Penmate Inmate Support Guides
Phone & Messaging

What Happens When You Accept a TRULINCS Contact Request

Accepting a TRULINCS contact request turns

• 2 min read • bop.gov
What Happens When You Accept a TRULINCS Contact Request

When a federal inmate adds you as a TRULINCS contact, you’ll get a system-generated notice asking whether you want to allow electronic message exchanges. That choice matters because TRULINCS messaging only works if you accept the request. Until you approve it, the inmate can’t exchange electronic messages with you through the system.

  • ✓ Approve the request (allow electronic message exchanges)
  • ✓ Refuse this single request
  • ✓ Refuse the current request and all future federal inmates’ requests (block future requests)

Approving a TRULINCS request isn’t just “adding someone to your contacts.” By participating, you’re voluntarily consenting to Bureau staff monitoring and retaining all incoming and outgoing electronic messages. That includes both the message contents and transactional data (the behind-the-scenes details connected to the message exchange).

When you approve, you’re also agreeing to comply with TRULINCS program rules and procedures. In practice, that goes hand-in-hand with the monitoring and retention policy: messages and related activity are handled under program rules, and Bureau staff can review what’s sent through the system. If you’re hoping TRULINCS is like private email or texting, it helps to reset expectations now - this is a controlled messaging system, not a confidential one.

Note: TRULINCS messages aren’t private. By approving, you’re consenting to Bureau staff monitoring and retaining the messages and related data.

If you don’t want contact - or you’re not sure you want any federal inmates messaging you - you have an option that goes beyond saying no once. The notice lets you refuse the current request and refuse all future federal inmates’ requests for electronic message exchanges. People typically choose this “block future requests” option when they’re dealing with unwanted contact, safety concerns, or they simply want to make sure they won’t keep getting new requests down the road.

Tip: If the request feels unwanted or unsafe, choose the option to refuse the current and all future federal inmates’ requests so you don’t keep receiving new TRULINCS contact requests.

Once you approve and the inmate is allowed to message you, keep the format limits in mind. TRULINCS messages are text-only - attachments aren’t permitted. Messages are also capped in length: 13,000 characters per message, which is roughly about two pages of text. If you have a lot to say, it’s normal to split it into multiple messages.

Reminder: Even with the text-only limits, TRULINCS messages can be monitored and retained by Bureau staff.

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