Can You Send Packages or Books to Someone at FCI Mendota? What Families Need to Know

At FCI Mendota, your loved one generally can't receive packages mailed from home unless their unit team (or other authorized staff) has given prior written approval. Send a package without that approval? Expect it to be refused or returned - not delivered.

Exceptions are narrow. The only packages an inmate can receive from home are release clothing and authorized medical devices. Anything else gets treated as unapproved, no matter how good your intentions.

Books and reading materials fall under publication rules - separate from package rules. For hardcover books and newspapers, Bureau policy is clear: they must ship directly from the publisher, a book club, or a bookstore. No hardcovers mailed from your house, even if they're brand-new and still in shrink wrap.

Softcover items - paperbacks, most magazines - can also be restricted depending on the institution's security level. At medium, high, and administrative security facilities, softcover publications must come directly from a publisher, book club, or bookstore. If FCI Mendota falls under those categories for this rule, the "direct from seller" requirement applies to paperbacks and magazines too, not just hardcovers.

Minimum and low security institutions have more flexibility - they may accept softcover publications (other than newspapers) from any source. But this exception doesn't apply at medium, high, or administrative facilities. Your safest bet: order paperbacks and magazines from a publisher, book club, or bookstore unless you've confirmed the local policy for your loved one's unit.

Even when you follow the approved-source rules, a publication can still be rejected - but the Warden's authority has limits. At FCI Mendota, publications may only be rejected if they're determined to threaten security, good order, or discipline, or if they could facilitate criminal activity. A publication can't be rejected simply because the ideas are unpopular or because the content is religious.

Mail at FCI Mendota falls into two categories: general mail and special mail. General mail gets opened and inspected by staff - assume anything in a regular letter can be reviewed for contraband and content that might threaten security or good order. Special mail is different. It's opened only in the inmate's presence, though staff still inspect it for physical contraband and verify that any enclosures qualify as special mail.

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• ✓ Order hardcovers and newspapers so they ship directly from the publisher, a book club, or a bookstore.
• ✓ For paperbacks and magazines, use the same “direct from publisher/book club/bookstore” approach unless you’ve confirmed the institution’s security-level rule for softcovers.
• ✓ Don’t mail books from home, even if they’re new - home-shipped publications are the most common reason items get refused.
• ✓ If what you’re sending is a true package (not a publication), make sure your loved one has prior written approval from their unit team/authorized staff before you ship anything.

Want to send something that isn't a publication? Keep the exceptions in mind - they're narrow. Packages from home are limited to release clothing and authorized medical devices. Coordinate with the unit team first so your shipment matches what staff will actually accept.