LetterAgent
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Prisoners mail letters through their facility's outgoing mail system: they write on approved paper, seal the envelope, and hand it to staff or drop it in a unit mailbox. Staff may inspect outgoing mail for contraband and security threats, and prisoners buy stamps and supplies from the commissary or receive them through approved channels.
The steps are similar in most US and Canadian facilities, with local rules on top. A prisoner writes the letter, addresses the envelope, and adds a return address that includes their full name, ID number, and the facility address. That return address is required, not optional: mail without it is often returned to the sender's unit or held. The sealed envelope then goes into a collection box on the unit or is handed to an officer at a set time each day.
Facilities collect mail once or twice a day and pass it to the postal service. From there it travels like any other letter. Delivery time depends on distance and on how often the facility hands mail over, which is why a letter from inside can take a few days longer than a letter posted from a street mailbox.
Staff can inspect outgoing mail, and in many facilities they do. The legal line is narrower than most people assume: inspection for contraband, escape plans, and threats is routine, while reading every word of personal correspondence is restricted in many systems and subject to court decisions that vary by state or province. In practice, a prisoner should assume that anything in an outgoing letter could be seen by staff, and should not put escape plans, gang business, or threats in writing.
Legal mail is the exception. Letters to a lawyer, a court, or a government official are usually marked as legal mail and opened only in the prisoner's presence, to check for contraband without reading the contents. The envelope must be clearly marked and addressed to a real legal office to get that treatment. Marking an ordinary letter "legal mail" to dodge inspection can lead to discipline.
| Topic | What usually applies |
|---|---|
| Return address | Full name, ID number, facility name and address |
| Stamps | Bought from the commissary or supplied through approved programs |
| Inspection | Outgoing mail may be checked for contraband and security threats |
| Legal mail | Opened in the prisoner's presence, contents not read |
| Restricted items | Cash, stickers, perfume, and coded messages are commonly banned |
| Writing supplies | Pens, paper, and envelopes from the commissary or unit supply |
Most prisoners buy stamps, envelopes, pens, and paper at the commissary with money from their account, which family members can top up through the facility's approved payment system. Some facilities give indigent prisoners a small number of free stamps each month for legal and family mail. Others run letter-writing programs through charities that donate stamps and supplies. Stamps are treated as a form of currency inside, so facilities often limit how many a prisoner can hold at once.
Cash cannot be mailed into most facilities, and stamps sent in by family members are often confiscated or returned, because stamps can be traded. The safe way to help is to send money through the facility's official account system and let the prisoner buy supplies inside.
Plain written letters, drawings, and printed photos are usually fine. Common bans include stickers, glitter, lipstick marks, perfume, and anything glued to the page, because those can hide drugs or carry messages in code. Some facilities scan or photocopy all outgoing mail and deliver only the copy, a practice that grew with drug-soaked paper. That means an original drawing may not reach the recipient in its original form.
Prisoners also cannot mail letters to other prisoners in most systems without special permission, and mail to victims or witnesses in their case is usually banned outright. Breaking those rules can mean mail privileges are suspended, which is a serious penalty when letters are a person's main link to family.
Address your letter with the person's full name and ID number, plus the facility address exactly as the facility publishes it. Include your full return address. Keep the letter to plain paper and a normal envelope, and check the facility's mail rules before adding photos or clippings. Many facilities now route incoming mail through a central scanning site, so delivery can take longer than the postmark suggests. Patience helps: a letter that seems lost may still be in the scanning queue.
Ready to mail it? Send your letter with LetterAgent: describe it to your AI assistant, approve the exact quoted price, and it is printed and mailed.
LetterAgent is a working name. Prices include print, postage, and our service fee. US prices in USD, Canadian prices in CAD (Canadian prices exclude applicable sales tax, added at checkout). Currently in private testing.
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