The North Carolina Department of Adult Correction operates approximately 56 state correctional facilities housing more than 32,000 incarcerated people. Here is a complete practical guide for families on finding a loved one, establishing contact, and supporting them through incarceration.
Finding Your Loved One: NC DAC Offender Search
NC DAC provides a free public offender search at dac.nc.gov/dac-services/criminal-offender-searches. You can search by name or DOC number for people in state custody, on probation, or on post-release supervision. The search returns current facility, sentence information, and supervision status.
Newly sentenced individuals typically go to a reception facility for intake and classification. Men go to the Western Youth Institution (Morganton) or Polk Youth Institution (Butner) if young, or to Harnett Correctional Institution (Lillington) for adults. Women go to the North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women (Raleigh). Allow one to two weeks before a permanent facility assignment appears in the search tool.
Phone Calls: ICSolutions
North Carolina DAC uses ICSolutions for inmate telephone services. To receive calls:
- Create a free account at icsolutions.com
- Register the phone number where you want to receive calls
- Add funds to your account
- Confirm your number is on the inmate's approved call list
Inmates call out — you cannot call in. Calls are monitored and recorded except attorney-client calls.
Sending Money: JPay
NC DAC uses JPay for inmate trust account deposits. Go to JPay.com, search the inmate under North Carolina DAC, and deposit by card. Fees apply. Money orders mailed to the specific facility are also accepted.
Visiting North Carolina State Prisons
General requirements:
- Approved visitor list — the inmate submits names through their case manager
- Valid government-issued photo ID at every visit
- Dress code enforced — no camouflage, no orange (inmate uniform color), no sleeveless tops
- Visiting schedules vary by facility and are posted at dac.nc.gov under facility pages
- Call the specific facility before traveling to confirm current hours
Key NC DAC Facilities for Families
- NC Correctional Institution for Women — Raleigh. All sentenced women, all security levels. (919) 733-4340.
- Central Prison — Raleigh. Maximum security men; death row. (919) 733-0800.
- Harnett Correctional Institution — Lillington. Primary adult male reception. (910) 814-5400.
- Full facility list with addresses: dac.nc.gov.
Advocacy and Oversight Resources
- North Carolina Prisoner Legal Services (ncpls.org) — provides legal assistance to incarcerated people in NC state prisons
- ACLU of North Carolina (acluofnc.org) — handles constitutional violations and conditions of confinement
- Post-Release Supervision and Parole Commission: Makes parole decisions for eligible inmates — dac.nc.gov
NCDAC headquarters: 831 West Morgan Street, Mail Service Center 4260, Raleigh, NC 27699. Phone: (919) 716-3200. Website: dac.nc.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.