How to Fill Out and Submit the ODRC Visitor Application (Form DRC2096)

To visit someone in an Ohio state prison, you complete the ODRC Visitor Application (Form DRC2096), attach a photocopy of your government-issued photo ID and any other required supporting documents, and send the packet to the specific correctional institution where the person is housed. Once the facility processes your background check and approves you, your name is added to that person’s visitor list and you can schedule in-person or video visits through ViaPath.

Where to Get the Form and What Goes With It

Form DRC2096 is a downloadable PDF on the ODRC website, hosted under the department’s forms library at dam.assets.ohio.gov.¹ You can also request a paper copy directly from the correctional institution by phone or mail.

The application isn’t a single sheet. The ODRC packet includes two other signed documents alongside DRC2096: a Declaration of Understanding (DRC2554) and a copy of the General Visiting Instructions (DRC2274). Both are usually bundled with the application packet on the ODRC website or handed out by the facility.²

What to Gather Before You Start

Pull these items together before you begin filling in the form:

A government-issued photo ID such as a driver’s license, state ID, passport, or military ID. You’ll need the ID number, issuing state, and expiration date on the form, plus a legible photocopy attached to the packet.¹
The incarcerated person’s full name and inmate number. If you don’t have the inmate number, use the ODRC offender search on the department’s website.
Details of any prior incarceration, current probation or parole status, pending criminal case, or any past co-defendant or victim relationship with the person you want to visit. Have dates, locations, and case numbers ready.
A written letter from your probation or parole officer granting permission for the visit, if you are currently under supervision.³
A copy of your final release paperwork, if you were previously incarcerated in an ODRC institution.⁴

Current ODRC policy does not require proof of address such as a utility bill.² Some older printed packets floating around at facilities still mention that requirement, so if you’re working from paper, compare it against the current online version.

Filling Out Form DRC2096

The top of the form asks for the incarcerated person’s full name and inmate number. Below that is your section: full legal name exactly as it appears on your ID, date of birth, residential address, phone number, and your ID number with its issuing state and expiration date. The form does not ask for a Social Security number.

Accuracy matters here more than on most paperwork. The form states that failure to answer any question or falsifying any answer will result in disapproval.¹

The criminal history section trips people up most often. It asks:

Have you ever been incarcerated in a prison in Ohio, another state, or any federal prison?
Are you currently on probation or parole?
Are you currently a party to any criminal action or proceeding?
Have you ever been a co-defendant or accomplice in any crime committed by the person you want to visit?
Have you ever been a victim of a crime committed by that person?

Answer each honestly. The background check will typically surface a prior conviction anyway, and at that point the falsification itself becomes the reason for denial rather than the underlying record. Many applicants with criminal histories are approved. Lying is what turns a difficult application into a rejected one.⁴

The form also asks you to describe your relationship to the incarcerated person. Friend applications receive closer review than family applications. For friends, staff consider whether the relationship will have a positive effect on the person’s attitude, behavior, and reentry efforts, so be specific and genuine about how you know them.²

Adding a Child to the Visit

Children under 18 need additional documentation. Include a copy of the child’s birth certificate to verify identity and parentage. If the incarcerated person is the child’s parent but does not appear on the birth certificate, you can substitute DNA paternity test results, court-ordered custody papers, or an affidavit of paternity.⁴

If the adult bringing the child is not the child’s parent or legal guardian, the parent or guardian must complete an Authorization for Minor Child Visitation form. It lists which specific adults are permitted to bring the child, and it has to be notarized before submission. A copy of the child’s birth certificate or custody papers must be enclosed with it.⁵ Banks, UPS stores, and courthouses handle notarization for a few dollars.

How and Where to Submit the Packet

The completed packet goes to the specific correctional institution where the person is currently housed, not to a central ODRC office. You have four options: U.S. mail, fax, email, or in-person drop-off.² Each facility’s mailing address, fax number, and contact information is on its individual page under the ODRC website.

Dropping the packet off in person doesn’t fast-track the review, and you can’t visit that same day. Visitation is not granted until the application has been fully processed and you’ve been notified of approval. ODRC does not publish a processing timeline. If several weeks pass without a response, call the facility’s visiting department for a status check.

What Happens After You Submit

Once your packet arrives, facility staff run an electronic background search. At a minimum, they check multiple ODRC database screens for past restrictions, visitation histories with other incarcerated people, and whether your name appears in the person’s pre-sentence investigation or indictment as a co-defendant or victim.²

If you are approved, the facility notifies you and adds your name to the incarcerated person’s approved visitor list. Your initial status is tentatively approved pending verification of your identity at your first visit, so bring the same photo ID you listed on the application.⁴

Reasons an Application Gets Denied

The visit could jeopardize the safety, security, or good order of the facility, other incarcerated people, staff, or the community.
You have a history of disruptive conduct during previous visits at any ODRC facility.
You are directly connected to the incarcerated person’s current or prior criminal activity, such as being a co-defendant.
Staff determine the visit would not have a positive effect on the person’s attitude, behavior, or reentry efforts.
You are on probation or parole and did not include written permission from both your supervising officer and the facility’s managing officer.²

Appealing a Denial or Suspension

If your visiting privileges are denied or later suspended, you have seven days from the date of the notice to request a review.⁶ Direct the appeal to the facility. If the decision rests on outdated or incorrect information, attach documentation that corrects the record, such as proof of completed probation or case disposition paperwork.

Scheduling a Visit Once You’re Approved

Approved visitors schedule both in-person and video visits through the ViaPath system (formerly GTL) at ohdoc.gtlvisitme.com. Wait to register with ViaPath until after the ODRC has approved your application; setting up a ViaPath account before then can delay the ViaPath side of the approval.⁷

Scheduling rules vary by institution. At some facilities, approved visitors can book up to 30 days ahead and must reserve at least 72 hours before the visit. Everyone attending has to be listed on the reservation and individually approved.⁸ Each warden sets visiting hours, frequency, duration, and the number of visitors allowed at one time, so check the specific institution’s page for its own rules.⁹ Video visits run 30 minutes and require the same approved-visitor status as in-person visits.

What Can Still Get You Turned Away at the Door

Being on the approved list isn’t the last hurdle. Two things regularly stop approved visitors at the checkpoint: clothing and contraband.

Dress Code

Wear modest, non-revealing clothing. These items are prohibited:

See-through clothing of any kind, including torn or ripped jeans or anything with holes where skin is visible
Halter tops, tube tops, cropped tops, tank tops, and muscle shirts
Outfits that expose undergarments
Skirts, dresses, shorts, or culottes with a hem above mid-knee
Wrap-around skirts, dresses, or breakaway pants
Clothing with gang-related markings or obscene, offensive, or derogatory images or language
Skin-tight clothing such as leggings, jeggings, spandex, or tights⁹

Appropriate undergarments are required. Whatever you wear in has to stay on for the whole visit, aside from outerwear like coats and gloves, and you can’t carry extra clothing in. Simple clothes with minimal metal move faster through the detector.

Contraband

Every visitor passes through a security checkpoint with a photo ID and a metal detector. Bringing prohibited items onto prison grounds is a criminal offense, not just a facility rule violation. Ohio Revised Code 2921.36 makes it illegal to knowingly bring weapons, drugs, alcohol, cash, or electronic communication devices like cell phones onto the grounds of any ODRC facility.¹⁰

Bringing a weapon or drugs is a third-degree felony. Delivering a cell phone or other electronic communication device to an incarcerated person is the same charge. Even bringing cash to hand to someone in custody is a first-degree misdemeanor.¹⁰ Leave your phone in the car, and bring nothing into the facility that isn’t explicitly permitted.

1
Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. Adult Visitor Application
2
Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. Incarcerated Person (IP) Visitation
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Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. Adult Visitor Application
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Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. ODRC Visitor Application Form
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Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. Authorization For Minor Child Visitation
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Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. Visitation Policy
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Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. Visitation
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Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. Lebanon Correctional Institution (LeCI)
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Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. Visitation Guidelines
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Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 2921.36