What Photos Can You Mail to Ouachita Correctional Center? (And What Gets Rejected)
Want to mail photos to someone at Ouachita Correctional Center without getting them sent back? Stick to the size rules, skip Polaroids, and keep the content clean.
Portrait photos are allowed, but they can't be larger than 5×7 inches. Oversized prints are one of the most common reasons mail gets pulled. Anything bigger than 8.5×11 inches - like posters or large enlargements - won't be accepted at all. Skip the "wall-size" prints.
- ✓ Print portrait photos at 5×7 inches or smaller
- ✓ Skip oversized prints - posters/pictures larger than 8.5×11 inches aren’t accepted and can be removed
- ✓ When you’re unsure, choose a standard small print instead of a large enlargement
Polaroids don't fly here. Ouachita Correctional Center returns instant photos to the sender - no exceptions. If you want your loved one to actually receive the pictures, use regular printed photos instead.
Heads up: Cropping a Polaroid or removing the backing won't help. They still get returned.
Photos showing alcohol or drugs get rejected - including hand drawings. Even if that beer bottle is just in the background, the mail room will catch it. If there's any chance alcohol or drug paraphernalia appears in the shot, pick a different photo.
Sexually explicit or suggestive images won't make it through screening. That includes photos or drawings showing undergarments, lingerie, nudity, or anyone posed provocatively. Stick to everyday, fully clothed family photos.
Images with obscenity, suggestive gestures, gang signs, or weapons also get rejected. Broadly, anything that could be seen as threatening safety or security at the facility won't pass. If a picture could come across as aggressive or gang-related, don't risk it - choose something neutral.
Practical Tips
- ✓ Keep portrait photos 5×7 inches or smaller
- ✓ Don’t send posters or oversized pictures - anything larger than 8.5×11 inches isn’t accepted and can be removed
- ✓ Skip Polaroids/instant photos - they’re returned to the sender
- ✓ Don’t crop Polaroids or remove the bottom/backing - those get returned too
- ✓ Avoid any photo or drawing that shows alcohol
- ✓ Avoid any photo or drawing that shows drugs
- ✓ Don’t send images showing undergarments, lingerie, nudity, or sexually provocative poses
- ✓ Leave out obscenity, vulgarity, or suggestive gestures
- ✓ Avoid gang/hand signs
- ✓ Avoid weapons or anything that could be viewed as a threat to safety, security, or discipline
Most rejections boil down to format or content. Size limits are strict - 5×7 max for portraits - and oversized prints like posters don't get through. Polaroids are their own problem: the facility returns them whole, even if you've cropped them or removed the backing. Want to keep it simple? Regular small photo prints are your safest bet.
Quick rule: When in doubt, send a plain 5×7 (or smaller) portrait of someone fully clothed. Avoid anything sexual, threatening, or connected to drugs, alcohol, weapons, or gang signs.
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