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*** AFFILIATE NOTE - READ BEFORE PUBLISH ***
How to Send Books and Magazines to an Inmate in Idaho
A good book is one of the most valuable things you can put in the hands of someone you love inside an Idaho prison. It fills the long, empty hours, it keeps the mind working, and it is a piece of the outside world they get to hold. Idaho, which calls the people in its custody residents, has a couple of rules that catch families off guard, one that costs you money if you miss it, and one that actually saves you money. Let me walk you through both.
I am going to explain it the way someone who has done time would, plainly and without the runaround.
The One Rule That Trips Up Every Family
Start here. In Idaho you cannot buy a book yourself and put it in the mail. Books must be sent directly to your person from the publication's publisher or an Idaho Department of Correction approved vendor, and they have to arrive with a receipt or invoice in the package. A book that looks like it came from a person's home, or that arrives with no receipt, gets returned.
The reason is contraband. Idaho officials point to a rise in drug-soaked mail as the driver behind their rules, so the system only trusts shipments from a recognized seller with proof of where they came from. Keep that receipt requirement in mind, because it is easy to overlook and it gets packages bounced.
Amazon Is Not Allowed in Idaho
This is the part that surprises almost everyone, so read it carefully before you spend a dime. Idaho does not accept books from Amazon. The Department of Correction states plainly that, at this time, Amazon is not an approved vendor. Barnes and Noble is not on the approved list either. Idaho keeps a short list of approved sellers, and your book has to come from one of them. The approved sellers include booksellers such as Books-A-Million and Edward R. Hamilton, along with certain nonprofit book programs, but the list is specific and the department updates it.
So before you order, check Idaho's current approved vendor list, which the Department of Correction publishes, and order only from a seller on it. Ordering from Amazon will get your person's book returned, no matter how new or appropriate it is. If you take one thing from this guide, let it be that: in Idaho, use an approved vendor, not Amazon.
Good News: Used Books Are Allowed
Here is the rule that works in your favor, and it is unusual. Idaho allows both new and used books, as long as they are softcover and come from an approved vendor or publisher with a receipt. Most states refuse used books outright, so Idaho is a money-saver: you can order a used softcover from an approved seller and send it in, which makes building your person a steady supply of reading far more affordable. Just keep it within the approved-vendor rule and the size limit below.
Softcover and Size Limits
Idaho books must be softcover and no larger than 11 inches long, 8 and a half inches wide, and 3 inches thick. Hardcover books are generally not allowed, because a hard cover can be used as a weapon. There are exceptions: your person can seek approval from the facility for hardback educational, legal, or religious books when a softcover version is not available, and a hardcover legitimately obtained before October 2010 is grandfathered in. For everything else, send softcover within those dimensions. As always, send the book by itself, with nothing tucked inside, and make sure the receipt or invoice is included.
Magazines and Newspapers
Magazines and newspapers must come directly from the publisher and carry a printed delivery label with your person's name and address. A subscription in your person's name is the way to do this, and because it ships straight from the publisher, it meets Idaho's rule cleanly even though Amazon does not.
A subscription is one of the kindest things you can set up, arriving on its own schedule and giving your person something to look forward to. Stick to mainstream titles, since visual sexual content is rejected.
What Idaho Rejects
Before you spend money, know what gets turned away. Idaho rejects publications that threaten the order or security of the institution, that depict nudity or are visually sexually explicit, and that deal with weapons, explosives, or similar security risks. Idaho has rejected specific novels in the past on security grounds, so even a mainstream title can occasionally be flagged. One nuance worth knowing: Idaho's rules treat written material of a sexual nature differently from visual sexual content, so the hard line is really on images and nudity. If a publication is confiscated, your person can appeal, and those decisions can be overturned, so a rejection is not always the end of the road. The facility can also limit how many publications your person keeps at once.
A Note on Religious Books
Idaho has a specific rule worth knowing if you are sending faith-based material through a ministry: if books are sent in through a religious ministry, the ministry has to be listed as the publisher on the package. It is a small detail, but it is the kind of thing that gets a well-meant shipment returned, so pass it along to any ministry sending books on your person's behalf.
Tablets, the Library, and Free Books
Idaho prison libraries are real resources, some holding tens of thousands of books, and your person can request titles there, so encourage them to use it. Tablets may also offer some e-books and media, though catalogs are limited and can carry charges. And here is a useful overlap with the rules above: at least one nonprofit book program, the Women's Prison Book Project, is among Idaho's approved sellers, which means free book programs can work here when they are on the approved list and your person requests titles from them. We keep current pointers to programs that serve Idaho on our Idaho reentry resources page.
Get It Right the First Time
Here is the whole thing in a breath. Books must come from an Idaho-approved vendor or publisher, with a receipt in the package, never from you and never from Amazon. The upside: used softcovers are allowed, so reading can be affordable, as long as they are within 11 by 8 and a half by 3 inches and softcover. Hardbacks are generally out, with narrow educational and religious exceptions. Use InmateAid for magazine subscriptions, since publisher-direct periodicals are fine. Remember the religious-ministry-as-publisher rule, and lean on the prison library and approved book programs.
Get it right and you become the person who reliably gets good books to someone who needs them. On the inside, that means more than you can know from out here.
FAQ
**Can I send books to an Idaho inmate from Amazon?** No. The Idaho Department of Correction states that Amazon is not an approved vendor, and Barnes and Noble is not on the approved list either. You must order from a seller on Idaho's approved vendor list, such as Books-A-Million or Edward R. Hamilton, or directly from the publisher, with a receipt included.
**Can I send a used book in Idaho?** Yes. Unlike most states, Idaho allows both new and used books, as long as they are softcover, come from an approved vendor or publisher with a receipt, and fit the size limit. This makes used softcovers an affordable way to keep your person supplied.
**What are the size and format rules?** Books must be softcover and no larger than 11 inches long, 8 and a half inches wide, and 3 inches thick. Hardcovers are generally not allowed, though the facility may approve hardback educational, legal, or religious books when no softcover exists, and pre-October-2010 hardcovers are grandfathered.
**Do I need to include a receipt?** Yes. Idaho requires books to arrive with a receipt or invoice showing they came from the publisher or an approved vendor. A book without that proof can be returned.
**How do I send a magazine?** Set up a subscription in your person's name that ships directly from the publisher, with a printed delivery label showing their name and address. InmateAid can set this up for you, and because it ships from the publisher it meets Idaho's rule even though Amazon does not.
**What gets a book rejected in Idaho?** Material that threatens security or order, visual nudity or sexually explicit images, and weapons or explosives content. Idaho has flagged some mainstream novels on security grounds. Written sexual material is treated differently from images. Confiscations can be appealed and sometimes overturned.
**What is the religious ministry rule?** If faith-based books are sent through a religious ministry, the ministry must be listed as the publisher on the package, or it can be returned. Make sure any ministry sending books for your person follows this.
[Amazon affiliate disclosure: site-level footer. NOTE: no Amazon purchase CTA in body, see affiliate note in header. InmateAid magazine link retained.]