How Much Staying in Touch with Someone at Clarinda Really Costs (O-mail, Visits, and Photo Services)

Good news up front: Iowa DOC offers both in-person and video visits at no cost for approved friends and family. Once you're on the visitor list, you won't pay a per-visit fee to the facility.

Free doesn't mean walk-in. After you're approved, you'll schedule both in-person and video visits through the Ameelio App. Taking advantage of these no-cost visits can ease the pressure on paid messaging and photo services.

CorrLinks o-mail is where small charges start adding up. Each message you send costs $0.25, so your total depends on how often you write - not how long your messages are.

Message length does matter, though - just differently. O-mail caps out at 13,000 characters or 100 lines (roughly two pages), whichever comes first. If you regularly hit that limit, you'll end up splitting updates across multiple messages and paying $0.25 each time.

On the incarcerated person's end, o-mail runs on credits. They add credits by transferring funds from their banking account, and a 6% tax applies. These credits sit in a separate balance - similar to phone minutes - so think of o-mail as its own line item in their account.

Want to send printed photos? Iowa DOC uses an approved provider called Pelipost. Upload your photos through Pelipost, and once they're approved, the company prints and ships them directly to the facility.

• ✓ 4x6 photos (limit 10)
• ✓ 5x7 photos (limit 10)
• ✓ Greeting cards
• ✓ Notes

For regular (non-legal) mail, Iowa DOC routes everything through Pigeonly's central processing system. Pigeonly opens non-legal mail, scans it into a digital color copy, then prints and delivers those copies to the facility. Originals are temporarily stored and later securely destroyed per Iowa DOC policy. Important: non-legal mail must go to the central Pigeonly address. Send it directly to an IDOC facility and it'll come right back to you.

Tips Minimize

• ✓ Get approved and lean on no-cost in-person visits when you can.
• ✓ Use the Ameelio App to schedule both in-person and video visits once you’re approved.
• ✓ If you’re watching spending, prioritize free visits for longer catch-ups and use paid messaging for quick updates.

• ✓ Remember CorrLinks o-mail is $0.25 per message - frequency is what drives the total.
• ✓ Combine your updates into one message when possible so you don’t pay for multiple o-mails.
• ✓ Write with the limits in mind: 13,000 characters or 100 lines (about two pages) max.
• ✓ Factor in the 6% tax on o-mail credits when the incarcerated person adds credits from their banking account.

• ✓ For printed photos to Clarinda, use Pelipost (the approved Iowa DOC photo print provider).
• ✓ Stay within Pelipost’s permitted items: 4x6 or 5x7 photos (limit 10), greeting cards, and notes.
• ✓ For non-legal mail, send it to the central Pigeonly processing address - mail sent directly to an IDOC facility will be returned.
• ✓ Check vendor pricing before you order photo/card services so you can choose what fits your budget.