As used in this subpart:

(a) Ancillary Service Charge means any charge Consumers may be assessed for, or in connection with, the interstate or international use of Inmate Calling Services that are not included in the per-minute charges assessed for such individual calls. Ancillary Service Charges that may be assessed are limited only to those listed in paragraphs (a)(1) through (5) of this section. All other Ancillary Service Charges are prohibited. For purposes of this definition, “interstate” includes any Jurisdictionally Mixed Charge, as defined in paragraph (u) of this section.

(1) Automated Payment Fees means credit card payment, debit card payment, and bill processing fees, including fees for payments made by interactive voice response (IVR), web, or kiosk;

(2) Fees for Single-Call and Related Services means billing arrangements whereby an Inmate's collect calls are billed through a third party on a per-call basis, where the called party does not have an account with the Provider of Inmate Calling Services or does not want to establish an account;

(3) Live Agent Fee means a fee associated with the optional use of a live operator to complete Inmate Calling Services transactions;

(4) Paper Bill/Statement Fees means fees associated with providing customers of Inmate Calling Services an optional paper billing statement;

(5) Third-Party Financial Transaction Fees means the exact fees, with no markup, that Providers of Inmate Calling Services are charged by third parties to transfer money or process financial transactions to facilitate a Consumer's ability to make account payments via a third party.

(b) Authorized Fee means a government authorized, but discretionary, fee which a Provider must remit to a federal, state, or local government, and which a Provider is permitted, but not required, to pass through to Consumers for or in connection with interstate or international Inmate Calling Service. An Authorized Fee may not include a markup, unless the markup is specifically authorized by a federal, state, or local statute, rule, or regulation.

(c) Average Daily Population (ADP) means the sum of all Inmates in a facility for each day of the preceding calendar year, divided by the number of days in the year.

(d) Collect Calling means an arrangement whereby the called party takes affirmative action clearly indicating that it will pay the charges associated with a call originating from an Inmate Telephone;

(e) Consumer means the party paying a Provider of Inmate Calling Services;

(f) Correctional Facility or Correctional Institution means a Jail or a Prison;

(g) Debit Calling means a presubscription or comparable service which allows an Inmate, or someone acting on an Inmate's behalf, to fund an account set up through a Provider that can be used to pay for Inmate Calling Services calls originated by the Inmate;

(h) Flat Rate Calling means a calling plan under which a Provider charges a single fee for an Inmate Calling Services call, regardless of the duration of the call;

(i) Inmate means a person detained at a Jail or Prison, regardless of the duration of the detention;

(j) Inmate Calling Service means a service that allows Inmates to make calls to individuals outside the Correctional Facility where the Inmate is being held, regardless of the technology used to deliver the service;

(k) Inmate Telephone means a telephone instrument, or other device capable of initiating calls, set aside by authorities of a Correctional Facility for use by Inmates;

(l) International Calls means calls that originate in the United States and terminate outside the United States;

(m) Jail means a facility of a local, state, or federal law enforcement agency that is used primarily to hold individuals who are;

(1) Awaiting adjudication of criminal charges;

(2) Post-conviction and committed to confinement for sentences of one year or less; or

(3) Post-conviction and awaiting transfer to another facility. The term also includes city, county, or regional facilities that have contracted with a private company to manage day-to-day operations; privately owned and operated facilities primarily engaged in housing city, county or regional Inmates; facilities used to detain individuals, operated directly by the Federal Bureau of Prisons or U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or pursuant to a contract with those agencies; juvenile detention centers; and secure mental health facilities.

(n) Mandatory Tax or Mandatory Fee means a fee that a Provider is required to collect directly from consumers, and remit to federal, state, or local governments. A Mandatory Tax or Fee that is passed through to a consumer for, or in connection with, interstate or international Inmate Calling Services may not include a markup, unless the markup is specifically authorized by a federal, state, or local statute, rule, or regulation;

(o) Per-Call, or Per-Connection Charge means a one-time fee charged to a Consumer at call initiation;

(p) Prepaid Calling means a presubscription or comparable service in which a Consumer, other than an Inmate, funds an account set up through a Provider of Inmate Calling Services. Funds from the account can then be used to pay for Inmate Calling Services, including calls that originate with an Inmate;

(q) Prepaid Collect Calling means a calling arrangement that allows an Inmate to initiate an Inmate Calling Services call without having a pre-established billing arrangement and also provides a means, within that call, for the called party to establish an arrangement to be billed directly by the Provider of Inmate Calling Services for future calls from the same Inmate;

(r) Prison means a facility operated by a territorial, state, or Federal agency that is used primarily to confine individuals convicted of felonies and sentenced to terms in excess of one year. The term also includes public and private facilities that provide outsource housing to other agencies such as the State Departments of Correction and the Federal Bureau of Prisons; and facilities that would otherwise fall under the definition of a Jail but in which the majority of inmates are post-conviction and are committed to confinement for sentences of longer than one year.

(s) Provider of Inmate Calling Services, or Provider means any communications service provider that provides Inmate Calling Services, regardless of the technology used;

(t) Site Commission means any form of monetary payment, in-kind payment, gift, exchange of services or goods, fee, technology allowance, or product that a Provider of Inmate Calling Services or affiliate of a Provider of Inmate Calling Services may pay, give, donate, or otherwise provide to an entity that operates a correctional institution, an entity with which the Provider of Inmate Calling Services enters into an agreement to provide Inmate Calling Services, a governmental agency that oversees a correctional facility, the city, county, or state where a facility is located, or an agent of any such facility.

(u) Jurisdictionally Mixed Charge means any charge Consumers may be assessed for use of Inmate Calling Services that are not included in the per-minute charges assessed for individual calls and that are assessed for, or in connection with, uses of Inmate Calling Service to make such calls that have interstate or international components and intrastate components that are unable to be segregated at the time the charge is incurred.

(v) Provider-Related Rate Component means the interim per-minute rate specified in either § 64.6030(b) or (c) that Providers at Jails with Average Daily Populations of 1,000 or more Inmates and all Prisons may charge for interstate Collect Calling, Debit Calling, Prepaid Calling, or Prepaid Collect Calling.

(w) Facility-Related Rate Component means either the Legally Mandated Facility Rate Component or the Contractually Prescribed Facility Rate Component identified in § 64.6030(d).

(x) International Destination means the rate zone in which an international call terminates. For countries that have a single rate zone, International Destination means the country in which an international call terminates.

(y) Controlling Judicial or Administrative Mandate means:

(1) A final court order requiring an incarcerated person to pay restitution;

(2) A fine imposed as part of a criminal sentence;

(3) A fee imposed in connection with a criminal conviction; or

(4) A final court or administrative agency order adjudicating a valid contract between the provider and the account holder, entered into prior to September 30, 2022, that allows or requires that an Inmate Calling Services Provider act in a manner that would otherwise violate § 64.6130.

(z) Jurisdiction means:

(1) The state, city, county, or territory where a law enforcement authority is operating or contracting for the operation of a Correctional Facility; or

(2) The United States for a Correctional Facility operated by or under the contracting authority of a Federal law enforcement agency.

[80 FR 79178, Dec. 18, 2015, as amended at 81 FR 62825, Sept. 13, 2016; 85 FR 67461, Oct. 23, 2020; 86 FR 40731, July 28, 2021; 87 FR 75514, Dec. 9, 2022]

(a) No Provider of interstate or international Inmate Calling Services shall charge an Ancillary Service Charge other than those permitted charges listed in § 64.6000(a).

(b) No Provider shall charge a rate for a permitted Ancillary Service Charge in excess of:

(1) For Automated Payment Fees—$3.00 per use;

(2) For Single-Call and Related Services—when the transaction is paid for through an automated payment system, $3.00 per transaction, plus the effective, per-minute rate; or when the transaction is paid via a live agent, $5.95 per transaction, plus the effective, per-minute rate;

(3) For Live Agent Fee—$5.95 per use;

(4) For Paper Bill/Statement Fee—$2.00 per use;

(5) For Third-Party Financial Transaction Fees—when the transaction is paid through an automated payment system, $3.00 per transaction; or when the transaction is paid via a live agent, $5.95 per transaction.

[80 FR 79179, Dec. 18, 2015, as amended at 85 FR 67462, Oct. 23, 2020; 86 FR 40731, July 28, 2021; 87 FR 75515, Dec. 9, 2022]

(a) For all Jails with Average Daily Populations of less than 1,000 Inmates, no Provider shall charge a rate for interstate Collect Calling, Debit Calling, Prepaid Calling, or Prepaid Collect Calling in excess of $0.21 per minute.

(b) For all Jails with Average Daily Populations of Inmates of 1,000 or greater, no Provider shall charge a Provider-Related Rate Component for interstate Collect Calling, Debit Calling, Prepaid Calling, or Prepaid Collect Calling in excess of $0.14 per minute.

(c) For all Prisons, no Provider shall charge a Provider-Related Rate Component for interstate Collect Calling, Debit Calling, Prepaid Calling, or Prepaid Collect Calling in excess of $0.12 per minute.

(d) For all Jails with Average Daily Populations of Inmates of 1,000 or greater, and for all Prisons, Providers may recover the applicable Facility-Related Rate Component as follows:

(1) Providers subject to an obligation to pay Site Commissions by state statutes or laws and regulations that are adopted pursuant to state administrative procedure statutes where there is notice and an opportunity for public comment such as by a state public utility commission or similar regulatory body with jurisdiction to establish inmate calling services rates, terms, and conditions and that operate independently of the contracting process between Correctional Institutions and Providers, may recover the full amount of such payments through the Legally Mandated Facility Rate Component subject to the limitation that the total rate (Provider-Related Rate Component plus Facility-Related Rate Component) does not exceed $0.21 per minute.

(2) Providers that pay Site Commissions pursuant to a contract with the Jail or Prison may recover up to $0.02 per minute through the Contractually Prescribed Facility Rate Component except where the Provider's total Contractually Prescribed Facility Rate Component results in a lower per-minute rate than $0.02 per minute of use. In that case, the Provider's Contractually Prescribed Facility Rate Component is limited to the actual amount of its per-minute Site Commission payment up to a maximum of $0.02 per minute. Providers shall calculate their Contractually Prescribed Facility Rate Component to three decimal places.

(e) No Provider shall charge, in any Prison or Jail it serves, a per-minute rate for an International Call in excess of the applicable interstate rate cap set forth in paragraphs (a), (b), (c), and (d) of this section plus the average amount that the provider paid its underlying international service providers for calls to the International Destination of that call, on a per-minute basis. A Provider shall determine the average amount paid for calls to each International Destination for each calendar quarter and shall adjust its maximum rates based on such determination within one month of the end of each calendar quarter.

[86 FR 40731, July 28, 2021]

(a) A Provider shall provide incarcerated people access to TRS and related communication services as described in this section, except where the correctional authority overseeing a facility prohibits such access.

(b)(1) A Provider shall provide access for incarcerated people with communication disabilities to Traditional (TTY-Based) TRS and STS.

(2) Beginning January 1, 2024, a Provider serving a correctional facility in any jurisdiction with an Average Daily Population of 50 or more incarcerated persons shall:

(i) Where broadband internet access service is available, provide access to any form of TRS (in addition to Traditional TRS and STS) that is eligible for TRS Fund support (except that a Provider need not provide access to non-internet Protocol Captioned Telephone Service in any facility where it provides access to IP CTS); and

(ii) Where broadband internet access service is available, provide access to a point-to-point video service, as defined in § 64.601(a)(33), that allows communication in American Sign Language (ASL) with other ASL users; and

(iii) Where broadband internet access service is not available, provide access to non-internet Protocol Captioned Telephone Service, in addition to Traditional TRS and STS.

(c) As part of its obligation to provide access to TRS, a Provider shall:

(1) Make all necessary contractual and technical arrangements to ensure that, consistent with the security needs of a Correctional Facility, incarcerated individuals eligible to use TRS can access at least one certified Provider of each form of TRS required by this section;

(2) Work with correctional authorities, equipment vendors, and TRS providers to ensure that screen-equipped communications devices such as tablets, smartphones, or videophones are available to incarcerated people who need to use TRS for effective communication, and all necessary TRS provider software applications are included, with any adjustments needed to meet the security needs of the institution, provide compatibility with institutional communication systems, and allow operability over the Inmate Calling Services Provider's network;

(3) Provide any assistance needed by TRS providers in collecting the registration information and documentation required by § 64.611 from incarcerated users and correctional authorities; and

(4) When an incarcerated person who has individually registered to use VRS, IP Relay, or IP CTS is released from incarceration or transferred to another correctional authority, notify the TRS provider(s) with which the incarcerated person has registered.

(d)(1) Except as provided in this paragraph (d), no Provider shall levy or collect any charge or fee on or from any party to a TRS call to or from an incarcerated person, or any charge for the use of a device or transmission service when used to access TRS from a Correctional Facility.

(2) When providing access to IP CTS or CTS, a Provider may assess a charge for such IP CTS or CTS call that does not exceed the charge levied or collected by the Provider for a voice telephone call of the same duration, distance, Jurisdiction, and time-of-day placed to or from an individual incarcerated at the same Correctional Facility.

(3) When providing access to a point-to-point video service, as defined in § 64.601(a)(33), for incarcerated individuals with communication disabilities who can use ASL, the total charges or fees that a Provider levies on or collects from any party to such point-to-point video call, including any charge for the use of a device or transmission service, shall not exceed the charge levied or collected by the Provider for a voice telephone call of the same duration, distance, Jurisdiction, and time-of-day placed to or from an individual incarcerated at the same Correctional Facility.

(4) No Provider shall levy or collect any charge in excess of 25 percent of the applicable per-minute rate for TTY-to-TTY calls when such calls are associated with Inmate Calling Services.

[87 FR 75515, Dec. 9, 2022]

No Provider shall prohibit or prevent completion of an interstate or international Collect Calling call or decline to establish or otherwise degrade interstate or international Collect Calling solely for the reason that it lacks a billing relationship with the called party's communications service provider, unless the Provider offers Debit Calling, Prepaid Calling, or Prepaid Collect Calling for interstate and international calls.

[85 FR 67462, Oct. 23, 2020]

Link to an amendment published at 89 FR 8549, Feb. 8, 2024.

(a) Providers must submit a report to the Commission, by April 1st of each year, regarding interstate, intrastate, and international Inmate Calling Services for the prior calendar year. The report shall be categorized both by facility type and size and shall contain:

(1) Current interstate, intrastate, and international rates for Inmate Calling Services;

(2) Current Ancillary Service Charge amounts and the instances of use of each;

(3) The Monthly amount of each Site Commission paid;

(4)[Reserved]

(5) The number of TTY-based Inmate Calling Services calls provided per facility during the reporting period;

(6) The number of dropped calls the reporting Provider experienced with TTY-based calls; and

(7) The number of complaints that the reporting Provider received related to e.g., dropped calls, poor call quality and the number of incidences of each by TTY and TRS users.

(b) An officer or director of the reporting Provider must certify that the reported information and data are accurate and complete to the best of his or her knowledge, information, and belief.

[80 FR 79179, Dec. 18, 2015, as amended at 85 FR 67462, Oct. 23, 2020; 87 FR 75515, Dec. 9, 2022; 89 FR 8549, Feb. 8, 2024]

No Provider shall charge any taxes or fees to users of Inmate Calling Services for, or in connection with, interstate or international calls, other than those permitted under § 64.6020, and those defined as Mandatory Taxes, Mandatory Fees, or Authorized Fees.

[85 FR 67462, Oct. 23, 2020]

No Provider shall impose a Per-Call or Per-Connection Charge on a Consumer for any interstate or international calls.

[85 FR 67462, Oct. 23, 2020]

No Provider shall offer Flat-Rate Calling for interstate or international Inmate Calling Services.

[85 FR 67462, Oct. 23, 2020]

(a) No Provider shall institute a minimum balance requirement for a Consumer to use Debit or Prepaid Calling for interstate or international calls.

(b) No Provider shall prohibit a consumer from depositing at least $50 per transaction to fund a Debit or Prepaid Calling account that can be used for interstate or international calls.

[85 FR 67462, Oct. 23, 2020]

(a) Providers must clearly, accurately, and conspicuously disclose their interstate, intrastate, and international rates and Ancillary Service Charges to consumers on their websites or in another reasonable manner readily available to consumers. In connection with international rates, providers shall also separately disclose the rate component for terminating calls to each country where that provider terminates International Calls.

(b) Providers must clearly label the Facility-Related Rate Component (either the Legally Mandated Facility Rate Component or the Contractually Prescribed Facility Rate Component) identified in § 64.6030(d) as a separate line item on Consumer bills for the recovery of permissible facility-related costs contained in Site Commission payments. To be clearly labeled, the Facility-Related Rate Component shall:

(1) Identify the Provider's obligation to pay a Site Commission as either imposed by state statutes or laws or regulations that are adopted pursuant to state administrative procedure statutes where there is notice and an opportunity for public comment that operates independently of the contracting process between Correctional Institutions and Providers or subject to a contract with the Correctional Facility;

(2) Where the Site Commission is imposed by state statute, or law or regulation adopted pursuant to state administrative procedure statutes where there is notice and an opportunity for public comment and that operates independently of the contracting process between Correctional Institutions and Providers, specify the relevant statute, law, or regulation.

(3) Identify the amount of the Site Commission payment, expressed as a per-minute or per-call charge, a percentage of revenue, or a flat fee; and

(4) Identify the amount charged to the Consumer for the call or calls on the bill.

(c) Providers must clearly label all charges for International Calls in § 64.6030(e) as a separate line item on Consumer bills. To be clearly labeled, providers must identify the amount charged to the Consumer for the International Call, including the costs paid by the provider to its underlying international providers to terminate the International Call to the international destination of the call.

[87 FR 40732, July 28, 2021, as amended at 87 FR 7956, Feb. 11, 2022]

(a) A Provider may seek a waiver of the interim rate caps established in § 64.6030 and the Ancillary Service Charge fee caps on a Correctional Facility or contract basis if the interstate or international rate caps or Ancillary Service Charge fee caps prevent the Provider from recovering the costs of providing interstate or international Inmate Calling Services at a Correctional Facility or at the Correctional Facilities covered by a contract.

(b) At a minimum, a Provider seeking such a waiver is required to submit:

(1) The Provider's total company costs, including the nonrecurring costs of the assets it uses to provide Inmate Calling Services, and its recurring operating expenses for these services at the Correctional Facility or under the contract;

(2) The methods the provider used to identify its direct costs of providing interstate and international Inmate Calling Services, to allocate its indirect costs between its Inmate Calling Services and other operations, and to assign its direct costs to and allocate its indirect costs among its Inmate Calling Services contracts and Correctional Facilities;

(3) The Provider's demand for interstate and international Inmate Calling Services at the Correctional Facility or at each Correctional Facility covered by the contract;

(4) The revenue or other compensation the Provider receives from the provision interstate and international Inmate Calling Services, including the allowable portion of any permissible Ancillary Service Charges attributable to interstate or international inmate calling services, at the Correctional Facility or at each Correctional Facility covered by the contract;

(5) A complete and unredacted copy of the contract for the Correctional Facility or Correctional Facilities, and any amendments to such contract;

(6) Copies of the initial request for proposals and any amendments thereto, the Provider's bid in response to that request, and responses to any amendments (or a statement that the Provider no longer has access to those documents because they were executed prior to the date this section is codified.

(7) A written explanation of how and why the circumstances associated with that Correctional Facility or contract differ from the circumstances at similar Correctional Facilities the Provider serves, and from other Correctional Facilities covered by the same contract, if applicable; and

(8) An attestation from a company officer with knowledge of the underlying information that all of the information the provider submits in support of its waiver request is complete and correct.

(c) A Provider seeking a waiver pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section must provide any additional information requested by the Commission during the course of its review.

[87 FR 40732, July 28, 2021, as amended at 87 FR 7956, Feb. 11, 2022]

(a) All funds deposited into a debit calling or prepaid calling account that can be used to pay for interstate or international Inmate Calling Services or associated ancillary services shall remain the property of the account holder unless or until the funds are either:

(1) Used to pay for products or services purchased by the account holder or the incarcerated person for whose benefit the account was established;

(2) Disposed of in accordance with a Controlling Judicial or Administrative Mandate; or

(3) Disposed of in accordance with applicable state law requirements, including, but not limited to, requirements governing unclaimed property.

(b) No provider may seize or otherwise dispose of unused funds in a debit calling or prepaid calling account until at least 180 calendar days of continuous account inactivity has passed, or at the end of any alternative period set by state law, except as provided in paragraph (a) of this section or through a refund to the customer.

(c) The 180-day period, or alternative period set by state law, must be continuous. Any of the following actions by the account holder or the incarcerated person for whose benefit the account was established ends the period of inactivity and restarts the 180-day period:

(1) Depositing, crediting, or otherwise adding funds to an account;

(2) Withdrawing, spending, debiting, transferring, or otherwise removing funds from an account; or

(3) Expressing an interest in retaining, receiving, or transferring the funds in an account, or otherwise attempting to exert or exerting ownership or control over the account or the funds held within the account.

(d) After 180 days of continuous account inactivity have passed, or at the end of any alternative period set by state law, the provider must make reasonable efforts to refund the balance in the account to the account holder.

(e) If a provider's reasonable efforts to refund the balance of the account fail, the provider must treat the remaining funds in accordance with applicable state consumer protection law requirements concerning unclaimed funds or the disposition of such funds.

[87 FR 75515, Dec. 9, 2022]