Will Mail Reach an Inmate Who Just Transferred Facilities?

It depends on where the letter was addressed when you sent it.

If you sent the letter to the facility your inmate was leaving, it may not follow him. Facilities do not reliably forward mail to a transferring inmate's new location, and there is no postal forwarding system in place the way there would be for a regular home address change. Mail sent to the old facility after an inmate has been transferred often gets returned to sender.

If you sent the letter to the new facility with the correct address and inmate ID number already on it, it should arrive without any problem. The timing of the transfer versus when the letter was mailed matters less than where it was addressed.

When a letter sent through InmateAid comes back undeliverable for any reason, we research what happened, notify you with whatever information we have, and give you two options: resend the letter with corrected information, or receive a refund if the letter cannot be delivered.

The best way to avoid the uncertainty is to confirm the new facility address and inmate ID number before sending any mail during a transfer period. If your inmate is moving through a reception or classification center before landing at a permanent facility, it is worth waiting until placement is confirmed before sending anything you really want them to receive.