Avenal State Prison Overview
Avenal State Prison, often shortened to ASP, is operated by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The prison is located at #1 Kings Way in Avenal and holds sentenced CDCR incarcerated persons. It is not a Kings County Sheriff's Office jail, and it is not listed through the county's All Inmates roster. A person housed at Avenal may have been committed from Kings County or from another California county. Facility county and commitment county are not always the same thing in CDCR records.
CDCR materials describe Avenal as a state prison with broad reentry and education programming. It is identified in the research as a reentry hub. The facility's history is also local to Kings County: it opened in 1987 as the first all-new California prison in 20 years, was originally named Kings County State Prison, and was officially named Avenal State Prison on February 22, 1988. That history should not blur the custody system. The current lookup source is still CDCR CIRIS.
Avenal State Prison Capacity
The sourced design-capacity figure for Avenal State Prison is 2,909. That figure comes from CDCR population and master-plan materials in the research file. Design capacity is a prison-system measure. It should not be added to Kings County Jail roster counts or BSCC jail average daily population as though all people in county geography are part of one jail population. Avenal is a state facility inside Kings County, while Kings County Jail and Kings County Branch Jail are local facilities run by the Sheriff's Office.
For current location, use CIRIS rather than a point-in-time facility capacity number. CDCR transfers, classification moves, parole actions, and reception processing can change a person's visible location. If court paperwork shows a prison sentence but CIRIS does not yet show Avenal, the person may still be in county custody, in transit, or not fully processed by CDCR.
Search Avenal State Prison Records
Use CDCR CIRIS to search for a person in Avenal State Prison. CIRIS is the statewide locator for people in CDCR custody and can show name, CDCR number, age, current location, commitment counties, admission date, and Board of Parole Hearing information where applicable. Do not use the Kings County jail locator for Avenal unless the question is whether a person is still in county jail before state transfer.
- Open CDCR CIRIS and search by CDCR number when that number is known.
- If no number is available, search by last name and narrow with first name.
- Confirm that the Current Location field shows Avenal State Prison or another CDCR location.
- Review commitment counties and admission date so the facility location is not confused with the sentencing county.
- If the online search fails, call the CDCR Identification Unit at (916) 445-6713 during posted weekday hours, excluding holidays.
| CIRIS Field | Use |
|---|---|
| CDCR Number | Best identifier for prison lookup, mail, and facility questions. |
| Name | Search and result confirmation field. |
| Current Location | Shows Avenal or another CDCR facility when updated. |
| Commitment Counties | Shows county or counties tied to the sentence, not necessarily facility county. |
| Admission Date | Helps distinguish new prison intake from older custody history. |
Avenal State Prison Contact
Use the institution phone number for facility-level questions. Use CIRIS or the CDCR Identification Unit for statewide population search help. The county Sheriff's Office cannot approve CDCR prison visits, update CDCR mail rules, transfer a state prisoner, or confirm prison classification beyond what the state system provides.
Avenal State Prison
#1 Kings Way
Avenal, CA 93204
(559) 386-0587
CDCR state prison facility
CDCR Identification Unit
Statewide population search assistance
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
(916) 445-6713
Monday-Friday, except holidays, 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Pacific
Avenal State Prison Visiting
CDCR prison visiting uses the state visitation process, not Kings County jail video visiting. Visitors should use CDCR Adult Visitation information and the prison's current visiting guidance. Prison visits generally require approval and scheduling under CDCR rules. A county jail ICSolutions registration does not approve someone for an Avenal visit, and a county jail roster result does not establish state-prison visit status.
| Visiting Step | Avenal State Prison Detail | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Confirm location | Use CIRIS to verify the person is at Avenal before planning travel. | Lookup |
| Apply or verify approval | Follow CDCR visitor approval rules before scheduling. | Approval |
| Schedule | Use current CDCR and facility scheduling instructions. | Scheduling |
| Bring ID | Follow CDCR identification, dress, property, and security rules. | Entry |
| Recheck status | Confirm visit status because transfers, lockdowns, or rule changes can affect visits. | Before travel |
Avenal State Prison Mail
CDCR prison mail must include the incarcerated person's name and CDCR number. Avenal has separate mail routing by facility. Staff mail and personnel mail are different from incarcerated-person mail. Always verify the current CDCR mail rules before sending books, packages, photos, funds, or legal mail, because statewide rules and facility routing can change.
| Service | Provider / Detail |
|---|---|
| Inmate mail | Include name and CDCR number; Facility A P.O. Box 901, B 902, C 903, D 904, E 905, F 906, Avenal, CA 93204. |
| Staff mail | P.O. Box 8, Avenal, CA 93204. |
| Personnel mail | P.O. Box 39, Avenal, CA 93204. |
| Family resources | Use CDCR Family & Friends for current mail, money, package, and contact rules. |
No Kings County jail commissary fee table applies to Avenal. State-prison money, packages, phone, and visiting contacts follow CDCR family resources and any vendor rules CDCR currently posts.
Avenal State Prison Intake
Avenal intake is not street-arrest booking. A person arrives in CDCR custody only after the criminal case has moved through court and a state-prison sentence or transfer has been processed. CDCR classification then governs placement, programming, housing, work, education, and transfer possibilities. If a person was just arrested in Kings County, search the county jail system first. If the person has been sentenced and transferred, use CIRIS.
This distinction is important in Kings County because county jail buildings and state prisons sit within the same county. The Sheriff's Office handles local booking and county custody. CDCR handles state prison custody. VINELink can help with status notifications, but the direct record source remains system-specific.
About Avenal State Prison
CDCR lists Avenal programs such as Substance Abuse and Recovery Support, Self-Awareness and Improvement, Criminal and Addictive Thinking Recovery, visual and performing arts, faith groups, lifer and long-term groups, veteran support, victim awareness, community service, reentry preparation, cultural and recreation programming, parenting and family support, and youth diversion. Golden Hills Adult School is WASC-accredited and provides adult basic education, GED, high school diploma, college, and career technical education.
The CDCR CIRIS locator screenshot in the manifest shows the statewide search interface used for Avenal and the other Kings County prisons.
That image is relevant because Avenal searches start with the state locator. The Kings County jail roster should be used only when the person may still be in local custody before transfer to CDCR.
Note: Confirm Avenal custody, visit approval, and current CDCR mail rules before travel or mailing.