Quick Facts

• Opened in May 1998
• Facility Size: 417,000 sq. ft.
• Height: 230 ft.

Located in downtown San Diego, the San Diego Central Jail (SDCJ) serves as the primary point of intake for male prisoners in San Diego County.

The facility is staffed by just over 200 sworn employees and nearly 200 professional staff members.

SDCJ opened in May 1998. The state-of-the-art facility makes extensive use of touch-screen controls and video surveillance. At the heart of the facility is the Central Command Center, which has the capability of electronically controlling all jail operations in the event of an emergency or major system failure.

SDCJ is 230 feet tall, making it the tallest construction project ever undertaken by the County of San Diego. It consists of 11 floors with a total of 17 levels counting the mezzanines and basement. The building provides a pleasing aesthetic addition to the downtown San Diego skyline, having been awarded multiple “orchids” for architectural design, interior design, and lighting design.

The population at SDCJ consists primarily of special handling inmates, newly booked inmates awaiting transfer to other facilities and pre-arraignment inmates. The special handling inmates consist of those with serious medical challenges, those under psychiatric care, inmates representing themselves in court, as well as defendants facing high-publicity trials.

SDCJ provides a wide range of medical and psychiatric services, including on-site dialysis, infectious disease control, and dental care. Services are provided by physicians, psychiatrists, dentists, nurses, and clinical social workers. SDCJ’s Psychiatric Stabilization Unit is the largest acute psychiatric treatment facility in San Diego County.

Visit Notice: There is no public parking at the San Diego Central Jail and downtown public parking may be limited. Please allow sufficient extra time prior to check-in to allow for parking.

Effective May 1, 2021, in-person visits will resume. Visitation will operate with strict protocols in place to protect everybody from COVID-19. Guidelines include mandatory face coverings, temperature screenings. If you feel ill or if you are sick, please stay at home. We will continue to evaluate and revise visitation schedules accordingly while still maintaining health and safety protocols. Visit schedules are subjected to change per facility operations.

Reservations can be made one day in advance. ALL VISITORS MUST CHECK-IN 30 MINUTES PRIOR TO THE SCHEDULED VISIT TIME. Visits may be canceled at any time due to rule violations, inmate transfers, or for jail security.

The visit week begins on Sunday and ends on Saturday. Mainline inmates are allowed one (1) visit per day, one (1) visit per week. Inmate Workers are allowed one (1) visit per day, (1) visit per week. A maximum of one (1) visitor and one (1) child are allowed per visit. Minors must be accompanied by a parent, court appointed guardian or other adult having legal custody. Walk-in visits will not be accepted.

Video Visits -

Effective Wednesday, June 16, 2021, the San Diego Central Jail (SDCJ), will resume Securus remote video visits. These visits will be scheduled 24 hours in advance via telephone reservation only by calling (619) 610-1647 between the hours of 6:30 am to 6:00 pm. Prior to scheduling a visit, please access the Securus website to create a Securus online account. Please note this process may take up to 24 hours. After your visit has been scheduled, you can visit remotely using any device with web camera connectivity over the Internet. Video visits will be 30 minutes in length. On-site visits are currently on hold until further notice.

Learn more about visitation on our Visiting page.

Video Visit times are as follows

Monday-Sunday:

Video Visits - 30 Minute Visits 

Social In-Person Visitation Times

3rd Floor Tele-Visits - (30 Minute Visits)

5A - (30 Minute Visits)

5A - (30 Minute Visits)

5B - (30 Minute Visits)

5B - (30 Minute Visits)

5D - (30 Minute Visits)

6A

No Social Visits

6B - (30 Minute Visits)

 6B - (30 Minute Visits)

6C - (30 Minute Visits)

6C - (30 Minute Visits)

 6D - (30 Minute Visits)

6D - (30 Minute Visits)

6E - (30 Minute Visits)

One Inmate Visit Per Time

7A - (30 Minute Visits)

7A - (30 Minute Visits)

7B - (30 Minute Visits)

7B - (30 Minute Visits)

7C - (30 Minute Visits)

7C - (30 Minute Visits)

7E - 30 Minute Visits

 8A- (1 Hour Visits)

8B- (1 Hour Visits)

 8C- (30 Minute Visits)

8D -  (30 Minute Visits)

8D -  (30 Minute Visits)

 8E - (30 Minute Visits)