Reviewed by Harvey Handler Bail Bonds, October 2026.
When someone you love is held at the Licking County Justice Center, staying in touch takes setup: a phone account, a visit booking and the right mailing address. Everything below comes from the Licking County Sheriff's Office, checked October 29, 2026, and is arranged in the order most families need it. For the full picture of which courts and offices handle a Licking County case, start with our Licking County courts and Justice Center guide.
Phone numbers for the jail and Sheriff's Office
| What you need | Number |
|---|---|
| Jail Division (questions about someone in custody) | (740) 670-5501 |
| Sheriff's Office main line, reports and dispatch | (740) 670-5555 |
| Civil and records division | (740) 670-5541 |
| Leave a 30-second voicemail for an inmate ($1.00, prepaid account needed) | (740) 870-0707 |
| ICSolutions, to set up a prepaid phone account | 1-888-506-8407 |
| Access Corrections, to add money to an inmate's account | (866) 345-1884 |
| Emergencies | 911 |
The Sheriff's Office is at 155 E Main St, Newark, OH 43055. Numbers are from the Sheriff's Office contact page and the Jail Inmate Information page.
First, confirm the person is there
Before you set up calls or a visit, check the sheriff's Active Inmate Listing. Each entry shows a booking number, and you will need that number for mail, voicemail and money deposits. The listing has a "Data as of" time at the top, so a recent arrest may take a little while to appear. Our Licking County inmate list guide explains each field on an entry and what to do if the name is missing.
Phone calls from the jail
Inmates have phones in every housing module, but they call out; you cannot call in to an inmate. To receive calls, set up a free prepaid debit telephone account with ICSolutions in one of three ways:
- Online at icsolutions.com
- By phone at 1-888-506-8407
- By mailing a cashier's check or money order to ICSolutions, Attention: Customer Service, 2200 Danbury St., San Antonio, TX 78217
Online and phone payments take Visa, MasterCard, debit cards and Western Union. An inmate without funds can still place collect calls. The jail does not let inmates use facility phones and does not pass along messages, so a voicemail through the (740) 870-0707 line is the only way to leave word. It costs $1.00 for 30 seconds and needs a funded account and the inmate's ID number.
Treat every jail call as recorded, and leave talk about the charges for the defense attorney.
Video visits
The Justice Center uses video visitation, and every visit is subject to monitoring or recording. The sheriff's page publishes hours for offsite visits, which are the remote sessions most families use.
How to register
Registration is free, and only the main visitor has to register:
- Go to icsolutions.com.
- Log in, or create an account. A prepaid phone account counts as an existing account.
- Choose Register for Visitation.
- Follow the steps on the site.
The rules that trip people up
- Book at least 12 hours ahead. You can book up to two weeks out.
- Each visit lasts 30 minutes.
- One session holds at most four people on your end: two adults plus two kids, with infants counted like any other child.
- Visitors 16 and older can register and visit on their own.
- You can log in to the kiosk up to 10 minutes early, but the visit will not start early.
- If you or the inmate is more than 25 minutes late, the visit is marked missed. Arriving late does not restart the clock, so a visit joined at minute 25 has 5 minutes left.
- Offsite visits are unlimited each week.
Offsite visit hours
The same four blocks run every day of the week, Monday through Sunday:
| Block | Starts | Ends |
|---|---|---|
| Morning | 8:15 a.m. | 10:45 a.m. |
| Midday | 11:15 a.m. | 3:45 p.m. |
| Late afternoon | 4:15 p.m. | 5:15 p.m. |
| Evening | 5:45 p.m. | 10:00 p.m. |
Attorneys visit separately, seven days a week, during set blocks between 6:00 a.m. and 10:30 p.m., and must show a current bar ID.
Personal mail does not go to the jail building. It goes to the jail's mail vendor, which scans it:
Smart Communications / Licking Co Jus Ctr [Inmate Name] [#Booking ID] PO Box 9160 Seminole, FL 33775-9137
What makes mail get returned:
- No return address, or one without your first and last name, street or PO box, city and zip code
- Packages of any kind
- Cards or photos larger than 5 by 7 inches, Polaroids, or nude or partly nude photos
- Books, magazines or other publications
- Anything with batteries, metal or moving parts, such as musical cards
- Tobacco, cash or checks
Legal mail, court documents and publications are the exception and still go to the facility directly. You can sign up for a free MailGuard Tracker account at smartjailmail.com to see when mail is delivered or rejected. Every Saturday, each inmate gets one free outgoing and one free incoming electronic message.
After release, the person can log in at smartinmate.com with their inmate number and password to download their photos, messages and mail at no charge.
Putting money on someone's account
Money for commissary and calls goes into the inmate's trust account through Keefe Commissary Network. Deposits are accepted any day and at any time, in three ways:
- Online through Access Corrections
- By phone at (866) 345-1884
- At the kiosk in the Visitation Lobby
Commissary runs twice a week. The jail gives everyone basic hygiene items at booking, and inmates without funds get hygiene items, paper and envelopes for their whole stay. Haircuts are offered every other week.
Money on an inmate's account is separate from bond. A trust account deposit does not count toward bail, and bond is handled through the court or a surety.
Health care inside
The Sheriff's Office says inmates have access to medical, dental and mental health care, and no one is turned away for being unable to pay. Each person gets a physical and mental health assessment within 14 days. If you have urgent information about someone's medication or health, call the Jail Division at (740) 670-5501.
What the jail will and will not tell you
The public listing is the quickest way to confirm custody, and the Jail Division at (740) 670-5501 takes questions the listing cannot answer. The jail does not take personal messages for inmates, and it is not the place for questions about the charge or the case. For bond amounts and court dates, go to the court that has the case: the Licking County Municipal Court clerk at (740) 670-7800 for misdemeanor, OVI and traffic cases, or the Common Pleas clerk's legal division at (740) 670-5791 for felonies. To look up a misdemeanor docket yourself, use our walkthrough of the municipal court's records search.
Release and personal property
Once a bond is posted and accepted, the jail completes its release steps, and holds from another court or agency can keep someone longer. The sheriff's pages do not describe how personal property is handed back or where to wait, so phone the jail's line, (740) 670-5501, before you drive over to pick someone up. We do not give release times because the jail controls them.
Messages and photos sent through the mail vendor stay available after release: the person can download them free at smartinmate.com with their inmate number and password.
Questions families ask
What is the phone number for the Licking County jail?
The Jail Division at the Licking County Justice Center is (740) 670-5501. The Sheriff's Office main line is (740) 670-5555, and emergencies go to 911.
Can I call an inmate at the Licking County Justice Center?
No. Inmates call out from phones in their housing modules. To receive those calls, set up a prepaid account with ICSolutions, or accept a collect call. You can leave a paid 30-second voicemail at (740) 870-0707.
Are in-person visits allowed?
Visits for family and friends are by video. Register free with ICSolutions, book at least 12 hours ahead, and plan for a 30-minute visit.
Can I send a book or a package to someone in the Licking County jail?
No. Packages, books and magazines are not accepted and will be returned. Letters, cards and photos up to 5 by 7 inches go to the Smart Communications address in Seminole, Florida, with the inmate's name and booking number.
Does money put on an inmate's account help pay bail?
No. A trust account deposit pays for commissary and calls only. Bond is posted through the court in cash, by the court's 10% deposit when the bond type allows it, or with a surety bond.
How do I know someone's booking number?
The booking number appears on the person's entry on the sheriff's Active Inmate Listing. You need it for mail, voicemail and deposits.
When you are ready to talk about bond
Calls and visits keep you connected, but bond is what brings someone home. When the listing shows a bond amount, call Harvey Handler Bail Bonds at (740) 558-8070 with the booking number and the bond line, and we will explain the surety bond and what you sign. We are at 58 S 2nd St, Newark, OH 43055; call ahead if you want to sit down in person, and see the Newark office page for a map.
Every rule above is summarized from the sheriff's own pages as they read on October 29, 2026. The jail can change vendors, hours or limits without notice, so recheck the sheriff's site before a visit or a deposit.