5 Things Families Ask About Sending Money and Using eCommDirect for Hobby Unit Inmates
Sending money or ordering commissary for someone at the Hobby Unit can be confusing—especially when TDCJ rules trip you up and cause delays. Here are the five questions families ask most, along with the rules that actually matter.
Not just anyone can deposit money into a TDCJ inmate trust fund. Since September 1, 2020, you must be on the inmate's approved visitation list or telephone list to send funds - including to someone at the Hobby Unit. If you're not on either list, your deposit will be rejected. Confirm your status before sending anything.
Warning: Cash and personal checks aren’t accepted for inmate trust fund deposits, and they’ll be returned to the sender.
Where you send things matters. Never mail trust fund deposits to the inmate's facility, and don't send personal mail or other items to the Inmate Trust Fund office. Mixing these up leads to returns and long delays.
eCommDirect has quarterly spending caps, so plan around the calendar. The limit is $70 for January–March, April–June, and July–September. During October–December (the holiday period), the cap bumps up to $95.
- ✓ Only one eCommDirect purchase per inmate may be completed per day.
Fees catch a lot of people off guard. For eCommDirect purchases, you'll pay a flat $3.75 per order. Deposits work differently: $2.50 plus 2.25% of the deposit amount. Short version - purchases have one flat fee, deposits have a smaller flat fee plus a percentage.
Want to send an online package? eCommDirect is the only approved program for TDCJ inmates. Other sites might look legitimate, but they aren't authorized - stick with eCommDirect.
To see what's available through eCommDirect, check the TDCJ commissary price list legend. Items marked with an "E" are sold on the eCommDirect website - that's the quickest way to tell what you can order online versus through regular commissary.
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