Monterey County Jail Remote Inmate Video Visits

Monterey County Bail Bond Information

Because Monterey County and California can change their bail bond procedures, it is always best to call either the Monterey County Jail at 831-755-3782, or the court in the jurisdiction (i.e. Municipal Court, District Court, etc.) where the offender was charged, and do this right after an arrestee has been booked. 

Ask the staff at the Monterey County Jail or the Monterey County Court Clerk these specific questions:

1. Is the defendant eligible for bail or a bond?
2. How much will the bail or bond be, and what are the additional fees?
3. Where do I go to pay it?
4. Are there any days or times of the day or night when I cannot post bail?
5. What types of payment are allowed? Cash? Money order? Credit card? What types of credit cards? Property or other collateral? Surety bonds?
6. Do I have to use a bail or bond agent?

If you feel the bail is too high and you wish to get it reduced, contact a lawyer or the defendant's public defender and get them to look into what they can do to get a bail reduction. The sooner you get working on this the quicker you will get your loved one released. 

This entire process will go smoother and faster with a criminal attorney or bail agent handling it for you.

Monterey County Jail Inmate Mail Guidelines

Postcards
The Monterey County Jail allows inmates to receive pre-metered postcards like the type purchased from the post office. They may also allow certain photo postcards as long as they have not been tampered with or contain images that may be considered to be obscene or violent in nature.

Envelopes
The Monterey County Jail also allows envelopes to be mailed to inmates.

Postcards and envelopes MUST be mailed to the following address:
Inmate name & Booking Number
Monterey County Jail
1410 Natividad Rd,
Salinas CA 93906

Legal Mail

Send all legal Mail to this Address:
Inmate Name & Booking Number
Monterey County Jail
1410 Natividad Rd,
Salinas CA 93906

Newspapers
Local or national newspapers may also be mailed to the inmate as long as they are mailed directly from the newspaper publisher.

Magazines
News, special interest or sports magazines may also be mailed to an inmate as long as they are shipped directly from the publisher. Any magazines that contain profanity, weapons, pornography or other content that is adult in nature will be confiscated by the jail staff and will NOT be delivered to the inmate.

Books
The Monterey County Jail allows books to be mailed directly to the jail from a reputable source such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble or Books-A-Million. You can order them directly from your computer and have them shipped to the inmate at the address below.
Books must NOT contain images or content that are considered excessively violent, pornographic or obscene. Any book that does not meet the Monterey County Jail standards will be disposed of. No more than three books may be shipped at any one time.
Hard cover books will not be accepted by the jail due to their potential to be used as a weapon.

All newspapers, magazines and books are to be shipped to:
Inmate Name & Booking Number
Monterey County Jail
1410 Natividad Rd,
Salinas CA 93906

How Do You Deposit Money in an Inmate's Account at the Monterey County Jail

Whatever cash the inmate has on their person when booked into the facility will automatically deposited and credited to their account. When released any money left in the account will be returned to them in the form of a check from the Sheriff's Department or the Monterey County Jail Trust Account. There may be circumstances where the inmate can give permission to have his money released to a family member or friend.

Option 1 - Dropping Money at the Jail
Bring money to the jail in person. 
Either the jail personnel will process the Inmate Account payment or you will use a self-serve kiosk in the lobbies that accepts cash, debit or credit cards.

Option 2 - Mail the Inmate Deposit to the Jail
Mailing a deposit takes more time to process than the other methods but can be done if you live too far away to bring it in person.
Never send cash. Always send a Money Order or Cashier's Check from the US Post Office, a reputable bank or Western Union.
Make the Money Order out to the MCSD Prisoner Trust Fund and put the Inmate's Name and Inmate ID# in memo section, or on the top left corner of the Money Order.
Mail to:
Monterey County Jail
MCSD Prisoner Trust Fund
1410 Natividad Road
Salinas, CA 93906

For complete information on depositing money at the Monterey County Jail, including limits, where to drop or mail them and anything else, check out our Inmate Money page.

How Inmates Can Use a Tablet to Access Services at Monterey County Jail

To find out how to get access to a tablet for inmate read the following:

1.  First, Register or Sign In to GettingOut/GTL

2.  Purchase the services you want for your Monterey County Jail inmate.
3. All inmates have free access to the tablets to read their letters from family & friends, but there are many other services available to keep your inmate busy while incarcerated... such as Games, Books, Music and Movies. These other services come with fees that you can pay for when you pay for phone service.

To learn more about Tablet Rentals for inmates, including the cost, all the services available and everything else you need to know, check out our Tablet Rental Page.

How to Communicate with an Monterey County Jail Inmate by Mail and by Email

To mail or email an inmate in Monterey County follow these steps:

When mailing a letter or postcard to an inmate, please follow these instructions:

• All mail sent to an inmate at the Monterey County Jail must include the sender's name and mailing address in the top left corner of the envelope or postcard.
• All mail must include the facility's address, as well as the inmate's name and assigned number.
• Failure to include your return address will most likely result in your mail NOT being delivered and your letter destroyed.
• The Monterey County Jail has a zero-tolerance policy regarding mail violations. 
• All the information you need to understand mail and email policies can be found on our Inmate Mail Page and our Text/Email an Inmate Page.

Emailing Messages & Photos

Facility_name_1} contracts with GTL GettingOut, the same service that handles iInmate Phone Systems and Video Visitation, for sending secure messages and photos between you and your inmate.
 
If you are not already registered, do so here, or Log in.

Then use the Facility Finder to:
1.  Select Monterey County Jail,
2. Add your inmate to your list of contacts,
3. Add a credit or debit card to cover your costs.

• Messages can be up to 500 characters long, including punctuation. At the bottom of your message there is a 'character countdown' feature.  
• After you click the “CONTINUE” button, you can review the cost to send your message to your inmate. You can also attach credits for your inmate to reply to your message.  Be sure to accept the Terms and Conditions and click the “SEND” button for your message to be successfully delivered to your inmate.
• You can also send your Monterey County inmate photos and videos.

Customer Service Questions
'Online' Contact Form, or
Call   866-516-0115

Go here to this FAQ to get answers to how the transition to ViaPath from GTL and gettingout will affect your account.

All the information you need to understand mail and email policies for Monterey County can be found on our Inmate Mail Page and our Text/Email an Inmate Page.

How Do You Visit an Inmate in Monterey County Jail?

To visit an inmate in Monterey County, whether by video or in person 'at the jail', follow these steps:

Other than 'at the jail' visits between you and your inmate, which is explained and outlined in detail on our Visit Inmate Page, Monterey County remote video inmate visitation can be done using the services of GettingOut. 

There are three ways to remotely visit your inmate in Monterey County Jail:
1.  Using the GettingOut Kiosk at the jail.
2. Using your computer from home.
3. Using your phone on the GettingOut apps.

To remotely visit an inmate in Monterey County follow these steps:
1.  Start by confirming that Monterey County Jail's Video Visitation is working correctly by looking up Monterey County here.
2.  The next step is to create an account here for GettingOut.
3. Then add funds to your account.
4. Last, select Monterey County Jail, and then the inmate you wish to communicate with.

Other Monterey County Services provided by GettingOut:
 - Phone Calls & Voicemail 
 - Email, Photo & Video Sharing
-  Inmate Tablet Rental
-  Deposits

Customer Service
If you have any questions about the Monterey County Jail Visitation Services you can call them at 866-516-0115.
Frequently Asked Questions

* All the information you need to have complete knowledge about inmate visitation; policies, rules, fees, schedules, tips, dress codes, and children, lawyers and clergy visitation in Monterey County, can be found on our Visit Inmate Page.

Monterey County Jail Phone: 831-755-3782

How Do Inmates in Monterey County Jail Make or Receive Phone Calls?

To receive phone calls from inmates in Monterey County, or to assist them in making phone calls to other people, follow these steps:

1.  Start by confirming that Monterey County Jail has the phone service you need to communicate with your inmate by the facility lookup here.
2. In the meantime, you can create an account here for GettingOut.
3. Then add funds to your account. This account can be controlled by just you, or by both you and your inmate.
4. Last, select Monterey County Jail, and then the inmate you wish to communicate with.

Monterey County Services that are provided by GettingOut, a GTL company:
 - Phone Calls & Voicemail 
 - Video Visits (from home or jail lobby)
 - Email & Photo Sharing
 - Tablet Rental
 - Deposits

Phone & Voicemail Fees
1.  GettingOut charges $0.25 per minute for all phone calls, prepaid or collect, within California.
2. Prepaid calls between California and other states costs $0.21 per minute. International calls are $0.95 per minute.
3. There is a fee of $3.00 every time you add money to your account online, and it costs $5.95 if you add funds over the phone with a live agent.
4. You can also leave an inmate a short voice message for a flat fee of $1.25.

Note: Rates are subject to change.

Types of Phone Calls
Collect Calls
Collect calls allow you to accept and pay for calls to your land line (only) phone account. This means that if you accept your call from your inmate, all the charges for that call will then be billed to your land line phone account and will show up and be listed on your next local phone bill. Additional fees, costs, restrictions may apply.

Prepaid calls (Direct Calls)
With Prepaid Calls you can set up your account so that the inmate can only call you and/or you can just deposit money in their account and they can purchase prepaid phone cards through their commissary and call whoever they choose, provided the Monterey County Jail approves of the phone number.

Quick Connect
Quick connect is an alternative to collect calls. It allows you to quickly pay for a phone call with your credit card.  When your inmate calls you, follow the instructions from the automated voice system to pay for that one phone call, directly billed to your card.

Customer Service
If you have any questions about the Monterey County Jail GettingOut phone services, you can call them at 866-516-0115.

* All the information you need to understand making and receiving phone calls with inmates in Monterey County, can be found on our Inmate Phone Page.