The Ventura County Main Jail The Pre-Trial Detention Facility

Address/phone	800 S Victoria Ave, Ventura, CA 93009 (map) (805) 933-8501
Find an inmate	Inmate locator
Video visits	Securus Technologies
Email inmates	Click here
Capacity	890 inmates, co-ed

The Ventura County Main Jail – also known as the Ventura Pre-Trial Detention Facility – temporarily houses arrestees until they

• post bail,
• get released on their own recognizance (“O.R. release“),
• are arraigned, or
• are acquitted at trial.

Ventura County Jail also houses convicted defendants who have been sentenced to incarceration in a county jail. In general, these defendants were convicted of violent crimes or require psychiatric/medical services.

In this article, our Ventura County criminal defense attorneys¹ will answer the following:

• 1. What are my options for posting bail?
• 2. How do I know if my loved one is at the Ventura County Main Jail?
• 3. What is the phone and email policy?
• 4. What is the visitation policy?
  • 4.1. Video visitation
• 5. How can I send mail?
• 6. Can I put money on an inmate’s books?
• 7. What are the inmate services at Ventura County Main Jail?
• 8. What is the procedure for getting my loved one’s property released to me?

If, after reading this article, you would like more information, we invite you to contact us at Shouse Law Group.

1. What are my options for posting bail?

You can post bail for inmates at the Ventura County Main Jail 24/7 by either:

1. Cash paid in full
2. Cashier’s check made payable to the Ventura County Superior Court
3. Certified check made payable to the Ventura County Superior Court
4. Money order made payable to the Ventura County Superior Court
5. Credit/debit card through GovPayNow or 1 (888) 604-7888 (the jail’s Pay Location Code # is 6404)
6. Bail bond

If you opt to pay without using a bail bondsman, you will receive a refund of your money (minus an administrative charge) after the case concludes. However, if your loved one misses miss any court dates, your bail money will be lost.

If you opt to hire a bail bondsman, you must pay the agent a non-refundable fee of 10% of the total bail amount. You are not responsible for paying the other 90% unless your loved one then misses court.

2. How do I know if my loved one is at the Ventura County Main Jail?

To check if someone is incarcerated at the Ventura Pre-Trial Detention Facility, call (805) 654-3335 or search online at the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department inmate information website.

3. What is the phone and email policy?

You may not call your loved one at the Ventura County Mail Jail. Instead, they can call you.

You can also email a loved one for about $1 per message. Click here to set up an account.

4. What is the visitation policy?

Inmates at the Ventura Main Jail are generally permitted to have two 30-minute visits per week. Up to two people may participate in each visit (either two adults, or one adult and one child).

Visits are on a first-come, first-served basis, and you must wear an N95 mask. You may not visit if you yourself have been incarcerated at a jail in Ventura County within the last year.

Specific visiting schedules vary within each housing unit. It is advisable that you contact the jail at (805) 654-3335 prior to your anticipated visit to make sure that you arrive at the appropriate time. Currently, the schedule is as follows:

Hours	Wednesday	Thursday	Saturday	Sunday
8:30am – 11:30am Check-in starts at 7:30am, no check-ins after 11am.	C, E, G, MB (L1),3MS	B, E, SPECIAL, MB (L1), WB(L1)	A, F, WH (L2), 3MS	A, ADMIN
1:30pm – 4:30pm Check-in starts at 12:30pm, no check-ins after 4pm	B, F, WH (L1), 4MS	A,G, ADMIN	C, E, MB (L1), 4MS	B, G, WB (L1), SPECIAL
7pm – 9pm Check-in starts at 6pm, no check-ins after 8:30pm	D, H, ADMIN	C, F, WH (L1), 4MS	D, H, WB (L1), SPECIAL	D, H, 3MS

In order to visit a loved one at Ventura County Main Jail, you must present a government-issued photo I.D. card, such as

• a California driver’s license,
• a California identification card,
• a U.S. Passport,
• an alien registration card, or
• a U.S. military card.

You also must dress conservatively and can be turned away if you are wearing:

• sleeveless shirts, strapless tops, or midriff tops
• torn pants
• bare feet
• skirts or shorts more than one inch above the knee
• sheer, see-through, or provocative clothing

The only items you can bring with you to the visiting area are:

• your keys
• ID
• One baby bottle and/or blanket (if you have an infant)

4.1. Video visitation

You can schedule video visits for a fee using Securus Video Connect. If you have questions about setting up an account, call 1-877-578-3658.

5. How can I send mail?

You may send postcards or enveloped mail to:

Your loved one’s name and booking number
The Ventura Pre-Trial Detention Facility
P.O. Box 6929
Ventura, CA 93006

Mail without a return address will not be delivered. Plus, mail that meets any of the following criteria will be returned to sender:

• postcards that have been altered from their original forms,
• mail marked with paint, crayon, glitter, cloth, stains, stickers, lipstick, perfume, etc., or
• mail depicting nudity, suggestive images, weapons, gang references, criminal activity or any other images that may incite violence, racism or riot.

Paperback books, newspapers and magazines are the only packages that inmates may receive, and they must be mailed directly from the publishing company or a reputable online distributor such as Amazon.com or BarnesandNoble.com.

The jail staff inspects all incoming mail, so be careful not to reveal anything that could incriminate someone.

Learn more at the Ventura Sheriff’s Office – Inmate Mail page.

6. Can I put money on an inmate’s books?

There are three ways to put money on your loved one’s books at the Ventura County Main Jail:

1. Online through JPay.com
2. By calling JPay at 1-800-574-5729
3. At the kiosk in the jail lobby (which accepts cash or credit card)

7. What are the inmate services at Ventura County Main Jail?

The Ventura Main Jail offers a variety of services to its inmates. Examples of some of these services include:

• on-site medical and mental health services,
• residential substance abuse treatment, such as narcotics anonymous (N.A.) and alcoholics anonymous (A.A.),
• educational services, such as English as a Second Language (ESL), computer training, and GED prep,
• vocational training in the areas of print shop and word processing,
• religious services and counseling,
• recreation activities, and
• a library

8. What is the procedure for getting my loved one’s property released to me?

As part of the booking process at the Ventura Pre-Detention Facility, the jail staff collects and stores the new inmate’s clothes and belongings, which typically include car keys, a cell phone, etc. To pick up someone’s property, simply ask a deputy at the jail to get their permission to release it to you.

Note that this process could take several hours since the deputies are busy. Any property you do not pick up – such as their clothes or ID – will be returned to your loved one once they are released from custody.

Call us for help…

If you or a loved one is charged with a crime and you are looking to hire an attorney for representation, we invite you to contact us at Shouse Law Group. We can provide a consultation in office or by phone.

We have local offices in Los Angeles, the San Fernando Valley, Pasadena, Long Beach, Orange County, Ventura, San Bernardino, Rancho Cucamonga, Riverside, San Diego, Sacramento, Oakland, San Francisco, San Jose and throughout California.

See our information page on the Todd Road Jail, also located in Ventura County.

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