Learn how to add someone in custody to your Purple Visits account, find their prison or hospital number and start requesting video calls.
A “contact” in Purple Visits is someone in custody you want to have video calls with. Before you can request or receive video calls, you need to add them to your account. You can add multiple contacts, so if you have family or friends in different establishments, you can stay connected with all of them through Purple Visits.
Adding a prison contact to Purple Visits requires the prisoner’s full name, prison number or hospital number and the establishment name. You can add multiple prison contacts to your Purple Visits account to have video calls with different people in custody across UK prisons and secure hospitals.
Make sure you’ve completed these steps first: created your Purple Visits account, verified your email address and had your identity verified. If you haven’t verified your identity yet, that’s your next step - check out our guide on verifying your identity.
Gather this information before you start. You’ll need your contact’s full legal name (as registered in the prison or hospital system - first name and surname), their prison or hospital number (the unique identifier assigned to them), the establishment where they’re currently located and your relationship to them (like family member, friend or partner).
Don’t worry if you don’t have all the details, we’ll explain where to find them.
A prison or hospital number is a unique identifier assigned to someone when they enter the custody system. It’s essential for adding them to Purple Visits.
The format is usually a letter followed by 4-5 numbers and then 2 letters (like A1234BC). This number remains with them throughout their time in custody, doesn’t change if they move between establishments, is required for all prison systems and services and must be entered exactly as shown with the correct letters and numbers.
The easiest way is to ask your contact directly. They know their prison or hospital number and use it regularly, they can tell you during phone calls or visits and it’s on all their official correspondence.
You can also check any letters from the establishment, which include the prison number usually near the top with their name - look for labels like “Prison Number” or “Prisoner Number”. If you’ve visited in person, visiting orders show the prison number too, keep these documents handy for future reference.
If you can’t find the number, you can use the governments find a prisoner service gov.uk/find-a-prisoner
The prison or hospital number ensures you’re adding the correct person (avoiding confusion with similar names), the facility can match your request to the right individual. Always double-check you’ve entered it correctly before submitting.
Open the Purple Visits app, tap “Contacts” from the main menu and then tap “Add New Contact” or the “+” button.
You’ll be asked to fill in a few fields. For their full legal name, enter their first name and surname using their legal name as it appears in prison records. Include middle names if you know them (it’s optional but helpful) for example, “John Michael Smith” not “Johnny Smith”.
When entering the prison or hospital number, be really careful as it must be exact. It’s usually in a format like A1234BC (letter, numbers, letters). Double-check for typos before submitting because your contact won’t be found if the number is incorrect.
For the establishment, choose from the dropdown list. You can search by typing the establishment name or scroll to find it. Only prisons and hospitals that offer Purple Visits appear in the list – every establishment on our establishments list, across the UK and Crown Dependencies.
For your relationship, select from the dropdown menu. This is required for the establishment’s approval process, so choose the option that best describes your relationship.
Before submitting, double-check the prison or hospital number (this is the most common source of errors), verify the name spelling to make sure it matches their legal name, confirm the establishment to ensure they’re currently at this establishment and then tap “Add Contact”.
Adding a contact requires approval to ensure security and safeguarding for everyone involved. Here’s what happens next.
First, your request is sent to the establishment. Prison or hospital staff review your request and verify that your identity verification is complete. They’ll check that the relationship is appropriate according to establishment policies.
Then, your contact is notified. They receive notification inside the establishment (this may come through wing staff or a terminal/kiosk) and they can choose to accept or decline any video call request.
The establishment gives final approval based on security policies and safeguarding requirements to ensure the connection is appropriate.
You can view your status in the app anytime. Open Purple Visits, go to the “My Account”" section and you will see your current status. “Awaiting Verification” means it’s awaiting approval, “Verified” means you’re ready for video calls, and “Rejected” means the your ID has not been verified and needs re-submitting (a reason may be provided which will help you when submitting your details next time).
While you’re waiting, be patient, the approval process can take upto 48 hours. (its normally much quicker than this.)
Check our complete list of establishments that use Purple Visits. If your contact’s establishment isn’t listed, it means Purple Visits isn’t available there yet. You can contact the establishment directly to ask about their video calling options, they may use a different provider or system.
You can add as many contacts as you need. There’s no limit on the number of contacts you can have in Purple Visits. Each contact must be added separately with their own prison or hospital number.
This is great for families with multiple loved ones in custody or friends supporting several people. Each contact is managed separately, so you can have different video call schedules, different establishments and different relationships all within one account.
If the system says your contact isn’t found, the most common reason is an incorrect prison or hospital number. Double-check you’ve entered it exactly as shown, verify each letter and number carefully and make sure there are no extra spaces or characters.
It could also mean the contact isn’t at an establishment that uses Purple Visits (check our establishment list), they may have been recently transferred (prison systems take time to update) or they haven’t been processed into the system yet (if they’re newly arrived).
Try contacting the establishment to confirm the prison number and verify they’re currently at that facility.
If your request for a video call has been pending for more than a week or two, it might be that the establishment is experiencing high volumes of requests, there are weekends or public holidays causing delays, this is out of the Purple Visits teams control and we would not be able to speed up the approval of any video call or social visit requests.
You can contact the establishment’s visitor services to check the status.
If you realize you selected the wrong establishment after submitting, don’t worry. Delete the pending request in the “Video Calls” section of the Purple Visits app and then update your contacts establishment within the “Contacts” section. You can then submit a new request with the correct establishment. Make sure you know where your contact is currently located, as they may have been transferred recently.
If your contact moves to a different establishment, you’ll need to update their details in Purple Visits. The prison or hospital number stays the same, but you’ll need to update the establishment in your account. You can edit contact details in the app there is no need to delete and re-add them.
If you no longer wish to have video calls with someone, you can remove them from your contacts. Go to “Contacts” in the app, find the contact you want to remove and tap “Remove Contact”. Removing a contact is permanent and this will cancel any pending video calls or social visits upcoming with that contact.
When you add a contact, the establishment sees your verified identity information, your relationship to the contact and your video call / social visit request. This is necessary for security and safeguarding.
All contact information is protected by our security measures. We use encryption to protect your data, limit access to authorised staff only and never share your information inappropriately. Read more about our security and privacy practices or understand your data rights.
Once your contact has been added and your account has been verified, you’re ready to request your first video call! The process varies slightly by establishment, some let you request calls, others let your contact invrequest calls from inside the establishment.
Check out our guide on requesting a video call to learn how to book your first call. You might also want to read about preparing for your video call so you’re all set when the time comes.
If you’re having trouble adding a contact or have questions, check our Frequently Asked Questions for common issues, contact the establishment’s visitor services for questions about your specific video call approval status or email our support team at [email protected] or use our contact form.
We’re here to help you stay connected with your loved one.