Chester County Prison

• Main Prison Line

  Chester County Prison

  Address

  501 South Wawaset Road, West Chester, PA 19382

  Main Telephone

  610-344-5040

  Official Prison Information (official site, opens in a new tab)

• Not the Main Prison Line

  Correctional Center / Work Release Visits

  For Work Release and Pre-Release residents only. The county says to call, wait for the voicemail to answer, then press 0 to find out whether you are on the Residents Visiting List.

  Correctional Center Visiting Line

  610-344-4222

  Official Inmate Visitation Information (official site, opens in a new tab)

• Inmate Services

  Inmate Information & Services

  The county's inmate information pages cover classification timing, visiting rules and identification, phone service, mail and account deposits. The county does not publish a separate inmate-services phone number; use the main prison line for questions.

  Inmate Information (official site, opens in a new tab)Inmate Accounting (official site, opens in a new tab)

• Court & Bail

  Clerk of Courts

  Bail posting for Court of Common Pleas cases and criminal case records. The Clerk of Courts is a court office at the Chester County Justice Center, not part of the prison.

  Clerk of Courts

  610-344-6135

  Justice Center

  201 West Market Street, Suite 1400, West Chester, PA 19380

  Chester County Bail Information (official site, opens in a new tab)

Official sources:Chester County Prison(opens in a new tab)Inmate Visitation(opens in a new tab)Bail, Bonds, Detectives and Constables(opens in a new tab)

1. 1Gather identifying information: the person's full legal name, date of birth when known, approximate arrest date and the arrest location.
2. 2Identify the responsible authority. The person may still be with the local arresting agency, held by the county or held in another jurisdiction. Not everyone arrested in Chester County is housed at Chester County Prison.
3. 3Call Chester County Prison at 610-344-5040 and ask about its official custody-information procedure. Staff decide what they can confirm by phone.
4. 4Use other official records where appropriate: the Chester County Inmate Search guide and Pennsylvania UJS court records. Use the state or federal locator only when state or federal custody may apply.

• Schedule

  Visiting Schedule

  County pages disagree on frequency: the Prison page says one visit per four-week schedule, the Inmate Information and Visitation pages say one visit per day (30 minutes), and the posted schedule dated 08/04/25 says one visit per week by housing block. No single frequency is shown here as current.

  Visitation Schedule (PDF) (official site, opens in a new tab)

• Eligibility

  Visitor Eligibility

  • Visitors must be on the person's visiting list (up to ten names, completed by the person's counselor; changes need a 30-day wait)
  • No visits until classification is complete, usually 48 to 72 hours
  • Up to three authorized visitors per visit; any child of walking age counts as a visitor
  • The county bars former inmates for at least one calendar year after release; the posted schedule also bars visitors on parole or probation

• What to Wear & Bring

  Dress & Identification

  Visitors 18 and older need full photo ID, or photo ID with supporting documents showing name and address; visitors 12 to 18 need a photo ID with their name. No sleeveless or revealing clothing. Outer garments such as hoodies, zip sweatshirts and jackets stay in the lobby, and no items, cell phones or money may be taken into the visiting area.

• On Arrival

  Check-In & Security

  All visitors are subject to search; anyone who refuses is asked to leave. People under the influence of alcohol or drugs may not visit. Visits start and end promptly at the scheduled times, and adults are responsible for children with them.

Work Release / Pre-Release: Correctional Center visiting is separate from general prison visits. The Visitation page lists Fridays, 6:00 to 7:30 p.m., one visit per week; the posted schedule splits Friday Center visits by last name (A–J 6:00–7:30 p.m., K–Z 8:00–9:30 p.m.). Call 610-344-4222, wait for the voicemail, then press 0 to check the Residents Visiting List.

• General Mail

  General Correspondence

  Send to: Chester County Prison, Inmate Full Name, Permanent ID Number, P.O. Box 247, Phoenix, MD 21131. General mail goes to this mail-processing address outside Pennsylvania. Mail without the full first and last name and permanent ID number is prohibited, as are photos containing nudity. All mail is opened and inspected.

• Sent to the Prison

  Legal Mail & Publications

  Legal mail and publications go to the prison's physical address: Chester County Prison, Inmate Full Name, Permanent ID Number, 501 South Wawaset Road, West Chester, PA 19382-6776. Publications need prior written approval from Prison Administration, must ship directly from an approved publisher or bookstore (not Amazon), and must be new paperbacks. General mail and legal mail are not interchangeable.

• Commissary & Accounts

  Inmate Trust Account Deposits

  The current Inmate Accounting page lists a kiosk in the lobby of the Chester County Correctional Center, daily 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., that accepts cash and debit or credit cards but not money orders, plus online card deposits through GTL into the Trust Fund. Older county pages conflict: one lists money orders and certified checks at the money box, another says no money orders at the box or by mail. Follow the current Accounting page and confirm first. Inmate trust-account deposits are not bail payments.

  Inmate Accounting (official site, opens in a new tab)

• Clothing & Property

  Clothing Exchanges

  The person in custody must start an exchange with a request slip, and the exchange happens only after written approval from the I.D. Supervisor. Sneakers may not be exchanged. The county lists exchanges on Saturdays or Sundays only (printed as 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.), none on weekdays. Property left more than 30 days after release may be treated as abandoned.