The Louisiana Department of Corrections operates 12 state correctional facilities plus contracts with local jails to house state inmates — a practice that makes Louisiana's housing system particularly distributed. Here is a complete family guide.
Finding Your Loved One
Louisiana DOC provides a free public offender search at doc.louisiana.gov — navigate to "Offender Lookup." Search by name or DOC number. Louisiana also participates in VINELink (vinelink.com) — a national victim/family notification system that shows current custody status and facility for Louisiana DOC inmates.
Note: Louisiana houses a significant portion of its state sentenced population in local parish jails under contract — so your loved one may be in a local jail rather than a state DOC facility even while serving a state sentence. The DOC offender lookup will show the current housing location regardless.
Phone Calls: Securus Technologies
Louisiana DOC uses Securus Technologies for inmate telephone services at state facilities. To receive calls:
- Create a free account at securustech.net
- Register the phone number you want calls received on
- Fund your AdvanceConnect account
- Confirm your number is on the inmate's approved call list
Note: parish jail contract facilities may use a different phone vendor — confirm with the specific facility.
Sending Money: JPay
Louisiana DOC uses JPay for inmate trust account deposits at state-run facilities. Go to JPay.com, search under Louisiana DOC, and deposit by card. Fees apply. For parish jail contract facilities, the deposit method may differ.
Louisiana DOC State Facilities
- Louisiana State Penitentiary (Angola) — Angola. Men, maximum security. (225) 655-4411.
- Elayn Hunt Correctional Center — St. Gabriel. Men, medium security. (225) 319-7900.
- Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women (LCIW) — St. Gabriel. Women, all security levels.
- David Wade Correctional Center — Homer. Men, medium security.
- Raymond LaBorde Correctional Center — Cottonport. Men, medium security.
- Full list: doc.louisiana.gov.
Visiting
- Approved visitor list — the inmate submits names through their unit officer
- Valid government-issued photo ID required
- Dress code enforced — no camouflage, no white clothing (inmate uniform color at some facilities), no revealing clothing
- Visiting schedules at doc.louisiana.gov under each facility — confirm before traveling
Key Resources
- Promise of Justice Initiative (post-conviction): promiseofjustice.org
- ACLU of Louisiana: laaclu.org
- Louisiana Parole Project: louisianaparoleproject.org — advocates for parole of lifers and long-termers
Louisiana DOC headquarters: 504 Mayflower Street, Baton Rouge, LA 70802. Phone: (225) 342-6740. Website: doc.louisiana.gov.
Further reading for families
For practical guidance on supporting your loved one, see our step-by-step guides on how to bail someone out of jail, how to write a letter to an inmate, and why inmate phone calls are so expensive — and what families can do to reduce those costs.
Many of these services are run by private companies. See how the main providers work, including fees and how to sign up: Securus, ViaPath (GTL), JPay, Access Corrections, CorrLinks, GettingOut. For every phone, video, money, mail, and care-package company, browse our full inmate service provider directory.