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
The concern your husband may have about whether this service is accepted at his facility is understandable, particularly if he is not familiar with how InmateAid works. The important clarification is that InmateAid is not a proprietary digital system that requires special facility approval. It is a service that prints your letter and photos as physical documents and delivers them through the standard United States Postal Service. From the facility's perspective, it arrives as regular mail, exactly like a letter...
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The simplest and most reliable method is through InmateAid. You write your letter online, upload photos if desired, and InmateAid prints and delivers everything through the US Postal Service, which is accepted at every correctional facility across the country without exception.
Subject: Send inmate mail
InmateAid does not have a read receipt or delivery confirmation system the way email does. What the platform can confirm with certainty is that your letter was printed and dispatched through the US Postal Service. From that point forward, delivery is in the hands of the postal system and the facility mailroom.
The inmate does not have an InmateAid account of their own and does not log in to read letters digitally. The letter arrives as a physical printed document delivered...
Read moreSubject: Send inmate mail
Federal inmates must use their Trulinks account to create outbound address labels. If your address has changes, you should notify him of the change. They can make new stickers to mail you in the future. If your post office has a change of address, the letter should get forwarded to you.
Subject: Send inmate mail
We have not received your letters back so we assume they were indeed received. As far as the letters that were sent back, it might be as simple as the jail considers anything NOT sent directly through their mail room contraband. Therefore they require it be sent home. We are not sure about their rules but we are sure that they change all the time. We give general answers which sometimes miss the mark. You can always call the facility...
Read moreSubject: Send inmate mail
The mail is sent into the facility and handed out at mail call directly to the inmate at their designated mail call time.
Subject: Send inmate mail
We estimate it takes 2-3 business days. However their could be delays once inside the facility as they open each piece of mail for contraband - in some cases read all the mail too. Be patient, we have excellent delivery success.
Subject: Send inmate mail
Yes, inmates can send photos to loved ones by mail. The facility must offer inmate photography, typically available in the visiting room using photo tickets purchased from the commissary. Photos are distributed later in the week and can then be mailed out to the family.
Subject: Send inmate mail
Sending photos to an inmate is generally allowed but guidelines vary by facility. Some facilities permit photos taken in the visiting room, which are delivered to the inmate and can be mailed back to family. Polaroids are forbidden at most facilities.
Subject: Send inmate mail
The good news is that there is no blanket weight restriction on mail sent to inmates. What matters is that the envelope has sufficient postage to cover whatever is inside. An underpaid envelope will be returned to the sender rather than delivered, so making sure the postage is right before dropping it in the mail is the one practical step worth taking.
For 12 standard 4x6 photos, a single first-class stamp will not be enough. A reasonable estimate is that a...
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