Phone calls from someone held in an Indiana prison or jail run through a single contracted provider, are recorded by default, and can only reach people the incarcerated person has placed on a pre-approved list of up to 20 contacts. As of April 6, 2026, federal rate caps limit audio calls from Indiana Department of Correction (IDOC) facilities to $0.11 per minute, with county jail rates set on a sliding scale by facility size. Most families pay through a prepaid account set up online with the facility’s provider.
What a Call Costs
Pricing changed sharply in April 2026 under rules the Federal Communications Commission issued using authority from the Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act.1Congress.gov. Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act The caps apply to every call out of a correctional facility regardless of whether it is prepaid or collect and regardless of whether the call stays inside Indiana or crosses state lines. Rates now depend on the type and size of the facility rather than the payment method.2Federal Communications Commission. Incarcerated People’s Communications Services
For audio calls from state prisons run by IDOC, the ceiling is $0.09 per minute plus an optional $0.02 facility additive, for an effective maximum of $0.11 per minute. Video calls from state prisons cap at $0.25 per minute.
County jail per-minute caps (including the $0.02 additive) look like this:3Federal Register. Incarcerated Peoples Communication Services – Implementation of the Martha Wright-Reed Act
- Large jails, 1,000 or more people: $0.10 audio, $0.19 video
- Medium jails, 350 to 999: $0.12 audio, $0.19 video
- Small jails, 100 to 349: $0.13 audio, $0.21 video
- Very small jails, 50 to 99: $0.15 audio, $0.25 video
- Extremely small jails, under 50: $0.19 audio, $0.44 video
If a charge on your account comes out higher than these amounts after April 6, 2026, the provider may be out of compliance and you can report it to the FCC.
Getting on the Approved Call List
Nobody on the outside can receive calls until the incarcerated person adds them. During intake, the person fills out a telephone list form naming up to 20 contacts. The cap counts individuals, not phone numbers, so two relatives sharing one landline still take up two of the 20 spots. The list is processed within 10 business days.4Indiana Department of Correction. IDOC Policy 02-01-105 – Telephones
Once set, the list can only be changed every 90 days. Attorneys are the exception: lawyer numbers can be added at any time after IDOC verifies them against the Indiana Roll of Attorneys, and they do not count toward the 20-person limit. A warden can also approve extra numbers in unusual situations, such as a large family.
Some people cannot be on the list at all. Victims of the incarcerated person’s crimes are generally barred unless a court order allows contact. IDOC employees and contractors cannot be called unless they are immediate family with special authorization. A contact can be dropped later too, for example after a protective order is issued, after new charges are filed, or if the recipient relays messages to people who are not on the approved list.
Setting Up and Paying for Calls
The usual arrangement is a prepaid account with the facility’s contracted phone provider. A family member creates the account online, deposits funds, and the incarcerated person draws against that balance when placing a call. Some facilities also let the incarcerated person pay out of their commissary account.
Collect calling still exists, but the person receiving the call needs a billing arrangement with their phone carrier, and many carriers either block collect calls outright or add their own surcharges on top. Prepaid is almost always cheaper and more reliable.
The FCC previously barred most ancillary service charges and rolled those costs into the per-minute caps. The Commission has proposed keeping that prohibition but is taking additional comment on whether to reinstate caps on automated payment fees and third-party transaction fees, which were previously limited to $3.00 and $5.95 per transaction. Until the FCC finalizes that question, the exact fee you pay to add money can shift, so look at the provider’s current fee schedule when you fund the account.
Deposits may be capped to prevent financial exploitation, and leftover balances are generally non-refundable. If your loved one is transferred, released, or loses phone privileges, any remaining funds can be forfeited unless you submit a formal refund request and it is approved.
Rules That Shape Every Call
Every call runs through a monitoring device that logs the PIN used, the number dialed, the length of the call, and the audio of the conversation itself. Both the caller and the person who answers hear a recorded warning that the call is being recorded. IDOC keeps recordings for six months, longer if the call ends up tied to a criminal investigation.4Indiana Department of Correction. IDOC Policy 02-01-105 – Telephones
Attorney calls are the only routine exception. If the incarcerated person tells staff the call is to a legal representative and follows the facility’s procedure for requesting an unmonitored call, it will not be recorded. Skip the procedure, and the call gets recorded like any other, even if it is in fact going to a lawyer.
Three-way calling, call forwarding, and speakerphones are not allowed on the receiving end, because any of them could put the incarcerated person in touch with someone off the approved list without the system logging it. If your phone auto-forwards or you try to loop in a third party, the call will likely be cut. Facilities also set their own calling hours and typically limit a single call to 15 to 30 minutes.
Video Calls and Electronic Messaging
IDOC offers video visitation through the ViaPath platform. You pick an available date and time at the specific facility, and the price for that session shows up at scheduling.5Indiana Department of Correction. Video Visits State prison video rates cannot exceed $0.25 per minute under the April 2026 caps, and county jail video rates follow the facility-size tiers above. The number of participants per session and the length of each visit depend on the facility’s schedule, staffing, and available space.6Indiana Department of Correction. Visitation
Many Indiana facilities also offer electronic messaging on tablets, sometimes with photo attachments. Pricing and character limits vary by provider, so check the specific provider’s website if your loved one has tablet access.
What Breaking the Rules Can Cost
Inside the facility, common phone infractions include calling an unapproved number, using someone else’s PIN, or trying to defeat the monitoring. First offenses usually bring 30 days without phone privileges, and repeat violations escalate from there, up to disciplinary segregation in serious cases.
Using the phone system to coordinate smuggling, direct criminal activity, commit fraud, or threaten people is a separate problem that can produce new criminal charges. Phone harassment with no legitimate purpose is a Class B misdemeanor under Indiana law.7Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-45-2-2 – Harassment8Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-50-2-7 – Level 6 Felony
Because the recorded warning plays at the start of every call, the recordings are admissible as evidence. People on the outside who help route calls to barred contacts or participate in a scheme coordinated over the phone can be charged too.
Fixing Billing or Policy Problems
If the issue is money, start with the phone provider. For unresolved billing errors or unauthorized charges, the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission’s Consumer Affairs Division handles communications-service complaints.9Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission. Customer Assistance For charges that exceed the federal rate caps, file through the FCC’s consumer complaint portal under “Phone Issues.”10Federal Communications Commission. FCC Complaints
If the issue is a facility decision, such as a contact being blocked, a removal from the call list, or discipline for a phone infraction, the incarcerated person has to use IDOC’s internal grievance process. It runs from an informal grievance through a formal written grievance and two levels of appeal, each with its own deadlines measured in business days.11Indiana Department of Correction. IDOC Policy 00-02-301 – Offender Grievance Process Family members on the outside who believe IDOC did not follow its own rules can file a complaint with the DOC Ombudsman Bureau, which sits inside the Indiana Department of Administration and investigates policy compliance.12Indiana Department of Administration. DOC Ombudsman Bureau – How to File a Complaint If a constitutional right is at stake, for example a blanket denial of attorney-client phone access, going to court may be an option once the internal grievance process is exhausted.