How to Fill Out the CT DOC Visiting Application Online

To visit someone in a Connecticut prison, you fill out the CT DOC visiting application (Form CN 100601) by hand, sign it, and return it by mail or in person to the facility where the inmate is housed. The process is not online. It starts with the inmate, not with you, and once the facility has your completed form it typically takes two to three weeks to process.

How the Application Starts

Under Administrative Directive 10.6, the inmate submits an internal request (Form CN 9601) to their assigned counselor, listing the name and address of each person they want to visit. The counselor then sends the visitor application and a copy of the visiting rules to the inmate, who mails them to each prospective visitor through the U.S. Postal Service.¹

When your application arrives in the mail, you fill it out, sign it, and send the completed original back to the facility or hand-deliver it. The facility will not start processing applications until either every form the inmate listed has come in, or the inmate submits a written request asking staff to go ahead with whatever has arrived so far.¹

If your copy was lost in the mail or never arrived, you can download Form CN 100601 as a PDF directly from the DOC website.² Print it, complete it by hand, and return it the same way.

What Form CN 100601 Asks For

The form requires your personal identifying information and background details so the facility can run a records check. You need to include the inmate’s name and their DOC identification number. That number is up to eight digits; if the inmate’s number has fewer digits, leading zeros are added to fill it out.³

The form asks whether you have a pacemaker or defibrillator, because those devices affect how you pass through the facility’s metal detectors. If you answer yes, you must provide medical documentation signed by a licensed healthcare provider. Without it, your eligibility to visit is left to the Unit Administrator’s discretion.²

Fill in every field and sign the form. The application states plainly that failing to complete and sign it, or supplying false information, results in denial. Victims of the inmate’s offense face an added warning: an applicant who fails to disclose that they are or were a victim of the inmate may be permanently exempted from visiting that inmate.²

Who Can Be on an Inmate’s Visitor List

Visitation in Connecticut is a privilege, not a right. Any inmate in DOC custody can have visitors so long as they follow the rules, but no inmate is legally entitled to a social visit.¹

The number of approved visitors depends on the security level of the facility:

Level 5 facilities: up to 5 approved visitors
Level 3 and 4 facilities: up to 7 approved visitors
Level 2 facilities: up to 10 approved visitors

Children count toward these totals. Professional and privileged visitors, such as attorneys, do not.³

Immediate family members such as spouses, parents, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, and legal guardians are eligible to apply. Other permissible visitors are governed by Administrative Directive 10.6. One restriction catches people off guard: no visitor other than an immediate family member can appear on more than one inmate’s visiting list at the same facility.³

Who Is Restricted From Visiting

Current and former offenders are precluded from routine placement on a visitor list. They are not permanently banned, but they must request special written permission through the facility administrator rather than going through the standard application.³

DOC employees cannot appear on an inmate’s visitor list unless they are an immediate family member. Victims of the inmate’s crime are prohibited from visiting unless the Unit Administrator provides written approval.²

Beyond those categorical bars, any application can be denied if the Unit Administrator has a reasonable belief that approving it would jeopardize safety or security. The directive specifically names concerns about contraband, disruptive behavior, and failure to comply with facility rules.¹

Processing Time and Courtesy Visits

Once the facility has your completed application, staff verify the information you provided, including a criminal history and warrant check. The Unit Administrator may also require a personal interview.³

The DOC FAQ puts the typical processing window at two to three weeks. During the wait, wardens have discretion to permit a courtesy visit for up to two adult visitors from the inmate’s immediate family. Adult for this purpose means 18 or older.³

The inmate receives written notification of whether each visitor was approved, denied, or removed from the list within 30 business days. The notification includes the reason for a denial. It is then the inmate’s responsibility to let you know you have been added to their list.¹

Appealing a Denied Application

If your application is denied, you have 10 calendar days from the date you receive notification to file an appeal. The appeal must be submitted in writing to the Unit Administrator at the facility.²

The most common correctable reason for denial is incomplete or inaccurate information on the form. If you made an honest clerical mistake rather than deliberately providing false data, explaining the error in your appeal letter and giving corrected details gives you a reasonable shot at reversal. Denials based on criminal history or security concerns are harder to overturn, since the facility administrator has broad discretion over safety decisions.

Applying to Bring a Child

Any visitor under 18 must be accompanied by an authorized adult member of the immediate or expanded family, or an adult authorized by the Department of Children and Families. The accompanying adult must have their own completed and approved visiting application on file.²

Children under 16 face additional identification requirements at check-in. They must present a valid birth certificate and one additional document containing the child’s name, such as a report card or Social Security card.³

For extended family visit programs at certain facilities, the documentation bar is higher. The facility may require a certified copy of the child’s birth certificate showing the inmate as the biological parent, a written statement from the accompanying visitor, and a notarized letter of consent from the child’s legal guardian.⁴

1
Connecticut State Department of Correction. Administrative Directive 10.6 – Inmate Visits
2
Connecticut State Department of Correction. Visiting Application CN 100601
3
Connecticut State Department of Correction. Frequently Asked Questions FAQ
4
Connecticut General Assembly. Extended Family Visits in Prison