Why You Can't Send Care Packages to FCI Lompoc — and How to Send Books/Materials Correctly

At FCI Lompoc, inmates can't receive packages sent from home unless there's prior written approval from the unit team or other authorized staff. That's why well-meaning boxes of snacks, hygiene items, and clothes usually don't make it through. Want to send something beyond a regular letter? Assume it needs to fit an approved category or get cleared in writing first.

Only two narrow exceptions can come from home: packages containing release clothing and packages containing authorized medical devices. Outside of those two situations, sending items without proper approval will likely end in a return-to-sender or rejection.

Books and reading materials follow different rules than care packages. For hardcover publications and newspapers, the Bureau of Prisons requires they be sent directly from the publisher, a book club, or a bookstore. You can't buy a hardcover book, wrap it up at home, and mail it yourself - even if it's brand new.

When a bookstore, publisher, or book club ships the item, the package needs to clearly show the sender's address. That return address matters - it helps staff identify where it came from and where it should go if it can't be accepted.

Even when you follow the publisher-only rule, publications can still be screened. BOP policy allows inmates to subscribe to or receive publications without prior approval unless a statute blocks it, but staff can review incoming materials and reject anything considered detrimental to security, discipline, or good order - or that might facilitate criminal activity. If something gets flagged, the decision is based on those security standards, not your intentions when ordering.

S4

• ✓ Order books/newspapers directly from the publisher, a book club, or a bookstore (not from your home address)
• ✓ Make sure the sender’s address is clearly printed on the outside of the package
• ✓ Keep your order confirmation and any shipping/tracking details so you can follow up if something is delayed or returned

Thinking about mailing anything that isn't a standard letter or an allowed publication shipment? Pause and verify whether it requires prior written approval from the unit team before you send it. That one step can save you weeks of waiting and the frustration of a rejected package.

Here's a practical rule: if it's not release clothing or an authorized medical device, don't try shipping it as a home package. Those are the two categories that can come from home - everything else will likely be refused unless specifically approved ahead of time. If your goal is getting something useful into your loved one's hands, ordering permitted reading material through an approved sender is usually the cleanest path.

If a publication is rejected after screening, it can be returned to the sender under the same security-based standards used to review incoming materials. Keep your receipt and tracking information so you can confirm whether it was delivered, held up, or sent back - and so you can reorder a different title through the same publisher or bookstore route if needed.