What You Can (and Can't) Include in a Letter to Someone at Tarrant County Jail

Keep your letter within the jail’s size limit: incoming letters must be no larger than 12 by 16 inches. If you’re sending greeting cards or handwritten pages, treat that maximum as your outer boundary - oversized mail is more likely to be kicked back before it ever reaches your loved one.

• ✓ Enclose photos only if they’re unframed
• ✓ Include 10 photos or fewer
• ✓ Keep each photo no larger than 4x6 inches

Here's why the rules are so specific: incoming mail doesn't stay at the jail. It gets routed to an outside service, scanned into an electronic system, and reviewed by mailroom staff. If approved, your letter becomes available for the inmate to view on their tablet.

Not sure if something's okay to include? Here's the baseline: anything illegal under the Texas Penal Code is off-limits. Mail can also be rejected for content depicting physical violence or obscene sexual material - anything graphic, gruesome, or sexually explicit in a way the jail considers obscene.

If your mail contains contraband, it won't be passed along. The jail returns contraband items to the sender, which adds time and frustration. Stick to what's clearly allowed.

Accidentally include something that isn't allowed? Expect it back. Contraband received through the mail gets returned to the sender - so double-check your envelope before it goes out.

Don't try to drop off reading material in person. Newspapers or magazines brought directly to the jail won't be accepted.

1. Mail books, magazines, and money orders to the jail address - Books, magazines, and postal or Western Union money orders for deposit to an inmate’s money account should be mailed to 100 North Lamar Street, Fort Worth, TX 76196.
2. Send only new soft-backed books from an established publisher - If you’re mailing a book, it must be new, soft-backed, and shipped directly from an established publisher.
3. Use the right carrier for packages - Only packages shipped via UPS or the United States Postal Service (USPS) will be accepted; packages from third-party couriers (including Amazon) will not be accepted.

Want to add funds by mail? Stick to postal money orders and Western Union money orders. Cash isn't accepted.

Tracking a missing letter? Know where the line is. The jail only takes responsibility for mail delivered by the U.S. Postal Service. Any tracer action on lost mail has to go through the post office - you'll need to handle that yourself.

No need to mail basic writing materials. Inmates can buy paper, envelopes, pens, and stamps through the commissary. Indigent inmates are furnished writing supplies.

Avoid Common Mistakes

• ✓ Keep your letter no larger than 12x16 inches
• ✓ If you include photos, send 10 or fewer, unframed, and no larger than 4x6 inches each
• ✓ Don’t tuck anything else into the envelope besides photos (no extra enclosures)
• ✓ If you’re sending books, make sure they’re new, soft-backed, and shipped directly from an established publisher
• ✓ For book packages, use UPS or USPS only (third-party couriers - including Amazon - won’t be accepted)
• ✓ Mail books, magazines, and postal or Western Union money orders for deposit to 100 North Lamar Street, Fort Worth, TX 76196

Want an easier way to track your mail? The jail encourages using MailGuard Tracker for delivery status and rejection notifications. If something goes missing in transit, remember: the jail only handles mail delivered by USPS. Lost-mail tracers go through the post office.