Northwest Correctional Complex
The Northwest Correctional Complex (NWCX) site is one of five prototypically designed prisons in Tennessee. The Lake County site is the primary educational prison for the TDOC.
Due to the lack of industry at NWCX, focus has been placed on education and community service. Over 100,000 hours of community service work are provided to state and local government and non-profit agencies each year by this complex.
Prison Insights
Northwest Correctional Complex
Thank you for visiting us to better understand how inmates are treated while incarcerated at this institution. Please be sure to share this website with others so that we can spread the word and help to maintain rights for current and former inmates.
Please note that by checking the box below, you understand we will be contacting you via email to better understand how we can help you and where our data will be used.
After confirming by checking the box below and inputting your email address, please press "submit" and then click on "View Insights" for the area you'd like to reveal.
What Do Inmate Families Think?
What Do Former Inmates Think?
What Do Employees Think?
Visiting Hours and Rules
Visiting hours at Northwest Correctional Complex for the general population are from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm on Saturdays and Sundays. For a complete visiting schedule, please refer to the Visitation Handbook.
Visiting Applications
Click here for the Visitation Handbook to find out everything you need to know about visiting your inmate at Northwest Correctional Complex. If you have any questions, please call the contact line below.
Site 1 Contact #: (731) 253-5000, ext. 1903
Site 2 Contact #: (731) 253-5000, ext. 2077
Most TDOC offenders are allowed to visit with friends and family if they fill out the appropriate paperwork and follow the departmental policies and procedures.
- Policy 507.01 - Visitation (in pdf format)
- Visitation Form (in pdf format)
Dress Code
Visitors are encouraged to dress casually and in comfortable attire that is not provocative or offensive to others. Clothing must fit in an appropriate manner. Visitors must wear undergarments and appropriate footwear. Shorts, skirts, and dresses must be no shorter than three inches above the knee.
The following types of clothing are specifically prohibited.
1. Spandex or spandex type garments.
2. Any clothing that is transparent or translucent in nature.
3. Sleeveless shirts or strapless dresses, or any clothing that exposes a bare chest, upper arms, or midriff.
4. Backless/wraparound dresses, skirts, blouses, jackets, or other “covering” will not be permitted in order to cover these above areas.
5. Any camouflage type attire (even just a small amount, or as an accent color).
6. Clothing with logos that contain pictures, slogans, vulgarity, tobacco/alcohol references, or those that contain signs or symbols of any security threat groups (STG), or any clothing determined by the processing officer to be associated with any STG. The association may be made by color combinations, designs or logos affixed to the clothing, or even the manner in which it is worn.
7. Cut off pants/shorts of any kind. No fraying is allowed.
8. Any garment which has rips in them, manufactured that way or personalized, for example; holes in the knees or buttocks of pants, t-shirt with the neckline cut out.
9. Bandanas of any kind.
During the winter months, visitors will be allowed to dress according to the weather; however, an excessive amount of clothing will not be tolerated.
Physical Address
Northwest Correctional Complex
960 State Route 212
Tiptonville, Tennessee 38079
Driving Directions: https://goo.gl/maps/9GpxssBr8KfAMRh39
General Phone Number
(731) 253-5000
Inmate Mailing Address(es)
Inmate Name/DOC Number
Northwest Correctional Complex
960 State Route 212
Tiptonville, Tennessee 38079
How to Call an Inmate
You can't call an inmate at Northwest Correctional Complex, but they do have access to phones during certain hours. For complete details on how to call an inmate in Tennessee, please click here.
How to Send Money
JPay provides several ways to send money to an inmate at Northwest Correctional Complex.
Online
To send money online with a credit or debit card, click here. It's the quickest and easiest way to send money.
Phone
You can send money by phone using your credit or debit card. Call (800) 574-5729 to speak with a live agent 24/7.
Walk-In Cash
To send money using cash, visit any MoneyGram agent location and use receive code 6188. Click here to get a list of nearby MoneyGram locations.
Money Orders
All money orders must be sent with a deposit slip to:
JPay
P.O. Box 279010
Miramar, FL 33027
Programs For Inmates
The Rehabilitative Services staff is committed to providing effective, evidenced-based programming that instills fundamental skills in individuals under TDOC supervision so that they can lead independent, productive, and successful lives.
This is done through a multidisciplinary, phased approach that begins with an empirically validated risk and needs assessment instrument that identifies a person's risk to reoffend as well as recommend treatment pathways in order to reduce this risk. These individuals are then prescribed a temporal treatment and education plan.
Individuals are assessed annually for cognitive and behavioral changes and their trajectory adjusted based on their individual progress and growth.
The Tennessee Department of Correction educational system is approved by the Tennessee Department of Education. The mission is to provide students with education and career training as part of the broader effort to include public safety and impact recidivism.
The educational program at Northwest Correctional Complex includes special education services, adult basic education, preparation for GED testing, college degree programs, and Title 1.
There are also vocational education programs which include welding, masonry, carpentry, painting, HVAC, engine and vehicle repair, and TRICOR manufacturing programs.
Religious Services
TDOC provides opportunities for incarcerated offenders to voluntarily practice religion and receive appropriate pastoral care during incarceration. They recognize the critical role spiritual well being and religion play in helping people build moral lives of character and cope with the stress of incarceration and their preparation for release.
Pictures of Northwest Correctional Complex
Careers at Northwest Correctional Complex
To find out more information about a career with the Tennessee Department of Corrections and available jobs at Northwest Correctional Complex, click here.