Prison mail rules: scanned mail, photos and what gets rejected
At least 78% of people in U.S. prisons can no longer receive physical mail directly; only Washington, D.C. and 14 states still deliver mail as it was sent.In most prisons, personal letters now go to a processing center or the mailroom, are scanned or photocopied, and the person receives a copy or reads it on a tablet. Write on plain white paper in dark ink and follow the state's own mail rules.
Updated by Jason Santiago
Source: Prison Legal News, "Most U.S. Prisoners Now Barred from Directly Receiving Physical Mail" (February 2026), read 2026-10-07.
Where mail is still delivered as sent
According to that report, these states still deliver personal mail as it was sent: California, Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, Washington, plus Washington, D.C. Rules change, so check the department's own page; we link each one from rules by state.
Writing for scanned mail
- Plain white paper and a plain white envelope. Colored paper, cards and greeting cards are often rejected or copied badly.
- Dark ink, clear handwriting or printed text. Pencil and light colors scan poorly.
- Nothing taped, glued, stapled or stuck on: stickers, glitter and perfume get letters rejected.
- Photos only if the facility allows them, usually as real prints within a size and number limit. Many places reject photos printed on regular paper.
- The full name and ID number on the envelope, exactly as the facility requires, and your return address.
Why it matters for a pen pal profile
Every profile here shows the mailing address the family got from the facility, which may be a processing center rather than the prison itself. Use that address exactly. If a letter comes back, the facility's rules page usually says why.