Visiting an Inmate in the Orange County Central Men's Jail in California

When it comes time to visit your inmate there are rules and regulations that must be followed. Visitation is a privilege and can be removed if rules are not followed. We encourage you to visit your inmate following the guidelines of Orange County Central Men's Jail, but please obey all rules for the safety of our inmates, staff, and visitors.

As an incarceration facility strict rules are necessary to protect all persons. These rules include an appropriate dress, specific hours, number of people, identification, etc. Please remember these rules are listed for you but may not be all inclusive or may change when necessary. Be sure to stay aware of current rules and guidelines.

The Orange County Central Men's Jail is located at:

550 N. Flower St.
Santa Ana, CA 92703

Inmates are divided into specific modules and populations and that is how the visitation schedules are arranged. By inmate type:

Type of Custody	MOD	Days for Visits	Hours
Protective	A & D	Friday, Saturday, Sunday	8 am ONLY
Protective	C & F	Friday, Saturday, Sunday	1 pm
General Population		Friday, Saturday, Sunday	9 am – 5 pm
Total Separation		Friday, Saturday, Sunday	1 pm ONLY
R3 Inmates		Friday, Saturday, Sunday	8 am – 9 am
Mainline Inmates		Friday, Saturday, Sunday	9 am to 5 pm
Civil Inmates		Friday, Saturday, Sunday	2 pm ONLY

Dress Code

Specific dress codes for visitors are not outlined on the website. Contact the jail if you have questions regarding what you should wear to visit your inmate. Consider the following as general dress codes for any jail visitation.

• No provocative, see through, cleavage showing, low back shirts, short shorts or short skirts/dresses/skorts.
• No clothing with a lot of metal, chains, sharp objects, gang symbols, racist, confrontational, riotous, illegal, etc. pictures or words
• You should wear shoes (all visitors).
• Generally consider wearing clean, no-hole/tear clothing that is clean and neat in appearance. Plain colors and styles that do not show excessive skin.
• Dress conservatively.

Standard Visitation Rules

• Inmates may refuse visits during meal times
• 10:45 am – 12:00 pm & 3:30 pm – 5:00 pm
• ONLY one visit per day – coordinate with family so no one is refused
• Can consist of 2 adults and a child under 5 years old
• Visitors must have government ID such as driver's license, state ID, passport, etc.

Please remember to stay up-to-date with changes that may be made to the visitation rules and policies. Changes occur at times to further protect and better define what is expected.

We look forward to seeing you when you visit your inmate at Orange County Central Men's Jail.

RELATED: Orange County Central Men’s Jail Inmate Search

RELATED: Orange County Central Men’s Jail Inmate Services

return to top

How to use the Inmate Search for Orange County Central Jail Men's Jail in California

First we'll cover the different ways to search for an inmate. Down the page you will see information for Posting Bond.

There are several way you can search for an inmate in Orange County Central Men's Jail. To start with you should click here:

http://www.jailexchange.com/CountyJails/California/Orange/Orange_County_Central_Mens_Jail_Inmate_Search.aspx

This will take you to our main front page which is full of all kinds of information. Look up into the top left corner and you will see many inmate search links. Each of these allows you to search for your inmate in a different way. You can click on any of these links for further information in those areas, but we will cover the bolded items below.

• Orange County Jail Inmate  - last name required
• Orange County Jail Inmate Search  - last name required
• County Inmates – mobile – last name required
• VINELINK – Jail Inmate Search
• Orange County Recent Arrests – opens to select a date. All arrests in OC for that day are displayed
• Orange County Recent Releases – last name required last 30 days
• California Prisoner Locator  
• Federal Prison Inmate Search  

For those links that state last name is required, this is the minimum amount of information you can supply. You can add a first and/or middle name, age, and gender to lessen the length of your search list. The more information you can supply, the quicker you will locate your inmate.

When searching for a recent arrest, please remember that you must allow the booking process to be completed before the inmate's information will be available. Recent arrests for the last 30 days are searchable. You must select the date your inmate was arrested and then find your inmate's information in the list.

BAIL/BOND Information for Orange County Central Jail Men's Jail

This Bail/Bond information is for Orange County ONLY.  There are two main ways to post bail for an inmate in Orange County Central Jail Men's Jail.

• Bail – Cash
• Bail – Bond

The rules for these are pretty similar, but since there are some differences we want to be sure to explain them separately.

First of all, CASH BAIL can be paid in the following ways:

• Debit or credit cards
• Checks – all checks for exact amount and you must have proper ID
• Personal
• Traveler's
• Cashier's – on a U.S. financial institution
• Money order
• No type of business checks are taken

You can also make payments through EZ Card and Kiosk Company with:

• Debit or credit cards
• Kiosk payments – cash, debit/credit cards
• Or by calling 1-888-497-2387 for a telephone payment method

Kiosks are available at the Intake Release Center (IRC) and the Theo Lacy Branch Jail. These are available 24 hours a day.

BOND BAIL

You can pay a bond at either the IRC or Theo Lacy. The Theo Lacy facility only accepts bonds during the open cashier hours. IRC accepts at 550 N. Flower St., Santa Ana 7 days a week 24 hours per day.

General Rules of Bail / Bond:

• No one in the Sheriff's department can or will recommend a bail company resource
• If you bring a bond, you will be fingerprinted and have your identify verified. Bonds agents are exempt.
• Call Inmate Records at (714) 647-4666 to:
• Verify correct amount of bail/bond
• Verify correct payment method for your inmate

Using the EZ Card system online:

• Click on the link Bail / Bond Info – extra under INMATE SERVICES
• Click Main Menu
• Select California for your state
• Select Orange County
• Select language preference (English, Spanish, Vietnamese)
• Select Bail
• Read the instruction and information page
• You must click on Agree to proceed
• Enter last name and booking number for inmate

These areas should help you to more easily locate your inmate and take care of paying bail.

RELATED: Orange County Central Men’s Jail Inmate Search

RELATED: Orange County Central Men’s Jail Inmate Services

return to top

Communicating with an Inmate Housed at the Orange County Central Men's Jail in California

There are a few different ways to have contact with an inmate in Orange County Central Men's Jail.

• Inmate accounts
• Inmate mailing
• Inmate visitation

We will cover visitation separately due to the special rules and guidelines that must be explained. Inmate accounts is not necessarily a way for you to interact with your inmate, but it is a way in which you can get necessary funds to them.

There are two ways to get funds to an inmate. No more than $500 in inmate account.

• EZ Card and Kiosk – cash, credit/debit cards – no checks
• Mail – government check or Money orders (fill out inmate's name and booking number)

Via EZ Card and Kiosk you can pay online at http://www.ezmoneypayments.com/ or in the IRC and Theo Lacy Branch Hail kiosks 24 hours a day 7 days a week with debit/credit cards or cash. Or you can call them at 1-888-497-2387 and pay over the phone for a small fee.

Inmate Mail

Mail at the Orange County Central Men's Jail requires several rules. We encourage you to maintain contact with your inmate, but please do be aware of and follow all rules. These are designed to protect all inmates, staff, and visitors to our facility.

There are specific lists of dos and don'ts when it comes to mail. Please follow these very closely.

Rules to follow:

• Inmate's full name and their booking number must be on all mail.
• Your return address should have your full name and address.
• Do not write, draw, spray (perfume, etc.) anything else on the outside of the envelope.
• All publications like paperback books, magazines, and newspapers must be mailed from the publisher or bookstore distributor (verify approved list).
• Inmates can only have up to 5 books/magazines combination.
• No used books, hardcover or leather books are allowed.
• No publications or pictures can contain any kind of nudity or sexually provocative or elicit content.
• No publications or pictures can contain any kind of gang related, violent, riotous, illegal, or racist information.
• Any package over 9"x12" legal manila envelope size will not be accepted unless approved.
• Boxed packages must come from an approved source and be approved if larger than 9"x12"
• All mailing materials must be purchased from the inmate store or from the United States Postal Service online. No other stamps, envelopes, pens, pencils, etc. can be mailed to inmate.
• You cannot mail money to the inmate in any more except a money order made out to the Orange County Sheriff's Department. Write the inmate's name and booking number on the reference line.
• No more than 10 pages, pictures, etc. of printed or copied material are allowed in the mail.
• Inmates can have one pair of eyeglasses (reading or prescription) mailed to them. No a fancy frames, no cases, no metal. No more than 2 boxes of contacts. Solution and case for contacts will be purchased from jail store.

There are many things that will cause the mail item to not even be accepted into the facility. Avoid sending any of these types of items. The list may not be all inclusive so if you desire to send something that is not only a plain letter, verify you the inmate is allowed to receive it through the jail first. List is will give you a good idea on the types of things not to send.

• No food products.
• Nothing that can't be inspected easily: no sticky, gluey substance, lipsticks, smells sprayed on, discolorations, no layered articles, no laminated or otherwise sealed items that cannot be inspected.
• Nothing that can pose a security threat
• No debit/credit cards, check books, or things like licenses or certificates
• No type of hygiene or clothing items can be mailed.
• No forwarded letters.

Please remember this list is not all inclusive. Visitation as another form of contact is covered more in depth on the visitation page. Phone or email contact are not currently allowed.

Please call the jail with any questions you may have.

RELATED: Orange County Central Men’s Jail Inmate Search

RELATED: Orange County Central Men’s Jail Inmate Services

return to top