What Inmates Can Send and Receive at Lea County: Mail Inspection, Hold Times, and Postage Rules

At Lea County, incoming and outgoing letters are held for no more than 48 hours. That clock doesn't count weekends, holidays, or emergency situations, so expect longer waits around those times.

Packages (if allowed) are held for no more than 72 hours, excluding weekends, holidays, and emergencies. Trying to time something for a birthday or court deadline? Build in extra buffer for those exclusions.

Expect mail to be opened and inspected. Lea County checks both incoming and outgoing mail for contraband. Staff also watch for cash, checks, and money orders so they can intercept them.

For outgoing letters, your loved one must use the designated mail boxes inside the facility. Most outgoing letters go in the box unsealed since they can be inspected. Legal mail and other privileged correspondence follow different handling rules.

Regular letters must be written in English or Spanish. Writing in another language requires advance approval from a Deputy Warden. Legal or privileged correspondence is handled separately from standard personal mail.

Some publications can be rejected based on content. Under NMCD correspondence rules, incoming publications may be denied if they include instructions for manufacturing drugs, tattoos, weapons, or explosives.

If your loved one is indigent, in Reception and Diagnostic (RDC), or in Special Management, the facility provides basic writing supplies: two envelopes and two sheets of writing paper each week.

Inmates in Level II, III, IV, and Special Management also get postage support. They receive postage for two first-class letters per week, which can be used for personal mail or legal correspondence.

Practical Tips and Tablets

• ✓ Keep content clean. Don’t send publications that include instructions for making drugs, tattoos, weapons, or explosives.
• ✓ Assume mail will be opened and inspected, incoming and outgoing.
• ✓ If you’re receiving a letter from Lea County, look for the required sender details on the envelope: the inmate’s name, NMCD number, and living quarter assignment (in English).
• ✓ Remember that most outgoing personal letters are deposited unsealed in the facility mail boxes (legal and privileged mail is the exception).

NMCD began rolling out Smart Communications tablets on July 1, 2024. This system replaces physical mail by digitally uploading correspondence to inmate tablets. For families with loved ones at Lea County Correctional Facility, NMCD has said new mailing addresses will be sent before the launch at that location.