Phone calls from HMP/YOI Portland
How long until they can ring you. What each call costs them. Families who waited shared what happened.
Checked against family reports on PrisonCheck and the HMPPS rates.
From families
How long until they ring
- up to 9 days
- Their phone list, for half of families
- Same day
- Typical wait for the first call
- 2.48p
- A minute to a landline, weekdays
6 families · not official
6 families · not official
5.50p to a mobile · HMPPS rate
Their phone list. 6 families said their phone list took up to 9 days.
The first call. 6 families said the first call took the same day.
Families share these waits on PrisonCheck. They are not official. The same small company runs PrisonCheck and ringyard. Figures as of 30 October 2026.[19] Every report for HMP/YOI Portland, on PrisonCheck
From families
When the phones are down
No family reported the phones down here in the last 30 days. If calls stop, it may not be you. See if the phones are down now, on PrisonCheck
The rates
What each call costs them
| To a landline | To a mobile | |
|---|---|---|
| Weekdays | 2.48p a minute | 5.50p a minute |
| Weekends | 2.20p a minute | 3.60p a minute |
Their phone list
Getting your number on their list
Only the person inside can ask for your number to go on. The prison checks it first.
No published policy sets a deadline. Staff are told to keep delays short.[3, 7.8] Getting on their phone list
If a number is refused, the free helpline can tell you what to ask: 0808 808 2003.[5] Number refused?
If you want a landline
A landline for their list
A ringyard number is a real UK landline on your own phone. It rings your handset. Nothing is passed on. Every call to it is at the landline rate. £20 a month, unlimited.
The wait starts when they hand your number in. Yours comes by email today.
If the prison refuses the number, we swap it for a fresh one, free. If that is refused too, we refund you. That is in our terms.
Get your landlineNearby
Calls from other prisons near here
Common questions
How long does the phone list take at HMP/YOI Portland?
Families on PrisonCheck say it took up to 9 days at HMP/YOI Portland (6 families). This is not official. No published HMPPS policy sets a deadline for adding a number.
When will they first call from HMP/YOI Portland?
Families on PrisonCheck say the first call from HMP/YOI Portland came after the same day (6 families). This is not official.
How much do calls from HMP/YOI Portland cost?
On weekdays a call to a landline is 2.48p a minute. A call to a mobile is 5.50p. At weekends it is 2.20p and 3.60p. They pay from their own account. These are the HMPPS rates for prisons in England and Wales.
What if HMP/YOI Portland refuses my number?
Ask the person inside to ask the wing which number was refused, and why. The Prisoners' Families Helpline is free on 0808 808 2003. It can tell you what to ask.
Check us
- Interception, monitoring and security of prisoner communications policy framework. HM Prison and Probation Service / Ministry of Justice, issued 11 August 2026. Read 26 August 2026. Paragraph 7.9 points to a separate operations manual for exceptions. We have not read it. Read it yourself
- Prisoners' Families Helpline. prisonersfamilies.org, opening hours read from the site. Read 23 August 2026. Read it yourself
- Written answer HL13459: Prisons, telephones. UK Parliament. Answered by Lord Timpson for the Ministry of Justice, answered 19 January 2026. Read 25 October 2026. Gives the four national rates for wing and in-cell phones. Weekday runs from Sunday to midday Friday. Weekend runs from midday Friday to midnight Sunday. It says nothing about bank holidays. Read it yourself
- Phone list and first call waits reported by families. PrisonCheck, 426 phone list reports from 100 prisons, figures as of 30 October 2026. Read 30 October 2026. Families report these waits themselves. They are not official. A prison gets its own figure only once five families have shared. The same small company runs PrisonCheck and ringyard. Read it yourself