A letter from home arriving at mail call is one of the most powerful moments in an incarcerated person's day. It is proof that someone on the outside is thinking about them, that life is continuing, and that there is something worth coming home to. But sending mail to a correctional facility involves rules that vary by institution and mistakes can mean your letter never arrives. This section covers how to address mail correctly for federal and state facilities, what the mailroom screening process looks like and how long it adds to delivery time, what content is and is not permitted in letters, how to send photos and why sending them through InmateAid's service is more reliable than printing and mailing them yourself, how to send mail from outside the United States, and what the InmateAid return letter service does for inmates who want to write back. The guidance here makes sure every letter you send reaches its destination. See also our sections on Inmate Care Packages, Send Books and Magazines, and Inmate Phone Calls.
Subject: Send inmate mail
In most cases, the letter will not be forwarded if you sent it to the wrong facility.
What usually happens:
The jail or prison sees the inmate is no longer there
The mail is either:
Returned to sender, or
Sometimes not processed at all depending on the situation
Facilities generally do not forward mail to another location.
If you used InmateAid:
You can provide the correct facility and inmate ID
The letter can be resent at no charge
What you should do now:
Confirm his current location
Resend the letter with:
Full name
Inmate ID number
Correct facility address
Bottom line:
Mail is almost...
Read moreSubject: Send inmate mail
You can send pretty much anything as long as there are no drugs, tattoos or gang depictions in the picture. If you are interested in "sexy pictures", they are acceptable as long as there are no private parts visible. Photos with you in lingerie or a bikini are perfectly fine, just try and keep it as tasteful as possible.
Subject: Send inmate mail
yes, inmates love to receive letters at mail call - [magazines](https://www.inmateaid.com/shop/magazines) too!
Subject: Send inmate mail
If the inmate ID number and facility are correct we are 100% reliable for all services. Mistakes occur with incorrect information. In the event that a mistake happens, and they certainly do we will correct it at no charge.
Subject: Send inmate mail
We estimate that it takes 2-3 business days to make it to the jail. Once there, the staff opens and reads each piece of mail and inspects it for contraband. Once they decide the mail is fit to be handed out at mail call, your inmate will receive it. Any delay that occurs at the facility is out of our control. We make no guarantees as to how long it will take as there are thousands of facilities and none...
Read moreSubject: Send inmate mail
You cannot leave it blank. Facilities reject mail that comes in without a return address. It will almost certainly come back unopened, and your inmate never sees it.
The good news is you do not have to use your home address. InmateAid's letter service exists specifically for this situation. When you send a letter through InmateAid, the return address on the envelope is InmateAid's office in South Florida, not your address. Your inmate gets the letter, your address stays private, and...
Read moreSubject: Send inmate mail
Inmates that have money on their inmate trust accounts can purchase stamps and envelopes at the weekly commissary. If they do not have money on their books, the prison will provide indigent inmates with all the materials necessary to send out mail to their loved ones.
If your inmate writes to you directly, using your address, the cost of the mailing is a 49 cent stamp. Many of our members use the Inmate Response Mail service through InmateAid. Your inmate would...
Read moreSubject: Send inmate mail
The most reliable sign that something went wrong is if the letter gets returned to InmateAid. When that happens, the team will investigate what caused it and reach out to let you know your options. In many cases a returned letter comes down to a missing or incorrect inmate ID number, or the letter going to the wrong facility. Resending with corrected information usually solves it.
The harder situation is when mail simply does not come back but also does not...
Read moreSubject: Send inmate mail
Inmates like all sorts of messages. It depends on your relationship with them. The subjects are limitless, like current events, what you are doing, you can work on aspects of your relationship that need attention and of course pictures - LOTS of pictures. You can send just about as many [pictures](https://www.inmateaid.com/letters) as you's like through our website. Please let us know if you would like a coupon to try it out!
Subject: Send inmate mail
If they are in federal prison, you can email them for free but the inmate is charged by the system for the minutes they are on the email program whether reading incoming emails or writing outbound emails. The charges are deducted from their commissary account. The program is called Corrlinks.
For other prisons, there are no free services - there is always some form of charge whether it be on the side of the inmate or the side of the loved...
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