionnaire, sign it, and send it to you in the mail. Their signature is what authorizes the visit request from their side.¹ If you have lost contact with them, write to them at their institution and ask them to start the process. CDCR’s website lists a mailing address for every prison.

What to Have Ready Before You Fill It Out

Pull everything together before you sit down with the form. You will need your full legal name, date of birth, Social Security number, current address, and phone number. You will need the incarcerated person’s full legal name and CDCR number, which they can enter on the form before mailing it to you. And you will need a complete record of your own criminal history: every arrest and every conviction, regardless of age, severity, or outcome, including dismissed cases and matters that never led to charges.²

If old dates or case numbers are fuzzy, request your own criminal history from the California Department of Justice before you write anything down. It offers personal record reviews for a fee. Pulling the record is slower than guessing but safer: a discrepancy between what you wrote and what the background check finds is the single most common reason applications are denied.

Filling Out the Form

The questionnaire has three parts.

Part A: Personal Information

Demographic and contact details. Make sure your name matches your photo ID exactly, including middle names and any suffix. CDCR uses this section to verify your identity and run the background check.

Part B: Criminal History

This is where applications fall apart. List every arrest and every conviction. Include DUIs, dismissed charges, and juvenile matters you remember. Include anything you believe was expunged. CDCR runs your information through law enforcement databases, and if something surfaces that you did not disclose, the application is denied.² Do not filter. Let staff decide what matters.

Part C: Relationship and Facility

State your relationship to the incarcerated person (spouse, parent, friend, and so on) and identify the facility where they are housed. Confirm the current institution before you mail the form. Transfers happen, and a questionnaire that arrives at the wrong prison will need to be resubmitted.

The Signature

Your signature at the bottom is a declaration under penalty of perjury. Knowingly providing false information is perjury under California Penal Code Section 118, punishable by two, three, or four years in state prison.³⁴

Mailing It Back

Send the signed form to the Visiting Sergeant or Lieutenant at the prison where the incarcerated person is housed.² Write the incarcerated person’s name and CDCR number on the envelope. Do not include letters, photos, or anything else; extra material can cause the whole packet to be rejected. There is no online submission.

Photocopy your completed form before you drop it in the mail. If the original goes missing or a question comes up during the review, you will want an exact record of what you wrote, especially the criminal history entries.

What Happens After You Submit

Staff review the questionnaire and run your information through law enforcement databases. Processing times vary by institution based on application volume and staffing, and CDCR does not publish a standard timeframe.² Expect several weeks at minimum.

How you find out depends on the outcome. If you are approved, the incarcerated person is notified through internal channels and is responsible for telling you. If you are denied, the prison mails a letter directly to you explaining why. The incarcerated person is told of the denial but not the reason.²

Common Reasons Applications Are Denied

California Code of Regulations Title 15, Section 3172.1 lists the grounds CDCR uses to deny a visitor.⁵ The most common are:

Omitted or falsified information. If you left something off by mistake, CDCR will reconsider once you provide the missing information. If you falsified something, no new application will be considered for at least six months.
An outstanding warrant or unresolved arrest, including a DMV failure-to-appear notice with no court disposition.
Recent felony convictions: one within the past three years, two within the past six years, or three or more within the past ten years.
Any conviction for smuggling drugs or contraband into a correctional facility, or for aiding an escape.
Being a co-participant in the offense with the incarcerated person.
Being a former incarcerated person without written approval from the institution head.
Being on probation or parole without written permission from your supervising officer.

The felony windows catch people off guard. A single felony from two years ago is disqualifying; the same felony four years from now would not be. Timing matters if you plan to reapply.

How to Appeal a Denial

You have two levels of appeal. Start by writing to the Warden at the prison where the incarcerated person is housed. The Warden must respond within 15 working days.² If you disagree with the Warden’s decision, escalate to the Director of the Division of Adult Institutions. Include a copy of the institution’s decision and mail it to:

California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
Division of Adult Institutions
P.O. Box 942883
Sacramento, California 94283-0001
Attention: Director, Room 351-N

The Director’s office must respond in writing within 20 working days.² The incarcerated person can also file a separate appeal through the prison’s internal grievance process.

If the denial came from incomplete or inaccurate information rather than a policy disqualification, you do not need a formal appeal. You can simply resubmit a corrected questionnaire.⁵

Bringing Children

Minors do not complete their own Form 106, but they do need documentation, which varies by who brings them.⁶ Every minor must be accompanied by an approved adult visitor.

With a parent: a certified copy of the child’s birth certificate.
With a legal guardian: a certified copy of the birth certificate plus proof of guardianship.
With another adult: a certified copy of the birth certificate plus a notarized written consent form from the parent or guardian, updated every year.

Certified birth certificates and notarizations take time to obtain. Start early.

Once You Are Approved

Approval is not the whole picture. You still need to schedule the visit through CDCR’s Visitation Scheduling Application before showing up; most institutions do not accept walk-ins.⁷

Bring valid, unexpired photo identification that matches the name on your approved questionnaire. California Code of Regulations Title 15, Section 3173 requires all adult visitors to show picture ID, typically a driver’s license, a DMV-issued ID card, or a passport.⁸ Non-U.S. citizens can present a valid foreign passport with a photo or a photo ID issued by the Mexican Consulate.⁶ Without acceptable ID you will not be admitted, regardless of your approval status.

CDCR also enforces a dress code. Do not wear anything resembling what incarcerated people or staff wear: blue denim pants, orange clothing, forest green pants, tan shirts, or camouflage.⁹ Tank tops, tube tops, spaghetti straps, and open-toed shoes are also barred. Individual institutions have their own additions, so call ahead before your first trip. Violating visiting rules during a visit can lead to suspension or permanent revocation of your privileges.¹⁰

1
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Visiting Information – Office of the Ombudsman
2
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. How to Get Approved to Visit an Incarcerated Person
3
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 118 – Perjury
4
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 126
5
Cornell Law Institute. California Code of Regulations Title 15 3172.1 – Approval/Disapproval of Visitors
6
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Identification Required for Visiting
7
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. How to Schedule a Visit
8
Cornell Law Institute. California Code of Regulations Title 15 3173 – Processing of Approved Visitors
9
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Dress Code
10
Cornell Law Institute. California Code of Regulations Title 15 3170 – General Visiting