NOTE: Governing reg = 103 CMR 481.00 (Inmate Mail). Distinctives: 481.08 no limit on number of mailings; "Excess Pages" rule allows up to 5 photocopied/clipped pages per day attached to personal mail; MADOC digitizes/photocopies non-privileged personal mail; 481.13 censorship only for legitimate governmental interests, not personal views; nudity defined w/ medical/educational exceptions. Filtered out an aggregator (Massive Bookshop/B2P) that blended multiple states' rules - did NOT attribute its "12 books"/"Books N Things + Hamilton" specifics to MA.
How to Send Books and Magazines to an Inmate in Massachusetts
A good book is one of the most valuable things you can put in the hands of someone you love inside a Massachusetts 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. Massachusetts is one of the more reading-friendly states, with a couple of provisions that give you options most states do not. 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 Massachusetts you cannot buy a book yourself and put it in the mail. Books and periodicals must come directly from a publisher, a book club, a book store, or a prison book program, shipped straight to the facility. 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 Massachusetts gives you a wide set of allowed sources and a generally rights-protective approach.
Where to Order: Amazon Works in Massachusetts
Because a book has to ship from a recognized seller, the simplest path for most families is a major online bookseller that ships the book itself. Amazon counts as a book store and works for Massachusetts. 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 committed name and commitment number, then the facility, which you can confirm on Massachusetts's inmate locator. Order new, send the book by itself with nothing tucked inside, and send your letters separately.
A Reading-Friendly State
Massachusetts is more protective of reading access than many states, and it helps to know that going in. Under the state's mail regulation, there is no limit on the number of separate mailings your person may receive, so you are not boxed in by a monthly cap on packages the way you are in some states. Just as important, the Department's stated policy is not to censor incoming mail except where genuinely necessary for security, order, discipline, or to prevent criminal activity, and a disapproval cannot be based on a staff member's personal opinion about the material. Even nudity is defined narrowly, and publications with nudity that is medical, educational, or anthropological in nature can be allowed. None of this means anything goes, but it does mean a normal book from a normal seller has a smooth path.
Send Up to Five Photocopied Pages a Day
Here is an option Massachusetts gives you that most states forbid entirely. Your person may receive photocopied or clipped pages from a publication, up to five pages per day, except Sundays and postal holidays, as an attachment to a normal personal letter. So if there is a specific article, a few pages of a study guide, a recipe, or a chapter excerpt you want to share, you can photocopy up to five pages and tuck them into your letter. For a family on a budget, that is a free way to keep useful reading flowing between books. Keep it to the five-page daily limit and send it with your regular mail.
Personal Mail Is Digitized
One thing to know about how Massachusetts handles letters: the Department digitizes or photocopies non-privileged personal mail, so your letters, and the photocopied pages you attach, may reach your person as copies rather than the original paper. That is routine and does not change what you can send. Books and magazines are handled separately, though, they still come from a publisher or bookseller and go to the facility, not to a mail-scanning center. So order books normally, and just expect personal letters and any attached pages to arrive in copied form.
Format
Stick to new paperbacks as the safe default. Massachusetts does not impose a blanket statewide ban on hardcovers or used books in its mail regulation, but practice varies by facility and security level, so a maximum-security unit may be stricter than a lower-security one. Spiral bindings are generally refused. If your person wants a hardcover or you are considering a used copy, confirm with the specific facility first. Send the book on its own, with nothing tucked inside.
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. Stick to mainstream titles, since material that meets the state's nudity definition or threatens security will be excluded.
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.
What Massachusetts Rejects
Massachusetts disapproves incoming publications only to protect legitimate interests: material that threatens security, order, or discipline, or that would facilitate, encourage, or instruct in criminal activity, along with content meeting the state's definition of nudity. A disapproval cannot rest on a staff member's personal views. When a publication is disapproved, there is a procedure that includes notifying your person and an opportunity to appeal. If your person wants a specific title, a quick check against these standards saves money.
Tablets, the Prison Book Program, and the Library
Massachusetts provides tablets and electronic messaging, so your person may have access to e-messaging and some e-books or media. The state also recognizes a prison book program as an allowed source, which is useful, and every facility has a library your person can request from. 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.
Free Books and Book Programs
If money is tight, you still have options, and Massachusetts makes them easy. Beyond the five-page clipping allowance and the library, prison book programs are an explicitly allowed source, so a nonprofit book program can mail free books straight to your person, usually after they write to request titles. These run on donations, so allow time. We keep current pointers to programs that serve Massachusetts on our Massachusetts reentry resources page.
Get It Right the First Time
Here is the whole thing in a breath. Books and periodicals must come from a publisher, book club, book store, or prison book program, never from you, and Amazon works as long as the copy is sold and shipped by Amazon. There is no cap on the number of mailings, and you can attach up to five photocopied pages a day to a letter, which is a free way to share reading. Order new paperback, confirm with the facility before sending hardcover or used given security-level differences, and expect personal letters to arrive as copies. Use InmateAid for magazine subscriptions, and lean on the prison book program and library 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 Massachusetts inmate myself?** No. Books and periodicals must come directly from a publisher, book club, book store, or prison book program, shipped to the facility. A book mailed from an individual's home will be refused.
**Does Amazon work for sending books to a Massachusetts prison?** Yes. Amazon counts as a book store. Choose a copy that is sold and shipped by Amazon, not a third-party marketplace seller, in new paperback. Look for "Ships from Amazon" and "Sold by Amazon" on the listing.
**Can I send photocopied pages or clippings?** Yes, which is unusual. Massachusetts allows up to five photocopied or clipped pages from a publication per day, except Sundays and postal holidays, attached to a normal personal letter. It is a free way to share a specific article or excerpt.
**Is there a limit on how many books I can send?** Massachusetts does not cap the number of separate mailings your person may receive. Practical limits come from facility property rules and security level, so a stricter unit may hold less, but the mail regulation itself does not set a mailing cap.
**Does it have to be paperback?** New paperback is the safe default. Massachusetts does not have a blanket statewide ban on hardcovers or used books, but practice varies by facility and security level, and spiral bindings are generally refused, so confirm with the facility for anything other than a new paperback.
**Will my letters arrive as originals?** Often no. Massachusetts digitizes or photocopies non-privileged personal mail, so letters and any attached photocopied pages may reach your person as copies. Books and magazines are handled separately and still come from a bookseller to the facility.
**What gets a book rejected in Massachusetts?** Material that threatens security, order, or discipline, content that would facilitate criminal activity, and content meeting the state's nudity definition. A rejection cannot be based on staff personal opinion, and your person can appeal a disapproval.
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