How Many Phone Calls Do Inmates Get a Day: Limits and Costs

Federal prisons don’t put a hard daily cap on how many phone calls an incarcerated person can make; instead, the Bureau of Prisons limits total use to 300 minutes per calendar month. State prisons and local jails write their own rules, and some do set a daily call count, restrict calls to certain hours, or limit each call to a set length. So the real answer to how many phone calls inmates get a day depends on the facility, the person’s disciplinary status, and how many working phones the housing unit actually has.

Federal Prison Call Limits

The Bureau of Prisons budgets phone access by the month, not the day. Each person with an Inmate Telephone System account gets up to 300 minutes per calendar month, and those minutes can be spent on any mix of collect or direct-dial calls. Individual calls are ordinarily capped at 15 minutes, with a warning tone about a minute before the system disconnects. The warden sets the required wait time between completed calls, and that wait varies by facility.¹

In practice, most BOP institutions place no cap on the number of calls a person can make in a day. Someone could burn through their 300 minutes in many short calls or a smaller number of longer ones. The ceiling is the monthly minute pool, not a call count.¹

The 300-minute cap gets a bump during the holidays. Inmates are ordinarily allowed an extra 100 minutes per month in November and December. Wardens can also grant additional minutes for good cause at any time of year if someone exhausts their allotment.¹

Since January 1, 2025, the BOP has tied free phone access to programming. Anyone enrolled in a First Step Act Evidence-Based Recidivism Reduction program receives 300 free phone minutes each month. People who choose not to participate pay for their own calls.²

Even when phone privileges are restricted as a disciplinary sanction, the BOP guarantees at least one phone call per month. The two exceptions are a completed disciplinary sanction that specifically removes phone access and an active Special Investigative Supervisor investigation.³

State Prisons and County Jails

Outside the federal system, phone access varies enormously. State prisons set rules through their department of corrections, and county and city jails follow local policies. Some facilities allow a fixed number of calls per day. Others open phone access during designated blocks of time and let people call as often as phones are free. Individual calls are almost always limited to 15 minutes or less per session.

What actually determines how many calls someone places in a day is often practical rather than written policy. A facility with 200 people and four wall phones creates a very different experience than one with tablets in every housing unit. Population size, security level, staffing, and the number of working phones all shape access. Disciplinary status matters too: an infraction can trigger temporary loss of phone privileges or placement on a restricted calling schedule.

At least six states have eliminated charges for audio calls from state prisons entirely, so cost is no longer a factor in call frequency in those systems. The trend toward free calling has been accelerating since 2022.

Approved Numbers and Prohibited Calls

Before anyone places a call, the phone number has to be on their approved list. In federal prisons, the list can hold up to 30 numbers. An associate warden can authorize additional numbers in unusual circumstances, such as a large family. The person submits a Telephone Number Request form during intake, and the list is managed through the facility’s computer system.¹

Numbers for immediate family and for people already on a visiting list are normally approved without extra review. When someone requests a number for a person outside those categories, BOP staff must notify that person in writing and give them a chance to object.⁴

Certain calls are flatly prohibited. Toll-free numbers, credit card access numbers, and third-party billing are all off-limits, and transferring a call electronically to a third party is banned.¹ State and local facilities usually maintain similar restrictions, though the size of the approved list and the process for changing it differ by facility.

When Call Access Gets Cut Back

Misusing the phone system carries real consequences. The BOP defines misuse broadly: intimidating a witness, committing fraud, conducting criminal activity, sharing a personal access code, or using someone else’s code all qualify. Evidence of misuse can put someone on a restricted telephone list for whatever period the disciplinary hearing officer considers appropriate.³

Phone restrictions imposed during an investigation are limited to 30-day increments. If the investigation or disciplinary process runs longer, the warden must personally re-authorize each additional 30-day period. Without that re-authorization, phone privileges automatically reinstate when the period expires. Drug-related infractions can also trigger loss of phone and visiting privileges as a separate sanction.³

What Each Call Costs

Rates have dropped sharply under the Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act of 2022, which directed the FCC to set just and reasonable rates for calls from correctional facilities.⁵ Under the 2025 IPCS Order, revised caps take effect on April 6, 2026. The per-minute caps for audio calls, which include a $0.02 facility fee, are:⁶

Prisons: $0.11 per minute
Large jails, 1,000 or more average daily population: $0.10 per minute
Medium jails, 350 to 999: $0.12 per minute
Small jails, 100 to 349: $0.13 per minute
Very small jails, 50 to 99: $0.15 per minute
Extremely small jails, under 50: $0.19 per minute

At these rates, a 15-minute call from a prison costs no more than $1.65. Historically a single 15-minute call could run over $11. The caps cover intrastate, interstate, and international calls, though providers may add a charge for international calls to cover foreign termination costs.⁶

The FCC also prohibited most ancillary fees. Automated payment fees and third-party financial transaction fees, which previously added $3.00 to $5.95 per transaction on top of call costs, were eliminated in the 2024 IPCS Order. Providers’ costs for those services were folded into the per-minute rate caps.⁷

Receiving Calls from Someone Inside

If you expect to receive calls from someone in a correctional facility, set a few things up in advance. Find out which phone service provider the facility uses. The facility’s website usually lists this, or you can call the facility directly. Major providers include Securus Technologies and ViaPath, formerly Global Tel Link.

Set up a prepaid account with that provider so funds are available to cover call costs. Some facilities also allow collect calls, where you accept charges when the call comes in. Either way, your number needs to be on the incarcerated person’s approved calling list. They initiate that through their facility’s process, and in federal prisons, numbers for non-family contacts may require written notification before approval.⁴

When the call arrives, an automated message identifies it as a call from a correctional facility and gives the caller’s name, and you can accept or decline. Calls that go to voicemail are typically disconnected by the system, so being available at the expected call time matters more than people realize.

1
Federal Bureau of Prisons. Program Statement P5264.08 – Inmate Telephone Regulations
2
Federal Bureau of Prisons. FBOP Updates to Phone Call Policies and Time Credit System
3
Federal Bureau of Prisons. Program Statement P5264.07 – Telephone Regulations for Inmates
4
U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General. BOP Policy and Practice
5
GovInfo. Public Law 117-338 – Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act of 2022
6
Federal Communications Commission. Incarcerated People’s Communications Services
7
Federal Register. Implementation of the Martha Wright-Reed Act – Rates for Interstate and Intrastate Incarcerated Peoples Communication Services