In March 2025, the New Jersey Department of Corrections began one of the most disruptive changes for incarcerated people and their families in recent memory: a complete transition from JPay — the communications and financial services platform that had been embedded in New Jersey prisons for years — to a new provider, ViaPath Technologies. JPay was fully phased out by July 31, 2025. For families who had built routines around JPay — funded accounts, tablet libraries, message histories — the switch required rebuilding those connections from scratch on an unfamiliar platform.
What Changed
JPay and ViaPath overlap in the services they provide — both offer tablet access, electronic messaging, phone account management, and money deposits — but the platforms are entirely separate. Accounts, balances, message histories, and app purchases do not transfer automatically between providers. When NJDOC made the switch:
- Tablets were replaced. Inmates received new ViaPath tablets, replacing the JPay tablets they previously used. The content libraries (music, games, educational content) purchased on JPay tablets did not carry over to ViaPath — those purchases were lost unless NJDOC or JPay provided credit.
- Phone accounts needed to be recreated. Families who had funded JPay phone accounts needed to create new ViaPath accounts and reload funds. Any unused balance in the old JPay account required a separate refund process.
- Messaging changed platforms. JPay email (electronic messaging) was replaced by ViaPath's equivalent system. Message histories from JPay were not automatically accessible in ViaPath.
- Money deposits. All new deposits for NJ DOC inmates must now go through ViaPath, not JPay.
Why the Switch Happened — and Why It Was Distressing
The Marshall Project published a detailed piece in May 2025 explaining why the JPay-to-ViaPath transition was "distressing" for New Jersey inmates. The core issue was the loss of content and connection history that incarcerated people had accumulated over years on JPay devices. For someone serving a long sentence, the JPay tablet often holds years of family photos, messages, educational progress, and entertainment purchases. A forced platform switch — without full data migration — effectively erases that accumulated record.
The Marshall Project also noted that NJDOC's stated reason for the switch — improving efficiency, services, and security — was the standard justification offered in virtually every correctional technology contract change, and that the primary drivers are often contract terms and vendor economics rather than demonstrated improvements in inmate welfare.
Setting Up a ViaPath Account
To connect with a loved one in New Jersey DOC through ViaPath:
- Go to viapath.com and create a free account
- Search for the inmate under New Jersey DOC by name and inmate number
- Add a payment method and fund your account
- Use the platform for phone calls, electronic messaging, and money deposits
For questions, ViaPath customer support and NJDOC's current ViaPath information page at nj.gov/corrections/pages/viapath.html are the primary resources.
What to Do About Old JPay Balances
Families with unused funds in JPay accounts linked to New Jersey DOC inmates should contact JPay directly to request a refund or transfer of any remaining balance. JPay's refund process requires account verification and may take several weeks. Do not assume unused JPay balances were automatically transferred to ViaPath — they were not.
NJDOC headquarters: Whittlesey Road, PO Box 863, Trenton, NJ 08625. Phone: (609) 292-4036. Website: nj.gov/corrections. ViaPath NJ DOC page: nj.gov/corrections/pages/viapath.html.