How to send mail to jail or prison
Not all jail and prison facilities are equipped with advanced communication tools. At least for myself and my inmate, phone calls still are significant cost to my very limited budget, and there are no options for video calls. Visits are limited to once a week, and each are a 4 hour investments for me including the drive to and back, with extra long wait time to secure a slot ahead of others in a first-come-first-service only system. And each time we get rejected for some unforeseen reason such as a lock-down, or even lack of administrators, it’s not only an inconvenience, but it HURTS.
One of the best and more frequent & budget friendly ways you can get in touch with your inmate is by the old-school mail system. In fact, our blog is operated entirely based on mail service; this includes the books that I send, as well the reviews that get sent back to me from my inmate..
The trouble is, that the rules are not always clear and if you try to get too creative, your mail can get rejected. And to add to the complication, the timing and schedules of delivery can be inconsistent depending on the content or type of the mailed item. Here are some basic rules, plus tips I’ve learned through trial and error about getting those mail to your loved ones on a timely manner.
Common rules about sending mail to jail or prison:
* Specifics will vary by facility. Visit your jail or prison’s official website to see what rules are applicable to you.
Assume your mail will be read, scanned and stored in their system. Don’t write anything you don’t want to be shared!
Facilities won’t allow you to send stamps and stationary for inmates to write back to you; they have their own commissary stores to purchase for security purposes, so deposit money instead for them to buy directly.
Wall posters, calendars, catalogues, stickers, accessories, clothing and basically anything that is not a standard piece of letter can be rejected. Again, all personal items must be purchased through their commissary so forget mailing them any deposit money in their account instead.
There is likely a limit to how many photographs you can send in a week or per mail, so check with the administrators
Many don’t allow anything other than the standard white paper or line paper. Colored paper, decorative stationaries, and card stocks are usually restricted.
All publications generally have to come straight from publishers or bookstores. This means the sender has to be a publisher (like National Geographic Company) or a bookstore (like Amazon.com).
Tips: This rule may to be applicable more to the mailer and not necessarily the seller; I’ve successfully sent items from Amazon Marketplace (seller is an individual or small business) so long as it’s ‘Fulfilled by Amazon’ and not shipped from the third party seller. I’ve heard similar situations for sites like Thriftbooks.com where it will be accepted if it’s sent by Thriftbooks.com themselves, but not by an individual seller. Rules may vary per facility.
At our facility, they don’t have to be bookstores; some retailers like Target sells and mails books, and they are accepted.
Oversized packages and envelopes can also be rejected. For our facility, it’s anything larger than 9x12. Rules may vary, so check with administrators.
Anything beyond a basic-colored pencil or pen is a risk. While each facility may have different level of strictness, I’ve read about colored pens and pencils, markers, and crayons not being allowed. So if you’re not sure, the classic black-ink pen is the way to go.
If you have young children that want to send drawing, this may feel restricting. But for the inmates, getting ANY mail is a source of light and joy. Don’t let this bother you much, and focus on staying connected to expressing you care.
There are banned contents to send, such as pornography and depiction of gang violence. This is where I find a huge variance in strictness; I’ve heard about more absurd and even illegitimate censorship about some book titles being banned for it being politically and socially ‘provocative’ while others like hyper-sexual romance novels fill the bookshelf. I hope to write another article about this issue, as it’s a big topic worthy of contemplation by administrators and families.
Tips and tricks for proper delivery:
At my facility, mail delivery pace is very sluggish, and inconsistent. We’ve had instances of mail getting delayed by over 2 months, while other times they arrive in 3 days. Though it may not be applicable to every facility out there, here are some tips and tricks I’ve found useful through months of trial and error:
Postcards and short pieces are mail seem to get processed faster. I think it may have to do with the time it takes for the administrative to review and scan the items
Books and magazines direct from publishers also get to inmates a lot quicker than personal mail. Again, I think it may be be cause they don’t have to review and scan them.
Pace it right; don’t send a stack of mail at once, it can get backed up!
Many facilities will remove the sticker stamps from your letters. This means if you are sending postcards with stamps, they may tear or cut off the entire area. If you have artwork that you don’t want to be ruined, it’s better to send those postcards in an envelope that you don’t mind them getting rid of.
Facilities can reject your mail if they find any unusual stains or odor. Make sure your letters and postcards are free of any stains to avoid the risk!
Allow your attorney to handle mailing legal documents, as they are protected under special rights