How an Inmate Search Works in New Jersey

The New Jersey Department of Corrections, NJDOC, gathers its lookups on the Offender Information page: the Incarcerated Person Search Engine, the list of incarcerated persons under visit restrictions, and the list of escapes, each opened from that page. Beside them sit the statistics the department publishes, the Population Characteristics Report for every year from 2014 to 2024, with the total in state institutions and satellites and breakdowns by base offense, total term at admission, mandatory minimum, age group, race and ethnicity and county of commitment, the Release Outcome three year follow up reports for the 2007 through 2018 release years, and the quarterly reports required by the Isolated Confinement and Restriction Act since the first quarter of fiscal 2021. The department is led by Commissioner Victoria L. Kuhn.

A person held in a county jail before trial or on a county sentence is the county's record, not the department's, and is found through the New Jersey county pages. The state facilities named on the department's visiting and telephone pages are the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center in Woodbridge, Bayside State Prison in Leesburg, East Jersey State Prison in Rahway, the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility in Clinton, the Garden State Youth Correctional Facility in Crosswicks, Mid-State Correctional Facility at Fort Dix, New Jersey State Prison in Trenton, Northern State Prison in Newark, South Woods State Prison in Bridgeton, and Southern State, Central Reception, Mountain View and Wagner, which appear in the telephone list change schedule.

  • Search: the Incarcerated Person Search Engine on the Offender Information page, with the visit restrictions and escapes lists beside it.
  • Visits: by appointment only, scheduled with the facility at least 48 hours ahead by calling Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., for adults and minors on the approved visit list, with a photo ID and the dress code on the visiting page.
  • Calls: through GTL at $0.04384 a minute, collect or on the inmate's debit account, to an approved list of ten numbers, with a called party blocked once collect charges reach $35 in a day or $200 in a month unless an advance pay account is opened; blocks at 1-866-230-7761, billing at 1-877-650-4249.
  • Money: through JPay by app, online, by phone at (800) 574-5729 around the clock, in cash at CVS, Albertsons or Walmart with MoneyGram code 1233, or with no fee by money order payable to JPay with the deposit form to P.O. Box 170770, Hialeah, FL 33017.

Written by SearchSystems.net from New Jersey's own systems: the New Jersey Department of Corrections Offender Information page, the department's Visiting NJDOC Facilities page, the department's Office of Programming and Supportive Services page, each read on October 14, 2026 by the SearchSystems editorial team.

Visiting: appointments, ID and the dress code

Every visit to an NJDOC facility is by appointment, scheduled with the facility 48 hours in advance, and every adult and minor must be on the incarcerated person's approved visit list; the guidelines change with institutional need, and the department asks anyone with cold, flu or COVID symptoms not to come, with masks available. A visitor shows a current photo driver's license or MVC non driver ID, a current photo Welfare or Medicaid card, an employment photo ID or a current passport.

The dress code bars skin tight, transparent, sheer or fishnet garments, leggings, body suits and rompers, exposed shoulders, midriffs, backs or cleavage, tube, tank, crop and halter tops, hooded sweatshirts and jackets, bottoms that do not reach the knee, with shorts Bermuda style and dresses at the knee when seated, low rise bottoms, military style clothing on anyone not serving, clothing resembling what incarcerated persons, custody staff or police wear, scrubs, lab coats and delivery uniforms, khaki, orange, gray or camouflage colors and cargo pants, hats except religious or medical ones subject to search, flip flops, slides, backless sandals, wheeled shoes and steel toed boots, and any offensive, racist or sexual wording or art; a visitor may be sent to change, so the department suggests bringing a second outfit.

A relative under 18 visits only with an adult relative responsible for written parental consent. Contraband, rule violations, excessive touching or kissing, assaultive or belligerent behavior, intoxication, a breach of security, and an undisclosed record as an ex offender or parolee end a visit and can bring a ban.

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The facilities and their visiting days

Appointments are made by calling the facility Monday through Thursday between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., and the visiting page gives each number and schedule. The Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center at 8 Production Way, Woodbridge, (732) 574-2250 ext. 8006, holds two weekend sessions, registration from 8 and from noon with two hour visits, and a Wednesday evening hour for its restorative housing unit, with free lockers. Bayside State Prison at 4293 Route 47, Leesburg, (856) 785-0040 ext. 5416, runs morning and afternoon sessions on weekends, window visits by the hour and primary caregiver visits on weekdays, with lockers at 50 or 75 cents in quarters.

East Jersey State Prison at 1100 Woodbridge Road, Rahway, (732) 499-5010 ext. 2908, gives two hour contact visits on Saturday and Sunday with registration from 7:30 a.m. and lockers at a dollar. The Edna Mahan Correctional Facility at 30 Route 513, Clinton, schedules through (908) 735-7111 ext. 3318 since June 3, 2024, with evening sessions on weekdays and weekend afternoons for the compounds and window visits for three visitors on Tuesday and Thursday.

The Garden State Youth Correctional Facility at 55 Hogback Road, Crosswicks, (609) 298-6300, splits weekend contact visits by surname, A to M in the morning and N to Z after noon, with non contact visits on weekday evenings. Mid-State Correctional Facility at Fort Dix, 609-723-4221 ext. 8407, has two contact sessions each weekend day and evening non contact visits. New Jersey State Prison at 600 Cass Street, Trenton, (609) 292-9700 ext. 4555 or 4556, requires scheduling at least 48 hours and no more than seven days ahead, with general population contact visits on weekend mornings and early afternoons, one hour window visits six days a week with no Friday visits, and separate window schedules for protective custody, the restorative housing unit, Rule 30 and the management control unit.

Northern State Prison at 168 Frontage Road, Newark, (973) 465-0068 ext. 4402 or 4403, allows three adults and unlimited minors for general population on weekend mornings and afternoons and two adults and two minors at window visits on weekday evenings. South Woods State Prison at 215 South Burlington Road, Bridgeton, (856) 459-7000 prompt 1, holds Saturday and Sunday sessions with registration from 7:30 and 11:30 and visits from 8:30 to 10:30 and 1 to 3 for its three facilities, the extended care unit and the minimum unit.

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Calls: the GTL rate, the list of ten and the thresholds

The telephone system is GTL's, at $0.04384 a minute, with every call subject to recording or monitoring except legal calls, the AIDS hotline and the Ombudsperson. An inmate keeps an approved calling list of ten numbers, legal numbers not counted, and may not call businesses or non traditional telephone services. Calls are collect, paid by the called party through a contracted carrier up to its threshold, or debit, paid by the inmate from calling time bought through a business remit at the facility; a called party who cannot take collect calls or has a block opens an Advance Pay account with GTL.

GTL blocks a number once collect charges reach $35 in a day or $200 in a month, counted from the day the first call was accepted, after which the party opens an advance pay account or the inmate uses debit. GTL answers at 1-800-483-8314 by automated system, 1-866-230-7761 live and 1-877-650-4249 for billing and blocking; a person who wants no calls blocks them at 1-866-230-7761, an accidental block is lifted by a written request to the NJDOC Telecommunications Office with the inmate's name and SBI number and the caller's number, name and address, and a statewide block comes from the same office.

Inmates change their lists every 90 days on a facility schedule: Southern State on January 1, April 1, July 1 and October 1; South Woods and East Jersey on the 15th of those months; Garden State and New Jersey State Prison on February 1, May 1, August 1 and November 1; Central Reception, Northern State and Mountain View on the 15th of those months; Mid-State, Wagner and Avenel on March 1, June 1, September 1 and December 1; and Bayside and Edna Mahan on the 15th, with forms distributed the day before a seven day collection period.

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Money, fines and publications

JPay runs the kiosks where incarcerated persons reach their funds, digital books, programming, music, stamps and electronic correspondence, some for a fee, and carries the deposits: the JPay mobile app, JPay.com by credit or debit card, a live agent at (800) 574-5729 around the clock, walk in cash at CVS, Albertsons and Walmart, with MoneyGram payments under code 1233, and, with no JPay fee, a money order payable to JPay with the deposit form, in English or Spanish, mailed to P.O.

Box 170770, Hialeah, FL 33017. Outstanding fees and Set-Off Program notices go to 609.292.4036 ext. 5800, and questions about a balance owed to the department or the Parole Board, a driver's license restoration, a tax refund held by the Treasury or a bankruptcy go to the Central Office Revenue Unit at CORU@doc.nj.gov, fax 609-292-9092, or PO Box 863, Trenton, NJ 08625, with an unexpired license, a signed Social Security card and the supporting papers, after which an audit takes about 10 to 12 weeks; the unit wants the Driver's History Detail Report, not the abstract.

Reading material comes from the facility libraries or from a source of sale, under N.J.A.C. 10A:18-4 and the Central Office Publications Committee's standards, with a list of rejected materials published.

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Programs and release

The Office of Programming and Supportive Services runs the reentry programs: Thinking for a Change, a ten week cognitive behavioral course twice a week; the Successful Transition and Reentry Series, twelve weeks on employment, housing, transportation, education, family, finances and the other barriers; Cage Your Rage, ten weeks with versions for men and women; Road to Reentry, six weeks; Healthy Opportunities for Parenting Effectively, ten weeks for fathers and mothers; and Family Reunification and Transition.

Its Joint Comprehensive Assessment Plan, in use statewide since 2009, carries each person from intake assessment through progress review, pre release interview and discharge plan, everyone leaving custody is offered discount NJ Transit bus and rail tickets, and the Get Your Vote Back initiative hands out a voter registration kit before release.

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Reading a New Jersey result

A hit in the search engine is a state prisoner, in one of the facilities above, and the restriction and escape lists sit on the same page; a miss is a county jail or a release. The facility's own number sets the visit, GTL's thresholds decide when a phone goes silent, JPay takes the money, and the 90 day schedule decides when a new number can be added.

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Questions about finding an inmate in New Jersey

How do I find someone in a New Jersey state prison?
Through the Incarcerated Person Search Engine on the Department of Corrections' Offender Information page, which also lists visit restrictions and escapes; county jail inmates are found through the county.
How do I schedule a visit at a New Jersey prison?
By calling the facility Monday through Thursday between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. at least 48 hours ahead, and at New Jersey State Prison no more than seven days ahead; everyone, minors included, must be on the approved visit list.
How much does a call from a New Jersey prison cost?
$0.04384 a minute through GTL, collect or on the inmate's debit account, to a list of ten approved numbers.
Why were calls from a New Jersey inmate blocked?
GTL blocks a number once collect charges reach $35 in a day or $200 in a month; opening an Advance Pay account, or the inmate switching to debit, restores the calls.
How do I send money to a New Jersey inmate without a fee?
By money order payable to JPay with the deposit form, mailed to P.O. Box 170770, Hialeah, FL 33017; the app, website, phone line and cash locations carry JPay fees.
When can a New Jersey inmate add a phone number?
Every 90 days on the facility's schedule, for example January 1, April 1, July 1 and October 1 at Southern State and the 15th of those months at South Woods and East Jersey.

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The search engine is one of the New Jersey records this site covers: the New Jersey arrest records guide explains what a booking makes public, the court records guide covers the Judiciary's case search, the sex offender registry guide covers the State Police registry, and the New Jersey county pages list each county jail.