How TRULINCS Email Works: Accepting a Contact Request and Message Rules

When you receive a TRULINCS contact request, it helps to know what already happened on the inmate's end. Inmates can't just hop on TRULINCS casually. Their notice, acknowledgment, and voluntary consent must be documented on form BP-0934 (Inmate Agreement for Participation in TRULINCS) before they can use the system at all.

Your part is optional, but there's a clear tradeoff. If you approve the request, you're consenting to Bureau of Prisons staff monitoring the content of all electronic messages between you and the inmate. If you're not comfortable with that level of oversight, don't approve the contact request.

Approving a TRULINCS contact request is a consent step, not just a way to start chatting. Once you approve, you're agreeing that Bureau of Prisons staff can monitor the content of all electronic messages exchanged between you and the inmate. This isn't private email. Write with the expectation that your messages may be reviewed.

Keep TRULINCS messages simple. Only plain text is allowed. Attachments aren't permitted, and if you try to attach a file, it will be stripped and never delivered to the inmate.

There's also a size cap. TRULINCS limits individual messages to 13,000 characters, roughly two pages of text. Writing a detailed update or covering multiple topics? Plan on splitting it into more than one message.

TRULINCS affects more than just electronic messages. Inmates are ordinarily required to place a TRULINCS-generated mailing label on all outgoing postal mail. If your loved one mentions needing to print labels before sending letters, this is what they're talking about.

Those mailing labels are limited, too. Ordinarily, inmates can print no more than 10 TRULINCS-generated mailing labels per day. If they have a lot of people to write at once, that daily cap can slow things down.

Practical Tips Contacts

• ✓ Do not attach photos, documents, or any other files. TRULINCS messages may contain only text, and attachments are not permitted and will be stripped (not delivered).

If you're sending anything you might want to reference later, save your own copy outside TRULINCS. A simple text file works fine. Also, watch the 13,000-character limit. If your message is running long, split it into two shorter notes so nothing gets cut off.