Reviewed on: April 29,2026

Can You Send a Photo Album to an Inmate at a Federal Prison?

I had orderd a small soft back album by shutter fly for a Christmas present for daughter and sent it to alderson. the album was returned to me saying contents could not be recognized. It was still sealed by the company. give me a break

Asked: December 31, 2016
Author: Janice
Ask the inmate answer
1

Unfortunately, no, and Alderson followed the rules correctly when they returned it.

Federal prisons do not accept packages from outside vendors or individuals, regardless of whether the item is sealed, commercially produced, or clearly benign. The Bureau of Prisons has strict rules about what can come in from the outside, and a photo album shipped directly to the facility falls outside those rules no matter how thoughtful the intention behind it.

The workaround is simple and it actually works out well. Put money on your daughter's commissary account and she can purchase a photo album directly through the federal commissary. Once she has the album in hand, you send her individual photos through InmateAid. The photos arrive as prints she can hold, and she arranges them in the album herself and keeps it in her locker. The end result is exactly what you were trying to give her, a personal photo album she can look at whenever she wants.

InmateAid's photo service makes sending prints straightforward. Your home address stays off the envelope, the photos are printed in good quality, and they get to her through the facility's standard mail process which is the one channel that does work reliably.

It takes an extra step compared to ordering a finished album, but the result your daughter gets is the same, and this time it will actually reach her.

https://www.inmateaid.com/ask-the-inmate/can-you-send-a-photo-album-to-an-inmate-at-a-federal-prison#answer
Accepted Answer Date Created: January 01,2017