What Books and Magazines You Can Send (and What Will Be Rejected)

The hardcover rule is simple across all BOP institutions: hardcover books and newspapers must be sent directly from the publisher, a book club, or a bookstore. Softcover rules get a little more complicated. At medium, high, and administrative security institutions, softcover publications follow the same restriction. At minimum and low security institutions, though, softcover publications (other than newspapers) can come from any source. That means the exact same softcover title could be accepted at one facility and rejected at another based purely on security level.

Thinking about mailing a box from home with books, magazines, or other items? Expect it to be rejected unless you have written approval first. At BOP facilities like FCI Morgantown, inmates cannot receive packages from home without prior written approval from the inmate's unit team or other authorized staff.

1. Ask about written approval first - Before you mail any package from home, have your loved one check with their unit team, or you can contact the institution to confirm what staff will approve in writing.
2. Get the approval in writing - Verbal “okay” is not enough for mailroom rules. You want clear written approval tied to the specific package.
3. Send only what matches the approval - If the package contents don’t match what was approved, it can still be rejected or returned.

Even commercially published books and magazines can be blocked. Any material that is sexually explicit or features nudity will not be distributed to inmates. It gets returned to the sender.

Practical Tips

• ✓ Order hardcovers and newspapers directly from the publisher, a book club, or a bookstore.
• ✓ For softcovers, match your order method to the institution’s security level (publisher, book club, or bookstore only for medium/high/administrative).
• ✓ If the person you’re helping is at a minimum or low security institution, softcover publications (not newspapers) may be accepted from any source.
• ✓ When you’re buying online, double-check that the seller will ship from a publisher, book club, or bookstore address when those restrictions apply.

If something gets rejected, start by checking the most common reasons. It may have come from a non-approved source (especially for hardcovers, newspapers, and softcovers at higher security levels). It could contain sexually explicit or nude content. Or it may have been sent as a home package without written approval. The cleanest fix is usually to reorder the same title through an approved sender (publisher, book club, or bookstore) rather than trying to resend the original from home.