How Does an Inmate Write Back After Receiving a Letter?

When you send a letter through InmateAid, we handle the printing and mailing on your end. Your letter is printed, properly addressed, and sent directly to the US Postal Service, which delivers it to the facility's mail room just like any other piece of mail. From there, staff opens and inspects it for contraband before it reaches mail call and gets handed to your inmate.

The reply process is straightforward and works the same way regular mail always has. When your inmate writes back, they do it the old-fashioned way: pen, paper, and a stamped envelope. There is no app, no portal, and no digital component to the return trip.

You have two options for how that reply comes back to you:

Reply directly to you. Your inmate can write back to your personal home address. If you included your return address on the original letter, they already have it.

Reply through InmateAid. If you would prefer not to share your home address with the facility or have it in your inmate's possession, you can use InmateAid's return address instead. Your inmate writes back to us, and we forward it to you. This is a practical choice for people who want to maintain some privacy, particularly in situations involving domestic issues, protective orders, or simply a preference for keeping your address off prison mail room records.

Neither option requires any special setup beyond how you addressed your original letter. If privacy is a concern, just make sure InmateAid's return address appears on the letter you send so your inmate knows where to reply.