The process is straightforward once you understand how it flows from your end to your inmate's hands.
After you purchase a Letter or Photo Package, you log into your InmateAid account and compose your letter directly on the platform. If you are sending photos, you upload the images you want to include. Once you submit the order, InmateAid's automated system takes it from there. The letter gets printed by machine and the photos are printed as high quality physical prints, then everything is placed in an envelope and mailed to the facility where your inmate is housed.
Your inmate receives a physical piece of mail, a real printed letter and actual photo prints, handed to them by staff after the mailroom opens and inspects the contents. It is not a digital message or an email. It is something they can hold, read more than once, and keep.
Each credit in your package covers one mailing. Letters ordered before 5pm Eastern time go out the same day. Your inmate typically has it in hand within about a week depending on the facility's mailroom processing speed.
Your account dashboard keeps a complete record of everything you have sent. Every letter, photo, and order is logged there for your reference so you always know what has gone out and when.
If anything comes back for any reason, InmateAid investigates, fixes the issue, and resends at no additional charge. The system is reliable and has been operating consistently since April 2012.