Setting Up Email with an Inmate: How TRULINCS Actually Works
TRULINCS is the Bureau of Prisons' electronic messaging system—but it doesn't work like regular email. Before you can message back and forth, your loved one needs approval to use TRULINCS, and you have to give permission to be added as a contact.
TRULINCS is how federal inmates exchange electronic messages with approved people on the outside. Here's the key thing: inmates can't just start using it automatically. Each person must be approved to use TRULINCS before they can send or receive any messages.
This isn't a "anyone can write" setup either. Every person an inmate wants to message has to give permission first. So if you're waiting to email and nothing's happening, it usually comes down to one of two things: the inmate isn't approved yet, or your permission hasn't been given or recorded.
- Make sure your loved one is approved to use TRULINCS - without that approval, they can’t exchange electronic messages at all.
- Have them add you as a community contact - they initiate the process on their side by identifying the people they want to communicate with.
- Give your permission to communicate - TRULINCS requires each community contact to consent before messaging is allowed.
- Start messaging once permission is in place - once you’re an approved contact, you can exchange electronic messages through the system.
Note: TRULINCS is voluntary. By participating, both the inmate and the community contact consent to monitoring and retention of all messages and related data.
TRULINCS is more limited than regular email, and your loved one can only use it after being approved. Think of it as a controlled system built for simple message exchange - not full-featured email. If messaging isn't working the way you'd expect, don't assume you did something wrong. Start by confirming that the inmate is actually approved to use TRULINCS.
Note: Attachments won't go through. If you send one with your message, it gets stripped and the inmate never sees it.
Practical Tips
- ✓ Assume messages and related transactional data are monitored and retained when you use TRULINCS.
- ✓ Don’t attach files or photos expecting they’ll go through - attachments are stripped and won’t be delivered.
Getting mixed messages about what's allowed? Remember that TRULINCS access is permission-based from the start. Even after approval, day-to-day access can feel inconsistent - the system is tightly controlled inside each institution. When something doesn't add up, the fastest fix is usually to confirm two things: your loved one is approved to use TRULINCS, and you've given permission as a community contact.
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