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.
Related InmateAid Services
Subject: Send inmate mail
It depends on where your inmate is held and which platform the facility uses.
In the federal Bureau of Prisons system, the email program is called CorrLinks. On the outside family member's end, CorrLinks is free to use. You create an account, and your inmate invites you to connect from their end. The inmate pays for the service through their commissary account based on usage, but you pay nothing to send or receive messages through CorrLinks.
In state jails and prisons, the...
Read moreSubject: Send inmate mail
Yes. Handwritten letters are accepted at virtually every jail, prison, and house of correction in the country. There is nothing wrong with writing by hand, and many inmates prefer it.
To send a letter directly through the postal service, you need two things: the complete facility mailing address and your inmate's full legal name along with their inmate ID number. Both go on the envelope. The inmate ID number is especially important because facilities route mail by ID, not by name...
Read moreSubject: Send inmate mail
Email availability varies by facility and is not universal across California state prisons. The fact that your fiance is seeing other inmates receive what appears to be email suggests some form of electronic messaging may be available at CIM, but the platform and process could be different from what you used at Vista Detention Facility.
California state prisons that offer electronic messaging typically do so through JPay or a similar contracted provider rather than through a direct email address. If CIM...
Read moreSubject: Send inmate mail
The process at a detention center works the same way it does at any jail or prison. Once your letter is printed and mailed by InmateAid, it enters the US Postal Service and arrives at the facility addressed to your family member with their full name and ID number on the envelope.
From there the mail room staff open and inspect every piece of incoming mail for contraband before it goes anywhere near the inmate. That inspection is standard procedure across...
Read moreSubject: Send inmate mail
There is no automatic confirmation when a letter reaches your inmate. However, if you have not heard anything and want to follow up, calling the facility's mail room directly is worth trying. Mail room staff can sometimes confirm whether a specific piece of mail was processed and distributed, though how cooperative they are varies by facility and by who answers the phone.
On InmateAid's end, we only know a letter did not make it if it comes back to us as...
Read moreSubject: Send inmate mail
No. CDs are not accepted at any prison or jail regardless of how they are sent or who they are ordered through. This applies to all facilities and all vendors including Amazon.
The reason is security. Physical media like CDs can be used to smuggle contraband, and facilities have eliminated them from approved property lists entirely. This has also become less relevant as the music industry has shifted away from physical media, but the policy stands regardless.
If your family member wants...
Read moreSubject: Send inmate mail
InmateAid does not automatically notify an inmate when a profile is created for them. The notification comes from you.
The most direct way to let your family member know their profile exists is through a letter. Write and tell them that you have set up a Personal Inmate Page on InmateAid, explain what services are available through the site, and let them know how to make use of it from their end. For federal inmates who have access to CorrLinks, the...
Read moreSubject: Send inmate mail
When a letter is sent to the wrong department at the same address, what happens next comes down to whoever handles the mail on that end. The technical rule is that misdirected mail gets returned to sender, but in practice, particularly when both departments share the same building and zip code, mail room staff will sometimes recognize the error and pass it along to the correct department rather than send it back.
There is no way to predict which way it...
Read moreSubject: Send inmate mail
How often inmates receive mail:
Most facilities deliver mail Monday through Friday during daily mail call. The exact time varies, but it is commonly distributed in the late afternoon or early evening.
Keep in mind:
Mail must first be screened and inspected
Delivery can be delayed depending on staff workload or security procedures
About sending to the wrong location:
Mail needs to be addressed exactly to the correct facility and include the inmate’s ID number.
If you send it to:
A different department
A nearby office
Or the wrong facility
There is a good chance...
Read moreSubject: Send inmate mail
In most instances yes, inmates may receive a pen and paper, but they are best served with a little money in their commissary account to buy stamps and envelopes to mail off what they've written.
