To write to a federal inmate, send a plain letter through the U.S. Postal Service with your full return address in the upper-left corner and, in the center, the inmate’s full legal name and eight-digit Bureau of Prisons register number, the institution’s name, and its mailing address. Use plain white paper and blue or black ballpoint ink, and don’t enclose anything the facility hasn’t approved. Get any of those pieces wrong and the letter comes back unopened.
Find the Facility and Register Number First
You need two pieces of information before you address anything: where the person is housed and their eight-digit BOP register number. The Bureau of Prisons runs an online Inmate Locator that covers everyone incarcerated in the federal system from 1982 to the present.1Federal Bureau of Prisons. Inmate Locator A first and last name is enough to search; a middle name or register number narrows results if the name is common.
The locator returns the register number, age, and facility, but not the facility’s full mailing address. Click through to the facility’s page on bop.gov for the correct P.O. Box or street address, city, state, and ZIP code. Copy all of it down exactly. A wrong ZIP or a missing register number is enough to send your letter back.
How to Address the Envelope
Federal rules require your full name and return address in the upper-left corner. Mail without a return address will be rejected.2Federal Bureau of Prisons. Program Statement 5265.14 – Correspondence In the center of the envelope, write the delivery address in this order:
- Inmate’s full legal name (no nicknames) and eight-digit register number
- Institution name
- P.O. Box or street address
- City, state, and ZIP code
The letter has to travel by USPS. The BOP defines general correspondence as mail sent or received through the Postal Service, and private carriers like UPS or FedEx are not accepted for regular inmate letters.2Federal Bureau of Prisons. Program Statement 5265.14 – Correspondence
What Goes Inside the Envelope
The BOP’s central policy gives wardens broad authority to set facility-specific mail rules, and most facilities have landed on similar standards.3eCFR. 28 CFR 540.12 – Controls and Procedures The safe combination is plain white paper, a plain white envelope, and black or blue ink from a regular ballpoint pen. Typed letters are fine.
Most facilities prohibit glitter, stickers, crayon, marker, lipstick marks, perfume or other scents, and colored paper. Substances can be embedded in paper coatings and adhesives, which is why the rules are strict. Some facilities photocopy incoming mail and hand the inmate the copy rather than the original, so elaborate stationery is wasted effort anyway. Stick to plain white materials and standard ink and your letter will pass inspection at virtually any federal facility.
Do not enclose physical items. Stamps and stamped envelopes are returned to the sender if included.2Federal Bureau of Prisons. Program Statement 5265.14 – Correspondence Cash and personal checks are not accepted in correspondence at all. Packages require advance written approval from the inmate’s unit team, and anything received without that approval is treated as contraband.4Federal Bureau of Prisons. Community Ties
What You Cannot Write About
A warden can reject any letter that threatens security or good order at the facility. Federal regulations spell out the categories that trigger rejection:5eCFR. 28 CFR 540.14 – General Correspondence
- Anything that encourages physical violence or organized disruption
- Escape plans, instructions for illegal activity, or direction of an outside business
- Threatening language, extortion, or gratuitous profanity
- Content written in code
- Personal photographs showing nudity or sexual acts
- Any physical item not authorized for receipt through the mail
Photos, Books, and Money
Regular photographs are generally allowed, but the BOP prohibits photos showing nudity, exposed genitalia or female breasts, or depictions of sexual acts.2Federal Bureau of Prisons. Program Statement 5265.14 – Correspondence Standard printed photos on regular photo paper are the safest choice. Some facilities cap the number of photos per envelope, and if photos are rejected the facility will typically notify you.
Books and magazines can be sent to an inmate, but they must come directly from the publisher or an authorized retailer, not from your home.4Federal Bureau of Prisons. Community Ties Order through a bookstore like Amazon or Barnes & Noble and have it shipped straight to the facility. Mailing a book from your address counts as an unauthorized package and will be rejected. The publication itself can also be rejected if the warden determines it contains content that encourages violence, criminal activity, or group disruption.6Federal Bureau of Prisons. Program Statement P5266.11 – Incoming Publications
Money goes through a completely separate channel. Never put cash or checks in a letter. The BOP uses a centralized lockbox in Des Moines, Iowa for all deposits to inmate commissary accounts. Acceptable forms of payment are U.S. Postal money orders, government checks, certified or cashier’s checks, and bank drafts. Personal checks and cash are not accepted.7Federal Bureau of Prisons. Sending Funds Using the United States Postal Service Mail the payment to:
Federal Bureau of Prisons
[Inmate’s Full Legal Name]
[Eight-Digit Register Number]
Post Office Box 474701
Des Moines, Iowa 50947-0001
The inmate’s full committed name and register number must appear on both the money order and the outside of the envelope. Include your return address so the payment can be returned if it can’t be processed. Don’t send funds until you have confirmed the inmate has physically arrived at a BOP-managed facility.7Federal Bureau of Prisons. Sending Funds Using the United States Postal Service
Assume Staff Will Read It
Every piece of incoming general correspondence is opened and inspected before it reaches the inmate. Federal regulations authorize staff to monitor, read, and inspect both incoming and outgoing general correspondence, and there is no expectation of privacy in general mail.2Federal Bureau of Prisons. Program Statement 5265.14 – Correspondence When inmates arrive at a facility they receive written notice explaining that all general mail may be opened and read.3eCFR. 28 CFR 540.12 – Controls and Procedures Don’t include anything you wouldn’t want a third party to see.
If Your Letter Gets Rejected
The warden can reject correspondence that is detrimental to institutional security, good order, or discipline, or that might facilitate criminal activity.5eCFR. 28 CFR 540.14 – General Correspondence Common reasons include prohibited content, enclosed items that aren’t allowed, and incomplete addressing. A missing register number or missing return address is enough on its own.
When mail is rejected, the inmate receives written notice explaining the reason, and the letter is typically returned to the sender.
A Note for Attorneys
Mail from attorneys, courts, members of Congress, and certain government officials is treated as “special mail.” Staff can open it only in the inmate’s presence, and they may not read or copy it; the inspection is limited to checking for physical contraband.8eCFR. 28 CFR 540.18 – Special Mail To qualify, two things must appear on the front of the envelope: the sender must be adequately identified (for attorneys, the attorney’s name and an indication they are an attorney), and the envelope must be marked “Special Mail—Open only in the presence of the inmate.”9eCFR. 28 CFR 540.19 – Legal Correspondence Without both markings, staff can treat the letter as general correspondence and open, inspect, and read it like anything else.