San Carlos Correctional Facility

San Carlos Correctional Facility is a Colorado state prison for men located in Pueblo, Colorado. This is a maximum-security facility that is located on the campus of the Colorado Mental Health Institute, and it houses inmates with special needs (severe mental illness and severe developmental disabilities).

SCCF was opened in 1995, and it has a maximum capacity of 250.

Prison Insights

Visiting Hours and Rules

Before you can visit an inmate at San Carlos Correctional Facility, you must fill out a visiting application. If you are under 18, a parent or guardian needs to complete a Form 300-01G Authorization for Minor Child Visitation. If you do not fill out the application completely, it will be rejected.

If you are traveling a long distance to visit or if you want to request an extended visit, you have the option to submit a Special Visitation Application.

You will not be approved for a visit if you didn’t know the inmate prior to their incarceration.

Visiting Application must be mailed to:

Attention: Visiting Department
San Carlos Correctional Facility
PO Box 3
Pueblo, CO 81002

Anyone wishing to schedule a visit with offenders who are on non-contact visiting status must notify San Carlos Visiting at least one week in advance.

Visiting phone: (719) 583-5623
Visiting email: [email protected]

Visiting Hours:

Non-contact sessions are everyday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Contact sessions are on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Frequencies of visits are dependent of the offender’s incentive level/unit. This level also determines whether the visits are contact or non-contact.

Visitor Entry, Searches, and Procedures

All adult visitors must have a current photo ID for admission into a visit. Acceptable forms of identification include a driver’s license, state ID card, passport, or military ID.

You should expect to be searched and to walk through a metal detector when you arrive for a visit. Officers can also search your car and your property. If you refuse a search, they will deny the visit and you will be required to leave. 

All visitors are also required to have the back of their right hand stamped with an ultra-violet marker before entry into SCCF by the staff person authorizing entry. The marker stamped on the back of the right hand will be read by a "black light" to establish positive identification prior to authorizing your departure from the facility. Visiting rules prohibit the resumption of the visit after leaving the facility.

If you are bringing an infant to a visit. You are allowed to bring in factory-sealed baby food containers. They will not allow you to bring in open food containers or food without containers.

For each baby, you can bring in two (2) baby bottles containing either food, water, milk, or juice. You can also bring in a diaper bag with two (2) clean diapers, two (2) baby toys which can be easily checked for contraband, and one (1) change of clothes. You will be required to leave the diaper bag with an officer during the visit.

You can also bring money for the vending machines so you can buy food and beverages for yourself and the inmate you are visiting.

Electronic devices are not allowed in the visiting room. 

It’s best to leave everything in your vehicle. You must have a Photo ID, but other than that, keep it simple and just bring in your keys and money for the vending machines. If you have a baby with you, bring in the items you will need for the child.

A short hug and kiss is allowed at the beginning and at the end of each visit. During visits, inmates are allowed to hold hands with their visitor. 

If the inmate is only allowed a non-contact visit, you will not be allowed to touch them and you will be separated by a glass partition.

Dress Code

Always remember to keep it modest! They will not allow you in the visiting room if you are wearing revealing or see-through clothing, or anything that resembles what the inmates wear (solid green or solid orange). Don’t wear dresses, skirts, or shorts that hit above the knee, and you can’t wear jackets, hats, or scarves into the visiting room.

If you do not follow the dress code, you will be denied the visit.

All correspondence that you mail to an inmate must include their name, their DOC number, and your return address.

All mail containing contraband, cash, personal checks, or money orders will be rejected. You are also not allowed to use envelopes that are padded or made of plastic or cardboard. Do not put stickers or decorative stamps on the envelope, either.

Other restrictions include: Polaroid pictures, postage stamps, stamped envelopes, blank stationery, blank writing paper, blank cards, blank postcards, or blank personal journals. Any mail containing these items will be rejected.

How to Call an Inmate

Inmates at San Carlos Correctional Facility can’t receive incoming calls, but they can call you during approved daytime hours by using a wall phone or their tablet. For complete details on how to call an inmate in Colorado, please click here.

How to Send Money

There are three companies–JPay ,Western Union, and GTL –that you can use to send money to an inmate at San Carlos Correctional Facility.  

There are three ways to send money to your incarcerated friend or family member:

• Online with a credit or debit card 
• Over the phone with a credit or debit card
• In person with cash at Western Union locations

Click on one of the links below to set up an account and start sending money immediately.

• JPAY
• Western Union
• GTL

​Programs For ​Inmates

• GED and adult basic education
• Coping Skills
• Symptom and medication management
• Anger management
• Stress management
• Illness management
• Residential Treatment program

Pictures of San Carlos Correctional Facility

Careers at San Carlos Correctional Facility

If you are interested in a job at San Carlos Correctional Facility, you can find available positions at the Colorado Department of Corrections website.