How to Send Books, Bibles, and Religious Materials to Caldwell Correctional Center

Religious correspondence courses, sacred texts, and Bible study materials must be pre-approved before anyone sends them to Caldwell Correctional Center. Skip that step, and the material gets stopped - even something as common as a Bible study course. Treat religious coursework and sacred texts as their own category with a separate process. They don't follow the same rules as regular mail or typical book orders.

Once a religious correspondence course or sacred text is approved, who sends it matters. Approved religious materials must ship directly from the vendor, school, or religious institution to the facility. A friend or family member can't mail the approved materials themselves. And don't route these items through TextBehind - they need to come straight from the organization providing them.

Caldwell Correctional Center doesn't allow individuals to mail publications directly to an offender. You'll need to place the order with the publisher or an online retailer and have it shipped straight to the facility. This "direct from publisher/retailer" rule is what separates a book that makes it in from one that gets refused at the mailroom.

Here's where the confusion often comes from: most non-legal mail in North Carolina prisons is screened and scanned by TextBehind, then delivered electronically to the offender's tablet. That scanning process works for letters and similar items. But it's not the right path for publications or approved religious course materials - those are expected to arrive by direct shipment under the facility's rules.

Checklist Steps

• ✓ Confirm the religious material (correspondence course, sacred text, Bible study material) is pre-approved before anything is sent.
• ✓ Make sure approved religious materials are shipped directly from the vendor, school, or religious institution to the facility.
• ✓ Order general publications/books from the publisher or an online retailer - don’t mail publications yourself.
• ✓ Address the shipment to the offender and include the offender’s name and OPUS number.
• ✓ Do not ship publications or approved religious materials through TextBehind; use direct vendor-to-facility shipping instead.

1. Confirm whether your item needs pre-approval - religious correspondence courses, sacred texts, and Bible study materials must be approved before they’re sent.
2. Order through the right sender - use the vendor, school, religious institution, publisher, or an online retailer (not a personal shipment).
3. Use the facility street address and include the OPUS number - enter the offender’s full name and OPUS number in the shipping details so the package can be matched correctly.
4. Track the shipment - keep the order confirmation and tracking so you can confirm it arrived at the facility.
5. Avoid TextBehind for these items - do not route publications or approved religious materials through TextBehind; ship directly from the source to the facility.