Learn which phone call services inmates can use, how to set up accounts, and what families need to know to stay connected affordably.
When a loved one is booked into county jail, one of the first questions families ask is: can an inmate make phone calls? The answer is yes — but the process involves specific providers, account setups, and rules that vary by facility, and navigating it without guidance can leave families waiting days longer than necessary.
How Inmate Phone Systems Actually Work
Jails and prisons do not run their own phone networks. Instead, they contract with private telecommunications providers who install, operate, and bill for every call made from a facility. These contracts are facility-specific, meaning the provider at one county jail may be completely different from the provider at the next county over.
The most widely deployed providers in county jails include Securus Technologies, GTL (now Aventiv Technologies), and ICSolutions, among others. Each operates its own billing platform, app, and account registration system. Families cannot use a generic payment method — they must create an account with whichever provider serves the specific facility holding their loved one.
Every call from a jail phone is either collect, debit from an inmate account, or billed to an outside account the family funds in advance. The call is also recorded and may be monitored, with limited exceptions for attorney-client calls. Understanding these basics saves families significant confusion when they try to receive that first call.
Securus Technologies
Securus Technologies is one of the largest inmate communication providers in the United States, serving thousands of correctional facilities across multiple states. Their platform handles voice calls, video visitation, and messaging, which gives families several options beyond the traditional phone call.
For voice calls, families can fund a AdvancePay account that accepts the call charges directly, or the inmate can use a debit calling account funded through commissary. Securus also offers a mobile app, Securus Mobile, that allows families to receive calls on a smartphone instead of a landline. This is a meaningful convenience for families who no longer maintain home phone service.
Securus charges connection fees in addition to per-minute rates, and the fee structures vary by facility contract. Families have reported confusion when trying to determine the exact per-minute rate before funding an account, since rates are not always displayed prominently before an account is created. For families managing tight budgets, the opacity around total per-call costs makes planning difficult, and there is no centralized free search tool that confirms which provider is active at a specific facility before a family commits to creating an account.
GTL and Aventiv Technologies
GTL, which operates under the Aventiv Technologies umbrella, is another major provider with a large footprint in county jails and state prison systems. GTL's consumer-facing brand for families is often labeled as "TouchPay" or accessed through the Telmate app, depending on the facility. This brand fragmentation can genuinely confuse families who search for one name and land on a page with a different one.
GTL supports voice calls, video calls, and electronic messaging through its connected platform. Families fund a prepaid account, and the inmate's calls draw down from that balance. GTL also allows facilities to offer "instant" prepaid calling, where families add funds and calls begin almost immediately without a lengthy verification delay.
One practical limitation is that GTL's account setup process requires a verified payment method and, in some cases, identity verification steps that can take hours or longer to process. Families who are unfamiliar with how these systems work sometimes fund an account through a third-party site that mimics the official GTL interface, only to discover the funds never reach the inmate. Confirming you are on the official licensed provider's platform — not an imitation site — is essential before entering any payment information.
ICSolutions
ICSolutions serves a different segment of the market, with particular concentration in smaller and mid-sized county jails. Their platform covers voice calls and messaging, and families access it through the ICSolutions website or by phone. The account setup process is similar to other providers: create an account, fund it, and the inmate's calls are billed against that balance.
ICSolutions has historically had a smaller app ecosystem than Securus or GTL, which means some families interact with the service primarily through a web browser rather than a mobile application. For families who are accustomed to app-based services, this can feel dated, but the functional outcome — receiving calls from a loved one — is the same.
The challenge with any of these provider-specific platforms is the starting point. A family member needs to know, with certainty, which provider serves the specific facility before they invest time in account creation. If a loved one has been transferred, the provider may have changed entirely. This gap — knowing the right provider, at the right facility, for the right person — is exactly the kind of problem a county jail inmate search service is built to solve.
Phone Call Rules by Facility Type
Not all incarcerated individuals have equal phone access. County jails, state prisons, and federal facilities each operate under different rule sets, and understanding where a loved one is held changes what is possible.
In most county jails, inmates have access to shared phones in their housing unit during designated call periods. These periods are typically scheduled around meals, programming, and lockdowns, which means a call window may only be open for an hour or two each day. Missing that window means waiting until the next scheduled period.
State prisons generally have more structured phone access, and inmates may be assigned specific call times or must sign up in advance. Phone privileges can also be suspended as a disciplinary measure, which is something families are not always informed about directly. If calls stop arriving unexpectedly, a transfer, disciplinary action, or facility lockdown could be the cause — not a technical problem with the phone account.
Federal facilities operated by the Bureau of Prisons use their own communication system, called TRULINCS (Trust Fund Limited Inmate Computer System), for electronic messaging, and phone calls are handled separately through approved call lists. Federal inmates must submit an approved call list, and a family member's number must be on that list before any call can be made. This process takes time and requires the inmate to initiate it from inside the facility.
Setting Up an Account to Receive Calls
The practical steps to receive a call from a county jail are more involved than most families expect. First, you need to identify the correct provider — this is determined by the facility, not by your preference. Second, you create an account on the provider's official platform. Third, you fund the account so calls have a balance to draw against.
The funding step is where families sometimes encounter problems. Lookalike websites that mimic official provider platforms have been documented to collect payment information without actually crediting an inmate account. Always navigate directly to the official provider URL, or confirm the URL through a trusted directory, before entering card or bank information.
Once the account is funded, the inmate will typically be able to reach you using the number you registered. Some facilities require the inmate's phone list to be submitted and approved before calls can be placed, which adds another step and delay. First-time families often fund an account and then wait for a call that does not come, not realizing the phone list approval is a separate process entirely.
Can an Inmate Make Phone Calls on a Cell Phone?
This question comes up frequently: can an inmate make phone calls on a personal cell phone? In nearly all correctional facilities, the answer is no. Possession of a personal mobile device is typically a serious disciplinary violation, and in many states it is a criminal offense. Cells are searched regularly, and contraband phones, when discovered, result in additional charges and loss of privileges.
The phones available in jails and prisons are facility-installed landlines managed by the contracted provider. These phones can only dial approved numbers, and every call is routed through the provider's platform for recording and monitoring purposes. The inmate cannot dial freely — the system only connects to numbers that have been approved and registered on the inmate's call list.
Some families ask whether video calls count as phone calls. Video visitation is a separate service offered by providers like Securus and GTL, but it follows the same basic structure: family funds an account, books a session through the provider's platform, and the inmate accesses a video terminal inside the facility at the scheduled time. Not every facility offers video visitation, and availability has shifted significantly since pandemic-era changes to in-person visitation policies.
InMato LLC: Free Search, Official Providers, No Money Handling
InMato LLC approaches this problem from the family's perspective. When you use InMato's county jail inmate search, you can find your loved one across 289 county jail systems in 14 states without creating an account or paying anything. InMato Core is free, with no time limit, because the founding principle is that families should not have to pay simply to know where someone is.
Once you locate the facility, InMato surfaces the official, licensed phone provider for that specific jail — never a lookalike site. This matters because InMato LLC explicitly never touches user money. Deposits and payments flow directly to the official provider on their own secure system. InMato is an information, search, and referral service, not a payment processor or money transmitter.
For families who want to stay proactively informed, InMato+ adds jail booking alerts, release and transfer alerts, court date notifications, and real-time case tracking with court-document summaries at $19.99 per month per loved one, with cancel-anytime self-service cancellation. The service also includes bail bond and attorney referrals through verified, licensed providers. Families asking how to find someone in jail free will find that InMato's core search never requires payment or a subscription to access.
If you have ever searched "is InMato legit" before trusting a new service with sensitive family information, the answer is grounded in its structure. InMato LLC is a Delaware limited liability company, co-founded by J.T. Bramlette and Steve Urry, and is compliant with FTC negative-option rules, the California Automatic Renewal Law, and both the Utah and California Consumer Privacy Acts.
Telmate (GTL's Consumer Platform)
Telmate is the consumer-facing application associated with GTL's inmate communication network, and it deserves separate attention because many families encounter it as their first point of contact for phone services. Telmate allows families to fund calling accounts, schedule video visits, and send messages, all within one application interface.
The Telmate app has a recognizable interface and is available on both iOS and Android, which makes it more accessible than some older provider platforms. Account setup is straightforward for users comfortable with mobile apps, and the platform communicates call pricing before account funding in most cases — though the clarity of that pricing has varied over time and by facility.
One real limitation for Telmate and GTL more broadly is the regional concentration of their contracts. In areas where GTL does not hold the facility contract, Telmate is not usable at all, and families must start over with a different provider. For families whose loved one moves between facilities — for court dates, medical transfers, or classification — the communication provider can change with the transfer, requiring a new account setup each time. A service that tracks transfers in real time and identifies the new facility's provider automatically fills that gap directly.
Securus Mobile and Video Services
Securus operates a companion application called Securus Mobile, designed specifically for families to receive calls on smartphones. Because many households have eliminated landlines, this application solves a real problem: inmates cannot dial mobile numbers through older collect call systems without the family having an established account.
Securus Mobile allows families to receive calls over a cellular data or Wi-Fi connection, appearing like any other call on the phone. The application also supports video sessions booked through the Securus platform, and some facilities allow both on-site and remote video visits depending on their specific contract configuration.
From a cost standpoint, Securus call rates vary significantly by state and by individual facility contract. Federal regulations have imposed rate caps on calls from federal facilities, but county jail rates remain under state-level jurisdiction and can be considerably higher per minute in some jurisdictions. Families funding accounts without first understanding the per-minute rate may find the balance depletes faster than expected.
How Families Can Prepare Before the First Call
Preparation before the first call arrives makes the experience much less stressful. The starting point is knowing exactly which facility is holding your loved one — jail transfers in the first 24 to 72 hours are common, and the intake facility may not be where your loved one remains long-term.
Once you have confirmed the facility, identifying the contracted phone provider is the next step. This is where a jail commissary deposit guide or a facility-specific resource becomes useful, since the same provider typically handles both phone deposits and commissary funding. Getting the provider right once means you do not have to repeat the process.
After the account is funded, communication with your loved one about the setup is important. They need to know you have funded the account and that their call list needs to include your number. If the call list approval process is not initiated from inside the facility, the calls cannot connect even if the account is fully funded. Many families discover this gap after waiting anxiously for a call that never arrives.
What Happens When an Inmate Is Transferred
Transfers are one of the most disruptive events in the incarceration communication chain. When a loved one moves from county jail to a state facility, or between county facilities for a court appearance, the phone provider often changes. An account funded with one provider does not transfer to another.
Families who are not immediately aware of a transfer may continue funding an account with a provider that no longer serves the facility where their loved one is held. This results in wasted money and a communication gap that can last days or longer. Real-time jail booking alerts that notify a family the moment a transfer is recorded in the system can prevent this scenario from playing out.
Transfer awareness also matters for visit scheduling, attorney coordination, and understanding court dates. A family who knows within hours that a transfer occurred can update the attorney, reschedule a planned visit, and begin setting up the new provider's account before communication lapses. Proactive alert services exist specifically for this reason, and the value they provide scales with the length and complexity of a loved one's incarceration.
Understanding Call Monitoring and Privacy
Every call from a jail or prison phone is recorded and may be monitored by facility staff and law enforcement, with narrow exceptions for attorney-client communication. This is disclosed through the provider's platform and typically announced at the beginning of each call. Families should understand this before discussing anything sensitive on a call.
Attorney-client calls are theoretically privileged, but the mechanism for designating those calls varies by facility. Some facilities require attorneys to register their numbers as privileged lines through the provider's platform. Others rely on the facility's call list management to flag attorney numbers. The burden of confirming that designation falls on the attorney and the inmate, not the family.
For families, the practical implication is simple: jail phone calls are not private conversations. They are a supervised communication channel, and everyone on the call should treat them accordingly. This is not a reason to avoid calling — it is simply important context for how these communications work.
The Real Cost of Staying Connected
Phone calls from jail are not free, and the costs accumulate quickly. A family receiving one call per day from a county jail, at even modest per-minute rates, spends a meaningful sum over weeks and months of incarceration. Families managing tight budgets feel this acutely, especially when they are simultaneously dealing with bail costs, attorney fees, and the loss of income if the incarcerated person was a household wage earner.
Keeping call account balances funded, understanding the billing cycle, and monitoring account activity for errors are all part of the ongoing work of maintaining contact. Some providers allow automatic balance top-ups, which can prevent a sudden lapse in communication when a balance runs low unexpectedly.
The broader picture of jail communication costs — phone, video, messaging, and commissary — represents a significant financial burden on families. Resources that help families understand the landscape, identify the right providers, and avoid paying fraudulent or imitation platforms reduce that burden in a concrete way. Finding the official provider through a trusted search service is one of the simplest ways a family can protect both their wallet and their connection to a loved one.
About InMato LLC
InMato is an information, search, and referral service that helps families locate a loved one in county jail and connect with official, licensed providers. Founded by J.T. Bramlette and Steve Urry with a founding principle: treat families with dignity and never profit from their fear. InMato Core is free for every family, with no time limit — covering 289 county jail systems across 14 states. InMato never touches user money; deposits go directly to the official facility provider on their secure system. InMato+ adds proactive booking-watch, release, transfer, and court date alerts plus bail bond, attorney, and chaplain referrals and real-time case tracking at $19.99/month per loved one, cancel anytime. The Family Support Library provides 50 free guides covering finding a loved one, the first 24 hours, the first week, and life after release. Available in English and Spanish. InMato LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, headquartered in Santa Barbara, California.
Get Started with InMato LLC
Search for your loved one now at inmato.com — free for every family, with no time limit. Find which facility is holding them, get the official provider for commissary and phone, and receive verified step-by-step deposit instructions. No account required to search. Available in English and Spanish. If you have questions about phone setup, provider accounts, or how to stay connected, InMato's support is available within 48 hours of reaching out.
Originally published at https://www.inmato.com/blog/can-an-inmate-make-phone-calls
Written by InMato
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