When can prisoners make phone calls?
There is no national timetable. A page that prints one is guessing. When they can call follows the prison day. This page says what that day looks like. That is what decides when your phone rings.
If you are scared for someone inside, call Prisoners’ Families Helpline on 0808 808 2003.
Checked against the published rates.
The shape of the day
Three things decide the window
Association time
On wings with shared phones, calls happen when cells are unlocked. That is association time. It is mostly late afternoon and early evening. There is some daytime access around work and education. Two phones for eighty people is a queue. The queue is why calls are short.
In-cell phones
More prisons now have phones in cells. That takes calls out of the queue and into the evening. It is the biggest change in when families hear a voice. Ask them or the prison whether theirs has them. Both kinds still dial only approved numbers.[1]
The regime itself
Staff shortages, incidents and inspections cut unlock times with no notice. A restricted regime can hold for days. Then the calls compress or stop. It is the most common dull reason for a silent week.
No provider controls any of this. That includes us. A company promising calls at a set time is promising someone else’s regime.
What you can do
Plan for the burst, not the schedule
The families who find this easiest stop expecting a daily rhythm. They make the calls that do come count. Keep the phone on you in the likely windows. Agree a fallback. If you get cut off, pick up again tomorrow. Do not spend the first minute on why there was no call yesterday.
And make answering cost them less. The number they dial decides what the call costs from their capped money. The rates to a landline are less than half. So the one thing a family controls is the type of number at your end.
If the calls have stopped, start with why a number stops working. It lists the causes in order.
What time of day do prisoners phone?
Whenever their regime lets them reach a phone. On wings with shared phones, that mostly means association time. That is usually late afternoon and early evening. Work or education may allow some daytime access. In-cell phones give a far wider window, often into the evening. No national policy publishes a timetable. The regime at their prison is the answer. It can change week to week.
Why do the calls come in bursts?
Because access does. Two wing phones at association means a queue. A work detail changes. A wing is locked down for an afternoon. Any of these turns a daily call into three days of nothing. Then two calls in an hour. Bursts are how the system works. They are not a sign something is wrong.
Can they call at night?
From a shared wing phone, no. Access ends when association does. A phone in the cell runs later into the evening. Prisons still set limits. A late call from a number you do not know is a different matter. Be careful. Check the number against what you know.
The calls suddenly stopped. Should I worry?
Days of silence usually have a dull cause. A regime restriction. A lost work detail. A transfer. Phone credit running out. Our guide to a number that has stopped working lists the likely causes in order. It says what you can check from outside.
Are calls cheaper at the weekend?
Slightly, on the published HMPPS tariff. A call to a mobile drops from 5.50p to 3.60p a minute. A call to a landline drops from 2.48p to 2.20p. The type of number still matters far more than the day.
Sources
Each prison’s regime sets its call windows. They are not published nationally. That is why this page describes the shape, not a timetable. Below is what national guidance does say.
[1]Staying in touch with someone in prison
GOV.UK — current guidance. Read 2026-08-23.
https://www.gov.uk/staying-in-touch-with-someone-in-prison
You can’t choose when they call. You can choose what it costs them.
A landline number that rings the phone you already have. When the window opens, the call is at the landline rate.
Get your number