How to Send Mail, Books, and CDs to Someone at Hartford Correctional Center

To make sure your letter reaches your loved one at Hartford Correctional Center without delays, get three details right: the incarcerated person's full name, their inmate number, and the facility's address. If any of those are missing or wrong, mail can get slowed down or sent to the wrong person. Use the same identifying information every time, even on postcards or quick notes. Double-check the inmate number before you send anything. That number is often what separates people with similar names and helps staff match mail to the right person.

• ✓ Inmate’s full name
• ✓ Inmate number
• ✓ Hartford Corrections Center address (177 Weston St, Hartford, CT 06120)

Skip padded mailing envelopes. They're discouraged because they create a security concern, which means extra screening. A plain envelope is the simplest way to keep your mail moving through without delays.

Hartford Correctional Center only accepts books and magazines that are new and shipped directly by the bookstore, book club, or publisher. You can't mail a used book from home, and you can't repackage something yourself and send it in. When ordering, have the seller ship directly to the facility using your loved one's full name, inmate number, and the facility address.

1. Pick the book or magazine that you want to send.
2. Make sure it’s new so it meets the facility requirement.
3. Order from a bookstore, book club, or publisher (not a personal shipment).
4. Have the seller ship it directly to the facility with your loved one’s full name, inmate number, and the facility address on the label.

If you want to send music or audio, check commissary first. Approved CDs are available for purchase through the facility commissary, and that's usually the easiest route since those items are already cleared. Outside CDs and tapes are much more restricted. They must be educational or religious in nature, and they can't be something already available through commissary. If the item qualifies, it can be ordered by the inmate or a third party, but it has to come from a commercial distributor and be shipped directly by that distributor (not forwarded from your home).

• ✓ Check commissary first for approved CDs
• ✓ If sending an outside CD or tape, confirm it is educational or religious in nature
• ✓ Confirm the outside item is not available through commissary
• ✓ Order from a commercial distributor and have the distributor ship it directly to the facility

Practical Checklist

• ✓ Put the inmate’s full name on every letter
• ✓ Include the inmate number on every piece of correspondence
• ✓ Address mail to the facility (Hartford Corrections Center, 177 Weston St, Hartford, CT 06120)
• ✓ Use a standard envelope, not a padded mailing envelope (padded envelopes are discouraged for security reasons)
• ✓ Remember that padded mailing envelopes can slow delivery
• ✓ Send books and magazines only if they are new and shipped by the bookstore, book club, or publisher
• ✓ For CDs, use commissary for approved options when possible
• ✓ Only send outside CDs/tapes if they are educational or religious and not available through commissary
• ✓ Order outside CDs/tapes through a commercial distributor and have the distributor send them directly