Usually allowed
- Letters on plain white or lined paper, in blue or black ink.
- A limited number of printed photos (see our photo guide).
- Plain greeting cards at some facilities, usually without glitter, layers or electronics.
- Printed pages like articles or recipes at some facilities, often with a page limit.
- Books and magazines, but almost always only when shipped new from a publisher or approved retailer.
Usually not allowed
- Stickers, glitter, glue, tape, labels, lipstick, perfume or any stains.
- Crayon, marker, gel pen, colored pencil or anything that looks like a drawing medium.
- Colored paper or envelopes, padded envelopes, cardboard, and staples or paper clips.
- Cash, checks, money orders or gift cards inside a letter.
- Polaroids, and any photo with nudity, weapons, drugs, alcohol, money or gang signs.
- Blank paper, blank cards or blank envelopes, and often stamps.
- Letters meant for someone else inside (third-party mail).
- Anything about escapes, crimes, other inmates' cases, or the facility's security.
Tip: If a letter breaks one rule, the whole envelope is usually returned or thrown away. When in doubt, leave it out.
Digital mail scanning
Many prison systems and jails now route personal mail to an outside processing center that scans each page and delivers it to a tablet or kiosk. If your facility does this, send only what scans well: dark ink on white paper, and photos printed clearly. Anything that can't be scanned may be rejected.
How to find your facility's exact rules
- Look up the person with the state or federal inmate locator to confirm which facility they're in.
- Open that corrections department's website and search for "mail" or "correspondence."
- Look for the mailing address, any digital mail address, photo limits and the list of banned items.
- If anything is unclear, ask the person inside. They get the current rules at the facility.