Ely State Prison Overview
Ely State Prison, often abbreviated ESP, is operated by the Nevada Department of Corrections. NDOC lists the facility at 4569 North State Route 490 in Ely, with a P.O. Box 1989 mailing address. It is a maximum-security state prison located about nine miles north of Ely in White Pine County. Its population is made up of sentenced NDOC offenders, not people newly arrested by the White Pine County Sheriff's Office.
This distinction controls the whole search process. A person arrested in White Pine County may first appear through the county Power BI inmate search and the jail information line. A person sentenced to prison and transferred to NDOC custody should be searched in the NDOC offender locator. If an inmate profile shows Ely State Prison as the current facility, family and records questions should follow NDOC rules rather than White Pine County Jail procedures.
NDOC's Ely State Prison facility page is the main source for ESP's address, phone, capacity, history, administrative staff, staffing level, and program list. It identifies Warden Debora Borgas and Associate Wardens David Drummond and Curtis Rigney, describes the prison as a major regional employer, and states that ESP staff are significantly involved in community activities.
The screenshot source is the official NDOC facility page.
The facility page is important because it separates ESP from county custody and gives prison-specific facts that the White Pine County jail pages do not control.
Ely State Prison Capacity and Population
NDOC states that Ely State Prison opened in July 1989, with Phase I opening in August 1989 and Phase II in November 1990. The original design capacity was 1,054 offenders, and the current total capacity published by NDOC is 1,183 offenders. NDOC also lists 406 employee positions, making ESP a significant correctional employer in rural White Pine County.
A White Pine jail expansion and courthouse legislative exhibit adds useful local context: as of January 2019, only eight of the 990-plus inmates at ESP originated from White Pine County. That means ESP has a large local presence and creates local court workload, but most prisoners housed there are sentenced state offenders from elsewhere in Nevada. It should not be counted as the local county jail population.
How to Look Up an Inmate at Ely State Prison
Use the NDOC Inmate Search for Ely State Prison. The locator searches by offender ID or demographic information such as first name and last name, with wildcard searching available. NDOC's search page includes a disclaimer that raw data is not an official law-enforcement record and provides Family Services at 775-977-5707 for inmate questions.
- Open the NDOC offender locator, not the White Pine County jail roster.
- Search by offender ID if you have it, or use first and last name with careful spelling.
- Review the result for current facility, identifying information, and custody status.
- Confirm that the current facility is Ely State Prison before using ESP visiting or contact rules.
NDOC also provides downloadable offender data files for demographic, alias, booking, parole, and release information. Those files are separate from county jail booking records. For a person recently arrested in Ely or elsewhere in White Pine County, start with the county jail search. For a sentenced state prisoner at ESP, the NDOC locator is the correct system.
The NDOC offender-search page is the official source for sentenced Nevada prisoners.
The locator may show state-prison information that a county roster will not show, including NDOC identity fields and prison assignment details.
Ely State Prison Address and Contact
Use NDOC and facility contact information for sentenced-prison questions. County offices cannot approve NDOC visitation, set NDOC phone accounts, move NDOC money, or update an NDOC offender profile. If the person has not been sentenced to state custody, check the White Pine county inmate search portal or the White Pine County Sheriff's Office instead.
Ely State Prison
4569 North State Route 490
Ely, NV 89301
775-977-5348
Mailing address: P.O. Box 1989, Ely, NV 89301
Visiting Someone at Ely State Prison
Ely State Prison visitation follows NDOC prison rules, not the White Pine County Jail visitor application. NDOC's visiting information hub links the statewide visiting application and facility-level updates. The application requires all questions to be completed and asks for inmate information, applicant details, employer, identifying information such as driver's license number and state, criminal-history questions, relationship details, prior visiting or correspondence with other NDOC inmates, and authorization for a criminal-history check.
The research located an ESP visiting memo dated May 28, 2026 that continued an augmented week-on, week-off visiting schedule through January 3, 2027. Prison visiting schedules change by facility memo, staffing, security status, and NDOC direction, so use the current NDOC visiting page and ESP memo before making travel plans. White Pine County's local jail visitor rules do not apply to ESP.
NDOC's visiting hub is the official source for prison visiting instructions and application access.
The visiting hub matters because approval and scheduling are statewide prison processes, while day-to-day visiting windows are often adjusted by facility memo.
| Visiting Item | ESP / NDOC Detail | What to Verify |
|---|---|---|
| Application | NDOC statewide visiting application | Approval status before scheduling or traveling |
| Schedule | ESP memo continued week-on, week-off schedule through January 3, 2027 | Current facility memo and visiting week |
| Facility Type | Maximum-security state prison | Security limits, check-in process, and permitted property |
| County Jail Form | Not used for ESP visitation | Use NDOC forms and instructions instead |
Mail, Phone, Tablets, and Money at Ely State Prison
NDOC offender banking uses statewide prison deposit options. The NDOC offender banking page lists a lockbox deposit coupon by cashier's check or money order, Access Corrections deposits by MasterCard or Visa credit/debit card, and Access Corrections phone deposits. NDOC says coupons must be printed from the site or obtained from the offender, and the offender is responsible for sending coupons to people who want to deposit money.
NDOC phone and tablet services use ViaPath Technologies for calling and account billing services for offenders. The NDOC phone and tablet information page is the correct source for prison communications. Friends, relatives, and attorneys should follow the NDOC/ViaPath account instructions rather than any county jail phone instructions.
The banking and phone rules for ESP differ from White Pine County Jail. Access Corrections and ViaPath are NDOC channels, while the county jail's currently published online material does not provide the same level of detail for local jail money or communications.
| Service | Provider / Detail |
|---|---|
| Mailing Address | P.O. Box 1989, Ely, NV 89301, with offender-specific NDOC addressing as required |
| Money Deposit | Access Corrections, phone deposit, or NDOC lockbox coupon by cashier's check or money order |
| Phone / Tablet | ViaPath Technologies through NDOC phone and tablet services |
| County Jail Vendor | Not applicable to ESP sentenced-prison accounts |
Reception and Classification at Ely State Prison
Ely State Prison does not book street arrests the way White Pine County Jail does. ESP receives sentenced NDOC offenders after a court sentence, transfer, classification decision, or other lawful state-prison placement. Once a person is in NDOC custody, the prison system controls facility assignment, custody level, programming access, visitation approval, offender banking, and communications rules.
A White Pine County case can move toward NDOC custody only after the court process reaches a sentence or state commitment. Ely Justice Court and the Seventh Judicial District Court handle different parts of criminal-case routing, and formal court records can differ from the original jail booking record. If a person is in the county jail awaiting court, use the county jail portal and local court sources. If the person has been transferred to ESP, use NDOC sources.
About Ely State Prison
NDOC says Ely State Prison opened in 1989 and was built in two phases. It is Nevada's maximum-security state prison in White Pine County and a major employer in the Ely area. Because ESP is physically close to Ely's county government and courts, it can affect local court workload even though its inmate population is statewide. White Pine County hosts the prison, but NDOC operates it.
NDOC lists certificate-only programs at ESP including Anger Management II, Criminal Thinking/Criminal Behavior, Victim Awareness, Starting Over, Life Skills Series, Nine to Five Beats Ten to Life, TRY, The Con Game, Values for Responsible Living, Learning to Live Without Violence, Adult Relapse Prevention Workbook, Domestic Violence Awareness, and Domestic Violence Prevention. Merit-credit programs include High School Diploma, ServeSafe, Commitment to Change I-III, and Financial Literacy.
For county context, the Seventh Judicial District Court page explains local criminal case records, while the Ely Justice Court page describes criminal-case routing, public defender information, and local record-search notes. Those court sources help trace a White Pine arrest before a state-prison transfer, but they are not substitutes for NDOC offender records after prison admission.
Note: Confirm the offender's current NDOC facility and ESP visiting status before sending money, scheduling a visit, or driving to the prison.
Public Record Search
Sponsored Results