How to Fill Out and Submit the Madison Correctional Visitor Application

To visit someone at Madison Correctional Institution in London, Ohio, you fill out the Adult Visitor Application (form DRC-2096), attach a copy of your photo ID, and mail the packet to the prison. The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction runs a background check, and the warden’s office approves or denies you based on your answers, your relationship to the incarcerated person, and institutional security. The Madison Correctional visitor application is a single page, but the questions on it carry weight: blank fields and false answers are automatic denials.

Where to Get the Form

The current Adult Visitor Application, revised March 2025, is posted as a PDF on the ODRC’s visitation page at drc.ohio.gov. The incarcerated person you plan to visit can also ask staff to mail you a copy. The packet includes three pieces: the application itself, the General Visiting Instructions, and a Declaration of Understanding you sign acknowledging Ohio’s contraband laws.

Personal Information the Form Requires

Fill in every field. The instructions at the top of the form warn that any blank question or false answer will result in denial.¹ You need to provide:

Your full legal name as it appears on your photo ID.
Your current residential street address, city, state, and ZIP.
Your driver’s license or state ID number, with issuing state and expiration date.
A phone number with area code, plus an email address.
Your date of birth.
The incarcerated person’s full name, inmate number, and institution (Madison Correctional Institution).
Your relationship to that person. If you’re a friend rather than family, the form asks you to describe how you know them and whether the friendship existed before incarceration.

Include a legible copy of your photo ID with the packet. A driver’s license, state ID, passport, or military ID all work.¹ The form does not request your Social Security number or employment history.

The Background Questions

The second half of the application is a block of yes-or-no questions about your legal history. A “yes” to any of them gives you space to explain. The questions cover:

Whether you have ever been incarcerated in an Ohio prison, another state’s prison, or a federal facility. If yes, you list dates, state, institution, and charges.
Whether you are currently on probation or parole. If yes, you must attach a letter from your supervising officer granting permission to visit.¹
Whether you are a party to any pending criminal case.
Whether you were ever charged as an accomplice or co-defendant with the incarcerated person.
Whether you were a victim of any crime the incarcerated person committed.
Whether an active protection order exists between the two of you.
Whether you currently work, or have ever worked, for the ODRC, including as a contractor, volunteer, or intern.

Answer honestly. The background check will surface anything you tried to hide, and a contradiction between your answers and the check is treated the same as outright falsification: denial.¹ A criminal record does not automatically disqualify you, particularly if you’re an immediate family member. Lying about one does.

Who Tends to Get Approved

Ohio Administrative Code 5120-9-15 gives the warden broad discretion but tilts the rules in favor of family. Immediate family is defined broadly, covering spouses, parents, stepparents, children, stepchildren, siblings, half-siblings, grandparents, great-grandparents, grandchildren, in-laws, and aunts and uncles.² Adoptive and foster parents also qualify where they raised the incarcerated person because a biological parent was absent or deceased.

Friends and more distant acquaintances get closer scrutiny, especially about how long and how well they’ve known the person. The regulation lists several factors that can lead to denial:

A prior felony conviction. Family members with felony records can still apply; non-family applicants with felonies face a higher bar.²
Victim status. If you were a victim of any offense committed by the incarcerated person, under their current or a previous sentence, you need written authorization from the warden.
Active probation or parole. You need both your officer’s letter and the warden’s approval.
Co-defendant or accomplice status with the incarcerated person.
An active protection order between you and the incarcerated person.

None of these is automatic. A “yes” triggers a closer review rather than a reflexive denial.

If You’re Bringing a Minor

Children under 18 don’t fill out the Adult Visitor Application, but the paperwork for them has its own requirements. Any approved adult visitor may bring their own minor children, provided they carry a birth certificate or legal custody papers establishing the parent or guardian relationship.³

If someone other than the parent or legal guardian will be bringing the child, the parent or guardian has to complete the ODRC’s Authorization for Minor Child Visitation form. It lists every adult authorized to escort the child, must be notarized before submission, and must include a copy of the child’s birth certificate or custody papers.⁴ The authorization expires one year from the date the institution receives it, and any change to the list of authorized adults requires a new form.

Showing up without the birth certificate or the right authorization form means the child doesn’t come in. Get the notarization handled before the trip; banks, shipping stores, and many public libraries notarize cheaply.

Where to Send the Packet

Mail the completed application, the signed Declaration of Understanding, and a copy of your photo ID to:

Madison Correctional Institution
P.O. Box 740
London, Ohio 43140-0740

Address the envelope to the attention of the Warden’s office or the Records department. If you’re on probation or parole, put your supervising officer’s letter in the same envelope. For a minor, include the notarized Authorization for Minor Child Visitation and the child’s birth certificate alongside your own application.

The ODRC doesn’t publish a specific processing timeline. Expect several weeks for the background check and review. Once a decision is made, the institution notifies the incarcerated person, who then passes word to you.¹ If about 30 days pass with no word, ask the incarcerated person to check with staff.

Scheduling the Visit After You’re Approved

Approval doesn’t let you walk in whenever. You register an account at ohdoc.gtlvisitme.com and reserve a specific slot, which the ODRC uses for both in-person and video visits.¹

Madison Correctional runs on an odd/even scheduling system for weekday visits. If the last digit of the incarcerated person’s inmate number is odd, visits happen on odd-numbered calendar dates; even numbers visit on even dates. The rule applies to Monday, Thursday, and Friday visits.³

Each session counts against a monthly cap. Family members in general population (Zone A) get three visits per person per month; friends get two. Staying for both the morning and afternoon session counts as two visits. Reservations are required on the day before and the day after any state holiday.

If Your Application Is Denied

A denial isn’t necessarily permanent. Under Ohio Administrative Code 5120-9-15, family members with prior felony convictions may still apply, and the warden has discretion to approve applicants who look disqualified on paper.² If the denial came from an incomplete answer or missing document rather than something substantive, fix the error and resubmit.

The ODRC visitation policy allows visitors to appeal or request a review of a visiting privilege suspension within seven days. If you think your denial rested on incorrect background information or a misread of your relationship to the incarcerated person, write to the warden at Madison Correctional explaining the situation. The incarcerated person can raise the issue through internal channels at the same time.

The common reasons applications fail are preventable: a blank field, an answer that didn’t match the background check, or a missing photo ID copy. Read the form twice before you mail it.

1
Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. Adult Visitor Application
2
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Administrative Code 5120-9-15 – General Visiting
3
University of Michigan Law School. Madison Correctional Institution Inmate Handbook
4
Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. Authorization for Minor Child Visitation