How to Fill Out the Warren Correctional Institution Visitation Application (DRC 2096)

To visit someone at Warren Correctional Institution in Lebanon, Ohio, you submit a completed Warren Correctional Institution visitation application — Form DRC 2096, the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction’s Adult Visitor Application — directly to the facility, along with a copy of your government-issued photo ID. Staff run a background check, and if you clear it, you’re added to the incarcerated person’s approved visitor list. Only then can you book a visit through ODRC’s online portal.

The process is straightforward, but small paperwork mistakes cause most of the delays. Here’s what to get right.

What to Gather Before You Fill Out the Form

Form DRC 2096 feeds a background check, so your answers need to match your official records. Have the following on hand:¹

Your full legal name exactly as printed on your government-issued photo ID.
Your residential address, phone number, and email.
Your driver’s license or state ID number, with the issuing state and expiration date.
Your date of birth.
The incarcerated person’s full name and ODRC number. The ODRC number is a unique identifier assigned at intake; if you don’t have it, the person you want to visit or their case manager can give it to you.
Your relationship to that person. If you’re a friend rather than family, the form asks you to describe the friendship and whether you knew the person before incarceration.

One thing you do not need: your Social Security number. The form never asks for it.

Filling Out Form DRC 2096

The top of the form is basic contact and ID information plus the incarcerated person’s name and number. The lower portion is seven yes-or-no screening questions, and ODRC verifies your answers against state and federal law enforcement databases. Answer every one honestly.²

Whether you’ve ever been incarcerated in Ohio, another state, or a federal prison. If yes, you list the dates, states, institutions, and charges or convictions.
Whether you are currently on probation or parole. If you are, you must attach a letter from your supervising officer granting permission to visit. Without that letter, the application stalls.
Whether you’re currently a party to any criminal action.
Whether you were ever a co-defendant or accomplice in a crime committed by the person you want to visit.
Whether you were the victim of any crime committed by that person. The form defines “victim” as someone directly harmed by the offense.
Whether any protection order between you and the incarcerated person is currently in effect.
Whether you have ever worked for ODRC as an employee, contractor, volunteer, or intern.

Sign and date at the bottom. A discrepancy between what you write and what the background check turns up can result in a denial, and in some cases a permanent ban from visiting any ODRC facility. If your history is complicated, disclose it fully. Omitting a past conviction looks worse than the conviction itself.

If You’re Bringing a Child Under 18

Form DRC 2096 covers adult visitors only. To bring a minor, you also need Form DRC 4371, the Authorization for Minor Child Visitation.³ The child’s custodial parent or legal guardian completes it, has it notarized, names the approved adult who will accompany the child, and grants permission for the child to be photographed and searched at the security screening.

The authorization is valid for one year from the date it’s notarized. It must be renewed annually, and also any time the incarcerated person is transferred to a different facility.⁴ Expired authorizations are one of the most common reasons families get turned away at the door, so put the expiration date somewhere you’ll actually see it.

Where to Send the Completed Application

ODRC accepts completed applications by U.S. mail, fax, or email, sent directly to the facility where the incarcerated person is housed.⁵ For Warren CI, use the visiting department’s contact information posted on the facility page at drc.ohio.gov.⁶

Do not send your application to the ODRC Mail Processing Center in Youngstown. That address handles personal mail to incarcerated people, not visitor applications. With your application, include a copy of your government-issued photo ID.³ If you’re on probation or parole, attach the supervising officer’s permission letter at the same time. Sending it separately later only slows things down.

What Happens After You Submit

Once Warren CI receives your application, staff run the background check through state and federal law enforcement databases. They verify your disclosures, warrant status, protection orders, and any connection to the incarcerated person’s offenses. When a decision is made, ODRC notifies the incarcerated person, who then tells you whether you were approved.¹

There are limits on the list itself. Each incarcerated person’s visitor list can hold up to 15 approved adults, and no more than two of them can be friends. Everyone else must be family. Family members and the other parent of the incarcerated person’s children can apply at any time. The two friend slots are more restricted: friends may apply during the first six months of the person’s incarceration, and after that, changes to those slots can happen only every six months.⁴

If the list is already full at 15 adults, someone has to be removed before you can be added. People incarcerated before March 2025 who already had established visitor lists keep their existing visitors, but the two-friend cap applies going forward whenever a new friend is added.⁴

Why Applications Get Denied

The most common reasons for denial are administrative. Incomplete forms, missing ID copies, and failure to attach the probation or parole officer’s letter account for many rejections. Beyond paperwork, the background screening flags several categories of concern:

Any outstanding warrant. Staff have the authority to detain a visitor whose background check reveals an active warrant.
An active protection order between you and the incarcerated person.
Co-defendant or accomplice status in the same crime as the person you want to visit, which creates a security concern that frequently leads to denial.
Being a party to a current criminal proceeding.
Prior work with ODRC as an employee, contractor, volunteer, or intern, which triggers additional scrutiny.

If your application is denied, ODRC notifies the incarcerated person. The specific internal reasons aren’t always shared in detail with the applicant, though the incarcerated person may be told what follow-up is needed.¹ If you believe the denial rested on inaccurate information, contact Warren CI’s visiting department directly to ask what documentation might resolve it.

Scheduling the Visit Once You’re Approved

Being on the approved list is not permission to show up unannounced. All visits, in person and video, must be reserved through ODRC’s online visitor portal at ohdoc.gtlvisitme.com.⁶ When you book, you’ll provide the names of all adult visitors attending, the incarcerated person’s last name and ODRC number, your preferred date, and the session you want.

If children are coming, list each child’s first name and relationship to the incarcerated person. For unrelated minors, list age only. Warren CI posts its specific visiting days and session times on its facility page. Check those before booking, because no visits are held on holidays.⁵

ODRC also offers 30-minute video visits through the ViaPath (formerly GTL) portal, which still require you to be on the approved visitor list. If you’re joining from a desktop computer, install the GTL VisBridge application at least 10 minutes before your session.⁷ Video visits are available daily starting at 7:30 a.m., with exact scheduling windows depending on facility availability.

Before your first in-person visit, read Warren CI’s dress code and prohibited items list on the ODRC visitation guidelines page. The rules are strict enough that visitors routinely get turned away at the front desk for wearing the wrong clothing or bringing items that aren’t allowed inside.

1
Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. Adult Visitor Application
2
Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. Adult Visitor Application
3
Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. Inmate Visitation
4
Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. Incarcerated Person Visitation – Policy 76-VIS-01
5
Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. Visitation
6
Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. Warren Correctional Institution (WCI)
7
ViaPath Technologies. Inmate Visitation