How To Contact Your Inmate By Letter or Telephone

We have received numerous inquiries about contacting a family member or friend who is incarcerated. There are usually no e-mail communications with inmates. You cannot contact any inmate by calling him or her in prison. There are normally only two ways to communicate with an inmate. The following information can vary from prison to prison and state to state.

You can write to him. The envelope must have the full prison address, his full name, and his prison identification number. Without this information, the inmate will not receive your letter. Remember that all correspondence to inmates will be searched thoroughly by the correctional officers for contraband. You can also assume that your correspondence will be read by the correctional officers.  Use your common sense when writing to an inmate. Inmates are allowed to correspond, but their envelopes are required to have the prison address and the inmate’s identification number or his letter will not be mailed.

You cannot call the inmate, but the inmate can call you. The inmate will have to comply with his prison’s rules in order to have access to telephone communications. The telephone services for each prison is with one company. The rates are usually excessively high. You can save money by contracting with companies that provide a local number for the prison area. There are a number of companies that provide this important service. The inmate can deposit money into his telephone account or you can make separate arrangements directly with the prison telephone company. It is best that you do so since an inmate’s pay is usually $1.00 a day.

As repeated in other posts, the rules and requirements for communication can vary from prison to prison, so you should check each prison on our site www.prisonpath.com for additional information.