Step-by-step guide to registering for Purple Visits, verifying your email and setting up your account securely for prison video calls.
Creating your Purple Visits account is the first step to staying connected with your loved one in prison, a secure hospital or a secure training centre. Your account is completely free and only takes about 5 minutes to set up.
With your Purple Visits account, you can request video calls, manage your contacts, receive notifications about upcoming calls and stay in touch with family or friends who are in custody across the UK.
Purple Visits account registration is free and requires an email address, password and basic personal details. The Purple Visits sign up process includes email verification and identity verification using a passport, driving licence or CitizenCard to ensure secure prison video calling. See What ID do I need? for the full list.
Have these items ready before you begin. You’ll need your photo ID, either a UK or foreign passport, UK photocard driving licence / foreign driving licence (provided it has a photo and your name and date of birth) or a CitizenCard (UK PASS-accredited). Please note that no other type of ID is currently permitted. You’ll also need access to your email because you’ll receive a verification code right after signing up. Your contact’s prison number is optional for now, but you’ll need it later when you add them as a contact.
Here’s the important bit: you’ll need to enter your name exactly as it appears on your photo ID. Any differences, even small spelling variations or missing middle names, will cause delays later during identity verification. It might seem picky, but trust us, getting this right now saves you time later.
Launch the Purple Visits app on your smartphone and tap “Register” on the welcome screen.
Haven’t downloaded the app yet? Get it from the App Store if you’re on iPhone, or Google Play if you’re on Android.
Now you’ll fill in your information. When you enter your full legal name, make sure it matches your photo ID exactly, same spelling, including all middle names if they’re on your ID. This is really critical, as any differences will delay your verification.
Your date of birth needs to be in DD/MM/YYYY format and must match your photo ID exactly.
Your postal address, again this needs to match your photo ID or your proof of address document exatcly, do not use abriviations like st or rd if your ID says street or road.
For your email address, use one you check regularly because you’ll receive important notifications about your calls here. Make sure you can access this inbox right now, as you’ll need to verify it in the next step.
When entering your mobile phone number, include your country code (like +44 for UK). We use this for account security and call reminders. SMS notifications are optional but we recommend them.
For your password, make it at least 8 characters long. We recommend mixing letters, numbers and symbols to keep your account secure. Make it unique to Purple Visits, don’t reuse passwords from other accounts, but choose something you’ll remember.
Before you submit, take a moment to review your details carefully. Double-check for typos, especially in your name and email - these are the ones that cause the most issues.
You’ll need to read and accept both the Terms & Conditions and the Privacy Policy. We know they’re long, but they explain your rights and how we protect your data. Both need to be accepted to create your account.
Once you’re happy everything looks right, tap “Create Account”. Your account will be created instantly and you’ll move straight to email verification.
Within a few minutes, you’ll receive an email from Purple Visits with the subject line “Verify your Purple Visits email”. If you don’t see it right away, check your spam or junk folder. Sometimes email providers are a bit too enthusiastic with their filtering. Also double-check you entered the correct email address and wait about 5 minutes as sometimes emails are delayed.
Open the verification email and find the unique verification code (it’s usually 6 digits). Return to the Purple Visits app, enter the code when prompted and tap “Verify”. That’s it, your email is now verified!
Just so you know, the verification code expires after 24 hours, so it’s best to complete this step fairly promptly.
If the verification email doesn’t arrive, here’s what to try. First, check your spam, junk and promotions folders, emails sometimes get filtered incorrectly. Add [email protected] to your contacts, which helps future emails reach your inbox. In the app, you can tap “Resend verification code”, but wait 2-3 minutes between resend attempts.
If you’re still having trouble, try using a different email address, or contact our support team and we’ll help sort it out.
Your Purple Visits account contains personal information and gives you access to video calls with people in custody, so keeping it secure is important.
A strong password protects your account from unauthorised access. Aim for at least 8 characters (longer is better) and mix uppercase and lowercase letters. Include numbers and symbols too. Avoid using personal information like birthdays, names or addresses and don’t reuse passwords from other accounts like email or banking.
Good examples would be things like “Mountain$Bike47” or “Coffee&Books2024” - memorable to you, but hard for others to guess.
Never share your login details with anyone - not even family members. Each person should have their own account or be an additional participant on your account, you should never share accounts with anyone. Don’t let others use your account and remember to log out on shared devices. Keep your email address up to date as it’s essential for password resets and notifications and enable app notifications so you get alerts about calls and account activity.
Don’t worry - this happens to everyone. On the login screen, tap “Forgot Password” and enter your registered email address. Check your inbox for the password reset link, click it and create a new secure password. Then you can log in with your new password. Just remember, the reset link expires after 24 hours, so complete the process fairly quickly.
Your account details must match your photo ID exactly because Purple Visits is required to verify everyone’s identity for security. Prisons and secure hospitals need to confirm you’re authorised to contact people in custody and any discrepancies between your account and ID cause delays or verification rejection. Once verification begins, you can’t change core details without restarting the whole process.
Make sure your full legal name (including middle names and exact spelling), date of birth and current address all match your ID documents.
Before you create your account, take a moment to verify that your name spelling matches your ID exactly, you’ve included all middle names from your ID, your date of birth is in the correct format (DD/MM/YYYY), your email address is typed correctly (no typos) and your phone number includes the country code. Taking an extra minute to check now saves hours or days of delays later.
After creating your account and verifying your email, here’s your journey to your first video call. You’ve completed account creation and email verification. Next up is identity verification (which takes up to 48 hours), then adding your contacts and finally requesting your first video call (depending on available slots).
Before you can use Purple Visits, you need to verify your identity by uploading photos of your ID and proof of address. This is a one-time security requirement that typically takes 10 minutes to complete and up to 48 hours for review.
Ready to continue? Read our detailed guide on verifying your identity.
If you see this error, you may have already registered with this email address. Try using “Forgot Password” to access your existing account or check if you registered previously and forgot. If you believe this is an error, contact our support team and we’ll help investigate.
If you’re not receiving verification emails, check your spam, junk and promotions folders first. Add [email protected] to your safe senders list, then wait 5-10 minutes as email delivery can be delayed. Try tapping “Resend verification code” in the app. If the problem continues, try using a different email address (Gmail or Outlook usually work well) or contact support and we’ll help sort it out.
If account creation doesn’t complete, check your internet connection first - make sure you have stable WiFi or mobile data. Update the app by going to the App Store or Google Play and checking for updates. Sometimes a quick restart of your device resolves the issue. Try again in a few minutes in case there are temporary server issues. If the problem persists, contact our support team and we can help investigate.
Your personal information is important to us. We protect your data with encryption in transit and at rest (AES-256), secure UK-based servers, strict access controls so only authorised personnel can access your information and we never sell or share your data without your consent.
Want to learn more? Read our Privacy Policy, learn about Security and Privacy or understand Your Data Rights.
If you’re having trouble creating your account or have questions, check our Frequently Asked Questions, email us at [email protected] or use our live support service within the Purple Visits app.
Our support team is here to help you get connected with your loved one.