Ottawa County Sheriff's Office

Sheriff LogoInmate Mail & Phone

Inmate Contact by Mail

Inmates may receive letters from outside sources. No packages are allowed and will be returned to the sender. All incoming mail is screened by jail staff. Books (soft cover only) may be sent to the inmate from the publisher only. No magazines or newspapers are allowed in the facility. Mail is received Monday through Fridays. No Holidays. All letters must have a return address. Letters containing stickers or any other inappropriate materials will be returned to the sender. Any mail which does not have a return address will be discarded and/or destroyed. Any letters containing money for inmate accounts must be in the form of a money order or cashiers check made out to the inmate. The inmate receiving money from the mail shall be issued a receipt.

Inmate Contact by Phone

To receive calls from a correctional facility you must use a touch-tone telephone and have an account with Correctional Billing Services (CBS). During the account set-up process you will be asked to supply a 4-digit passcode to be used for future verification purposes.

To establish and maintain an account, you have several options. You can use the automated system or speak to a Customer Service Representative using a credit card (MasterCard or Visa), debit card or check with a $50 minimum payment, Western Union Quick Collect for any amount or send payment by mail using money order, cashier check and other forms of guaranteed payments for any amount. Automated system and representative payments will be charged a $6.95 processing fee and Western Union payments will be charged a fee by Western Union. If payment is made by mail, there is no charge for processing. For more information, please call 1-800-844-6591 and speak to a Representative.

You can avoid interruption to your service and control costs at the same time by using prepaid accounts. By paying for your calls in advance, you manage your spending and ensure that the line is open as long as funds are kept in the account. On occasion, calls posting to your account could be delayed causing the account to go over what has been paid. In these instances a payment will be necessary before calls can continue.

In order to accept calls on a cell phone or an Internet-based telephone service a prepaid account must be established although some facilities will not allow cell phone accounts. A representative can let you know if cell phones are allowed at the facility you are receiving calls from.

Each telephone company billed account is assigned a payment verification point(PVP). This is your spending limit for a rolling 90-day period. If you exceed your PVP within the 90 days, the line will be blocked from receiving calls until the earlier calls have dropped off.

Each Direct billed account will be assigned a 30-day credit limit based on a credit score that is done at the time the account is set up. This will require the phone owner to supply their full social security number and driver’s license or state ID.

If you would like to know the rates for the calls you are receiving, please contact the CBS Customer Service Department at 1-800-844-6591 and a representative will be able to provide you with the surcharge and per-minute rate. This information is also available by emailing customer_service@correctionalbillingservices.com

If you would like to prevent calls from a correctional facility handled by CBS, please contact CBS Customer Service Department at 1-800-844-6591 or customer_service@correctionalbillingservices.com and a representative will assist you in placing a restriction on your line.

To avoid call disconnection...DON'T:

  • transfer the call
  • put the call on hold
  • use or answer Call Waiting
  • press extra buttons on the touch-tone keypad
  • stop your conversation for any length of time (silence may cause a disconnect)
  • try to make any kind of 3-way call

To contact Correctional Billing Services:
Automated System and Representatives can be reached at 1-800-844-6591, 24 hours a day. They accept MasterCard and Visa Credit Cards and Debit Cards plus checks.
Mail Payments To:
Correctional Billing Services
P.O. Box 2052
Mechanicsburg, PA 17055-0700
Email: customer_service@correctionalbillingservices.com

Additional information regarding Correctional Billing Services can be found in the Friends & Family Telephone Service Guide.