The FCC voted to slash prison and jail Calling Rates in 2024, with new rates having gone into effect by April 1, 2025. How much are you paying to contact your incarcerated loved ones?
FCC Votes On New Regulations
On July 18, 2024, the FCC unanimously voted to set new regulations on phone and video communication services in jails and prisons. With these new regulations, the per-minute rate caps for all prison and jail phone calls across the country have been more than halved.
Phone calls will be capped between 6 – 12 cents per minute depending on facility size. Prisons will be required to keep video calling rates at or below 16 cents/minute, and jails are required to keep rates between 11 cents/minute and 25 cents/minute, depending on facility size.
New Maximum Voice and Video Calling Rates in Prisons and Jails
| Facility type | Previous Phone Rate Caps (per minute) | New Phone Rate Caps (per minute) | New Video Rate Caps (per minute) | Effective Date |
| Prisons | $0.14 | $0.06 | $0.16 | Jan. 1, 2025 |
| Large Jails (1,000+) | $0.16 | $0.06 | $0.11 | Jan. 1, 2025 |
| Medium Jails (350-999) | $0.21 | $0.07 | $0.12 | Apr. 1, 2025 |
| Small Jails (100-349) | $0.21 | $0.09 | $0.14 | Apr. 1, 2025 |
| Very Small Jails (0-99) | $0.21 | $0.12 | $0.25 | Apr. 1, 2025 |
Indiana Department of Corrections Facilities
The Indiana Department of Corrections oversees 21 facilities across the state: 18 adult (15 male and 3 female facilities) and 3 juvenile.
Indiana Department of Correction facilities will follow the new phone and video rate caps set by the FCC for prisons.
| Facility type | Current phone rate caps (per minute) | New phone rate caps (per min) | New video rate caps (per min) | Effective date |
| Prisons | $0.14 | $0.06 | $0.16 | Jan. 1, 2025 |
Indiana Jails
In the state of Indiana, jails are locally run corrections facilities, not directly run by the state. Currently there is no centralized jail management system in Indiana; by last count at least 20 different jail management systems are being utilized across the state.
As of December 2024, there are 91 jails across 92 counties in Indiana (Ohio county does not have a jail and sends inmates to other counties for housing).
We Want to Hear From You: How Much Are You Paying?
All Indiana Department of Correction facilities should have implemented the new FCC phone/video rate caps as of January 1, 2025. If you believe that you are overpaying to talk to your loved ones incarcerated in an IDOC Facility, please reach out!
Featured image: A phone in a prison. Credit: Flickr