How to Fill Out and Submit the Oklahoma DOC Visitor’s Request Form

To visit someone in an Oklahoma prison, you must fill out the Oklahoma DOC visitor application (Visitor’s Request Form DOC 030118B), submit it with a copy of your ID to the Department of Corrections Visitation Unit, and pass a background check that can take up to 90 days.¹ Once you’re approved, you stay on the inmate’s visiting list for three years before you need to reapply.²

Where to Get the Form and How to Submit It

You have two ways to apply. The faster route is the online Visitor Application Form hosted on Smartsheet, linked from the ODOC visitation page at oklahoma.gov. It covers the same fields as the paper version and lets you upload your ID digitally.¹

If you prefer paper, download the PDF (form DOC 030118B) from the same page, or call the Visitation Unit at 405-768-3269 to request a copy. Fill every space and print clearly. The form itself warns that illegible handwriting will slow processing or get the application returned.³

Mail the completed paper form to the central Visitation Unit. Do not send it to the facility where the inmate is housed, and do not send it to the inmate. Either mistake will delay or prevent processing. The address is:¹

Oklahoma Department of Corrections
Attn: Visitation Unit
P.O. Box 11400
Oklahoma City, OK 73136-0400

What the Form Asks For

The application collects more information than most people expect. Along with your full legal name, date of birth, and Social Security number, you’ll provide your place of birth, gender, race, height, weight, current street address, and phone number.³

You must describe your relationship to the inmate and state how long you have known them. Relationship matters, because it affects who gets approved and under what conditions. Former inmates who are not family, for example, face a mandatory three-year waiting period after they finish their sentence.²

The criminal history section asks whether you have ever been arrested or charged with any crime. For each incident, list the date of arrest, the county and state, the nature of the charge, and the outcome. Attach a separate sheet if you run out of room. Don’t leave anything off. ODOC runs your information through OSBI and FBI criminal records databases, and inconsistencies between what you report and what those checks turn up can lead to denial.³

Identification and Signature

Include a photocopy of the front and back of your driver’s license or state-issued ID card. The form names those two documents specifically, so don’t substitute anything else, and make sure the copies are legible because staff will compare them against the personal information you provide.³

Sign in the designated block. An unsigned form won’t be processed. The form also warns in bold: “DO NOT RETURN TO INMATE OR IT WILL BE REJECTED.” The inmate should never handle or submit the application for you.³

Bringing Children

Children under 18 do not submit their own application and do not undergo a background check. But if you’re bringing a minor, you need documentation to verify guardianship, typically a birth certificate or court or adoption papers. Once a child turns 18, they have to complete their own application and pass the background check like any adult.¹ Minors also don’t count toward the inmate’s visitor list cap.²

What Happens After You Submit

Approval can take up to 90 days. During that time, the Visitation Unit runs your information through OSBI and FBI criminal records databases and checks the Office of the Inspector General’s Visitor Alert system. Don’t call the facility to check on your status, and don’t show up hoping to visit. You won’t get in without approved status.¹

The inmate is notified of the decision and is responsible for telling you the outcome, including the date and time of your first scheduled visit. ODOC does not send you a separate notification, so make sure the inmate has a reliable way to reach you.¹

Once approved, you remain on the inmate’s visiting list for three years. Before that period runs out, submit a new application if you want to keep visiting.²

Who Gets Denied or Restricted

A criminal record does not automatically disqualify you, but several categories of applicants face restrictions under ODOC policy:

Family members currently under correctional supervision may be approved with the consent of both facility heads, but not if they have ever been convicted of bringing contraband into a prison.
Former inmates who are not family cannot visit for at least three years after completing all active sentences, whether incarcerated or under supervision. Even after that, the facility head must approve.
Former ODOC employees or contractors cannot be added to a non-family member’s visiting list for at least three years after leaving the department. If the separation involved an Inspector General investigation into prohibited activities, the restriction may be permanent.

Beyond these categories, ODOC can permanently restrict a visitor from all facilities for documented cause. If a permanent restriction is imposed, both the inmate and the visitor receive written notice with the reasons and a chance to respond.²

Visitor List Caps and Removal Rules

Each inmate is allowed a maximum of 20 people on the approved visiting list. Children under 18 do not count toward that cap. If the list is full, the inmate has to remove someone before a new visitor can be added, and there’s a catch: once an inmate requests that a visitor be removed, that person cannot be added back for 120 days.²

A visitor removed from one inmate’s list cannot be placed on a different inmate’s list for one year. Worth knowing if you have more than one family member in ODOC custody.²

1
Oklahoma Department of Corrections. Facility Visitation Information
2
Oklahoma Department of Corrections. Oklahoma Department of Corrections Policy OP-030118 – Visitation
3
Oklahoma Department of Corrections. Oklahoma DOC Visitor’s Request Form