Prisons in Arkansas: Facilities, Visits, and Inmate Services

Prisons in Arkansas are run by the Arkansas Department of Corrections, which operates roughly 20 state units ranging from minimum-custody work-release centers to a supermax facility that houses death row. As of mid-2025, the jurisdictional population reached 18,748, with almost every facility at or above full capacity.¹ If you have a family member or friend inside, most of what you need to know falls into a handful of practical categories: where they are, how to visit, how to write, how to send money, and how to get on their phone list.

The Facilities

Arkansas concentrates most of its prisons in the Delta counties south and east of Pine Bluff, though units are spread across the state. The largest by capacity are the Ouachita River Unit (1,782 beds), the Cummins Unit (1,725 beds), the Varner Unit (1,714 beds), and the East Arkansas Regional Unit (1,432 beds). At the smaller end, the Northwest Arkansas Work Release Center in Springdale holds around 100 people, and the Mississippi County Work Release Center near Luxora holds about 121.

A few units serve specialized roles:

The McPherson Unit in Jackson County is the primary facility for women and the female central intake point, holding roughly 1,050 inmates.²
The Varner/Varner Supermax Unit in Lincoln County, 28 miles south of Pine Bluff, houses death row.³
The Maximum Security Unit near Pine Bluff holds 532 inmates at the highest custody level.
The Benton Unit and the work-release centers are minimum-custody facilities aimed at inmates nearing release.

The Cummins Unit remains operational and houses both men and women. Other general-population facilities include the Tucker Unit (1,126 beds), the Grimes Unit (1,012 beds), and the North Central Unit in Calico Rock (800 beds).

Custody classifications run C-2 through C-5, with no C-1. C-2 is minimum custody, used at facilities like Benton, the work-release centers, the Texarkana Regional Unit, and the Pine Bluff Reentry Center. C-5 is maximum custody, used at the Maximum Security Unit, Varner/Varner Supermax, McPherson, East Arkansas Regional, and Cummins.⁴ The custody level shapes where an inmate can be assigned, how much movement they have, and how closely they are monitored.

Separately, inmates are sorted into good-time classes I through IV based on behavior, work, and program participation. Class I inmates can earn a day of credit toward their transfer eligibility date for each day served. Falling to the lowest class through disciplinary action wipes out meritorious good-time eligibility.⁵ That class also controls tablet access, which matters for electronic messaging.

Overcrowding and Jail Backlogs

The system is strained. Nearly every state prison sits at or above 100 percent capacity, and as of late 2025 more than 1,850 people were held in county jails waiting for a state prison bed. County jails have added roughly 3,000 beds since 2016 just to absorb overflow. The state prison population grew about 33 percent between 2012 and 2024. Sentencing changes under the Protect Arkansas Act, which removed parole eligibility for certain violent felonies and increased mandatory time served for others, are projected to add nearly 3,000 more inmates by 2040. The governor has proposed a 3,000-bed facility in Franklin County, though the plan has drawn local opposition.

For families, the practical effect is that a loved one may spend weeks or months in a county jail before being moved to a state unit. Visitation, mail, and money rules at the county level are separate from what follows.

How to Visit an Inmate

Visits require written approval, and the process starts with the inmate, not you. The inmate must send you a Visitation/Telephone Contact Request and Authorization Form. You fill it out completely and mail it back to the Unit Visitation Clerk at the inmate’s assigned facility. Incomplete forms are rejected.⁶

Every prospective visitor gets a criminal history check. Any unresolved criminal charge, felony or misdemeanor, means denial. Immediate family members with prior felony convictions must wait at least 60 days after release from confinement before applying. Non-immediate family members with felony convictions can only be approved by the Director or a designee. Anyone currently on probation or parole needs written permission from their supervision officer, submitted directly to the Warden.⁴

You will also sign a consent authorizing searches of your vehicle and personal belongings. Children under 18 may visit only when accompanied by an approved adult or with proof of emancipation, and a separate application must be filled out for every visitor, including each child.⁴

How to Send Mail

Mail rules are strict, and violations get letters destroyed rather than delivered. Every envelope must show the inmate’s full name, ADC number, unit name, and unit mailing address, plus your full first and last name and complete return address. Mail without a complete return address is treated as contraband and destroyed.⁴

Letters are limited to three pages. Inmates never receive originals. General correspondence is opened, screened, photocopied in black and white, and shredded. The first copied page is the envelope, and the rest are copies of your letter. Anything over three pages is contraband and gets returned to you, with the inmate on the hook for return postage. Write in dark ink; pencil copies poorly.⁴

Photographs are capped at five per piece of correspondence. Include more than five and the entire mailing is rejected. Photos are also photocopied, and originals are not kept. Nude, sexually suggestive, or security-threatening images are prohibited.

As of February 2026, inmates can no longer receive books, newspapers, or magazines directly from individuals. Nonprofits and local libraries may still donate to prison libraries, and the Department reports that roughly 50,000 books are available through prison-issued Securus tablets.

Electronic Messaging and Tablets

Securus eMessaging works like email through the Securus website. The prison-issued tablets also provide music, books, games, job-search tools, and phone calls under the same rules as the regular phone system. Tablets are available to most general-population inmates and to those on death row, but only when the inmate is classified as Class I or II for good-time purposes. Drop to a lower class and the tablet is deactivated and returned to the vendor.⁷

How to Deposit Money

Money sent to inmates must go through one of two approved providers: Access Corrections or CorrectPay. Three deposit channels are available:⁸

Online through either provider’s website or mobile app, 24/7.
By phone at (501) 474-6460, also 24/7.
Cash at walk-in retailers, after registering at cashpaytoday.com and generating a barcode. Participating retailers include CVS, Dollar General, Family Dollar, 7-Eleven, and Walgreens.⁹

The minimum deposit for a prepaid phone account is $25.00.⁷ Deposits through Access Corrections are typically available within about 30 minutes.⁸ Transaction fees apply and vary by method; the DOC does not publish specific amounts.

Getting on the Phone List

Inmates can only call people on an approved telephone list. Getting on it uses the same Visitation/Telephone Contact Request and Authorization Form as visitation: the inmate has to send it to you, and you return it to the unit after completing it.⁷ Once you’re approved, you fund the inmate’s prepaid phone account through the same Access Corrections or CorrectPay channels. The DOC phone system handles both local and long-distance calls.¹⁰

Grievances

An inmate with a complaint about unit conditions, staff conduct, or an incident inside a facility can file a formal grievance. The regulation requires an informal resolution attempt with staff before the written procedure starts. Grievances cannot be used to appeal disciplinary actions or parole decisions. If an inmate cannot write, does not speak English, or cannot articulate the complaint, staff must help complete the form. Emergency grievances, where following normal timelines would expose the inmate to substantial risk of injury or serious irreparable harm, are forwarded immediately to whoever has authority to fix the problem. Deadlines run in calendar days.¹¹

One point matters for anyone thinking about a federal civil rights lawsuit. Courts may hold a case filed under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 in abeyance until the inmate has exhausted the internal grievance process. Finishing every step of the grievance is typically a prerequisite to federal court.

Education and Job Training

The Arkansas Correctional School District runs academic and career-technical programs across the system. School is mandatory for any inmate without a high school diploma or GED. Inmates normally attend about 15 hours per week, though schedules vary by unit and work assignment. Over its 50-year history, the district reports more than 26,800 inmates have earned the Arkansas High School Diploma through the GED program.¹²

Career-technical programs are voluntary and generally require a clean disciplinary record. Certifications include barbering (with eligibility to test for a state barber license), agricultural equipment repair, basic residential mechanics, and building and grounds maintenance. Several programs offer NCCER credentials. Newer additions include heavy equipment simulator training and a residential and commercial roofing program.¹³

Death Row

Death row inmates are housed at the Varner/Varner Supermax Unit in Lincoln County.³ Under Arkansas Code § 5-4-617, lethal injection is the primary method of execution, with electrocution as the fallback if lethal injection is invalidated by a final, unappealable court order. In 2025, the Legislature also authorized nitrogen gas, with the law taking effect 90 days after the session’s end. Death row inmates are classified under “Safe Keeping” and are eligible for Securus tablets, though those in punitive isolation are not.⁷

1
Arkansas Division of Correction. Division of Correction Population Report – July 2025
2
Arkansas Department of Corrections. McPherson Unit
3
Arkansas Department of Corrections. Varner/Varner Supermax Unit
4
Arkansas Division of Correction. Family and Friends of Inmates Need to Know
5
Justia Law. Arkansas Code 12-29-202 – Classification Committee
6
Arkansas Department of Corrections. ADC Visitation and Visitation Updates
7
Arkansas Department of Corrections. Arkansas Division of Correction Online Services
8
Arkansas Department of Corrections. Division of Correction Inmate Banking
9
Arkansas Department of Corrections. Division of Community Correction Resident Deposits
10
Arkansas.gov. Inmate Prepaid Telephone Account Deposits
11
Legal Information Institute. Grievance Procedures for Inmates
12
Arkansas Department of Corrections. Arkansas Correctional School District – History
13
Arkansas Department of Corrections. Career and Technical Education