How to Send Books and Magazines to an Inmate in Louisiana

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Internal links: Louisiana inmate search (Imprisoned Person Locator), send money, visitation, Staying Connected hub, Louisiana reentry resources

NOTE: Governing reg = La. Admin. Code tit. 22 § I-313 (Inmate Mail and Publications). Distinctive = ~half of DPS&C state-sentenced people are physically housed in local PARISH JAILS (state lacks capacity; reimburses parishes), each with its own varying book rules. Filtered parish-jail-specific and vendor specifics appropriately.

How to Send Books and Magazines to an Inmate in Louisiana

A good book is one of the most valuable things you can put in the hands of someone you love incarcerated in Louisiana. It fills the long, empty hours, it keeps the mind working, and it is a piece of the outside world they get to hold. Louisiana has a wrinkle that no other state has to the same degree, and it determines which rules you actually have to follow. Let me walk you through it.

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 Louisiana you cannot buy a book yourself and put it in the mail. Books, magazines, and newspapers must be sent directly from a publisher or an approved vendor, shipped straight to the facility. The Department of Public Safety and Corrections is explicit that families may send letters, but publications have to come from a vendor, not from you. A package that looks like it came from a person's home gets refused.

The reason is contraband. A mailroom cannot tell a clean book from one that has been tampered with, so the system only trusts shipments straight from a recognized seller. The good news is that the book side is workable, but first you need to know exactly where your person is held.

The Louisiana Reality: Your Person May Be in a Parish Jail

This is the most important thing on the page, and it is specific to Louisiana. The state does not have enough prison beds for everyone sentenced to state custody, so it pays local parishes to house a large share of state-sentenced people. In practice, roughly half of Louisiana's state inmates are physically held in local parish jails rather than in a state prison, often for their entire sentence, not just while awaiting transfer.

Why does that matter for books? Because the rules that apply are the rules of the facility where your person is physically housed. If your person is in a state prison like Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola or Elayn Hunt, you follow the state's publication rules below. But if they are housed in a parish jail, that parish sheriff sets the book and mail rules, and those vary widely from parish to parish. Some parish jails allow paperback books directly from a publisher or retailer, some restrict them more tightly, and some route mail through an outside processing address. So your first step is always to confirm where your person is actually held, using Louisiana's Imprisoned Person Locator, and then follow that specific facility's rules. Do not assume the state rules apply if your person is sitting in a parish jail.

Where to Order: Amazon Works in Louisiana

For state facilities, and for many parish jails, the simplest path is a major online bookseller that ships the book itself, and Louisiana treats Amazon as an approved vendor. Choose a copy that is sold and shipped by Amazon, not by a third-party marketplace seller, since a marketplace order ships like a private package and gets rejected. On the listing, look for "Ships from Amazon" and "Sold by Amazon."

Address it to your person with their full name and DPS&C number, then the exact facility where they are housed, which you can confirm on the locator. Put their name and number on the package, send the book by itself with nothing tucked inside, and send your letters separately. If your person is in a parish jail, confirm that jail accepts vendor-shipped paperbacks before you order.

New, Paperback, and Format

Stick to new soft-cover paperbacks. Louisiana wants new items, and hardcover and spiral-bound books are most likely refused for security reasons, so paperback is the safe default. If a title exists only in hardcover, check with the specific facility before ordering. Make sure your person's name and DPS&C number are on the book or package so the mailroom can match it to them.

Magazines and Newspapers

Magazines and newspapers follow the same rule: they must come directly from the publisher, which for periodicals means a subscription in your person's name shipped to the facility. As with books, if your person is in a parish jail, confirm that jail accepts subscriptions, since some are more restrictive than the state prisons.

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 sexually explicit content will be rejected.

What Louisiana Rejects

Before you spend money, know what gets turned away. Louisiana rejects publications that contain nudity or sexually explicit material, graphic violence, or content that threatens the security and order of the facility. When a publication is found unacceptable, the facility is to notify your person in writing with the specific reasons. If your person wants a particular title, a quick check against these content rules saves money, and if they are in a parish jail, remember that jail may apply its content rules a bit differently.

Tablets and Electronic Mail

Louisiana provides electronic messaging through its contracted vendor, so your person may be able to receive e-mail electronically, and tablets may carry some e-books and other media. As elsewhere, tablet catalogs are limited and can carry charges, so treat the tablet as a supplement and keep sending the specific paperbacks your person actually wants, ordered to the right facility.

Free Books and the Library

If money is tight, you still have options. Facilities have libraries your person can request from, though selection varies, and parish jails often have less than state prisons. There are also nonprofit book programs that mail free books to incarcerated people, shipping from a recognized organization rather than from an individual, usually after your person writes to them with a request. These run on donations, so allow time, and confirm a parish jail will accept them. We keep current pointers to programs that serve Louisiana on our Louisiana reentry resources page.

Get It Right the First Time

Here is the whole thing in a breath. First, find out where your person is actually housed, because about half of Louisiana's state inmates are in parish jails that set their own rules. Books and magazines must ship directly from a publisher or approved vendor, never from you, and Amazon works as long as the copy is sold and shipped by Amazon. Order new soft-cover paperback, no hardcover or spiral, with your person's name and DPS&C number on it. Use InmateAid for magazine subscriptions, and if your person is in a parish jail, confirm that jail's rules before ordering anything. Lean on the library and book programs to round it out.

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 mail a book to a Louisiana inmate myself?** No. Books, magazines, and newspapers must be sent directly from a publisher or an approved vendor. Families can send letters, but publications cannot come from an individual.

**Why does it matter whether my person is in a parish jail?** Because Louisiana houses about half of its state-sentenced people in local parish jails, and the rules that apply are those of the facility where your person is physically held. Parish jails set their own book and mail rules, which vary widely, so confirm where your person is on the Imprisoned Person Locator and follow that facility's rules.

**Does Amazon work for sending books to a Louisiana prison?** Yes, Louisiana treats Amazon as an approved vendor. Choose a copy sold and shipped by Amazon, not a third-party marketplace seller, in new soft-cover paperback. If your person is in a parish jail, confirm that jail accepts vendor-shipped paperbacks first.

**Does it have to be paperback?** Yes. Louisiana wants new soft-cover paperbacks, and hardcover and spiral-bound books are most likely refused. If only a hardcover exists, check with the specific facility.

**How do I send a magazine?** Set up a subscription in your person's name shipped directly from the publisher, which InmateAid can do for you. Stick to mainstream titles, and confirm a parish jail accepts subscriptions if that is where your person is held.

**What gets a book rejected in Louisiana?** Nudity or sexually explicit material, graphic violence, and content that threatens facility security. The facility is to notify your person in writing with the specific reasons for a rejection.

**How do I find out where my person is held?** Use Louisiana's Imprisoned Person Locator, run by the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, with your person's name or DPS&C number. It shows their current facility, which tells you whether to follow state prison rules or a parish jail's rules.

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