What Gets Rejected: Travis County's Mail & Books Rules (What to Avoid Sending)
Getting mail returned is frustrating—and expensive. Here's how to avoid the most common reasons letters, photos, and books get rejected at Travis County facilities.
Send all letters, cards, and correspondence to the facility where the person is housed. Always include your return address - envelopes without one get rejected automatically. Add the inmate's identifying information so staff can match it to the right person.
Trust fund ID check: If you’re sending money to an inmate’s Inmate Trust Fund, include their full name, date of birth, and Jail ID number or Booking Number. Missing any of these identifiers can cause problems with the deposit.
Contraband Top List
- ✓ Postage stamps
- ✓ Metered or stamped envelopes
- ✓ Blank paper
- ✓ Blank envelopes
- ✓ Addressed envelopes
Include anything on the jail's contraband list and your mail gets sent back. One problem item doesn't just mean that item is rejected - staff can return the entire contents of your letter or package.
Hardback warning: Hardback books are considered contraband and will be rejected.
Keep photos simple. Anything over 8"x10" gets rejected, along with Polaroids, framed photos, and photo albums - all considered contraband.
Where reading material comes from matters as much as what it says. Paperback books, magazines, and newspapers are accepted only when mailed directly from a U.S. publisher, distribution warehouse, or bookstore. Items sent by individuals won't make it through.
- ✓ Maximum allowed at one time: two books
- ✓ Maximum allowed at one time: two magazines
- ✓ If the inmate already has more than the limit, extra books or magazines will be returned to the publisher
Book shipment deal-breakers: Hardback books will be rejected. For accepted book shipments, the return address must have a store hand stamp, and the store must be listed with U.S. directory assistance (no individuals).
- Screen your letter for contraband before sealing it - Don’t include stationery items like postage stamps, blank paper, or blank/addressed envelopes.
- Assume one prohibited item can sink the whole mailing - Mail with contraband can be rejected and returned with the entire contents.
- Order books and magazines the right way - Use a U.S. publisher, publication supplier/distributing warehouse, or bookstore (not an individual sender) so the package meets the publisher-only rule.
When mail is rejected for contraband, everything inside gets sent back - not just the problem item. Books and magazines have an extra wrinkle: inmates can only have two books and two magazines at a time. Anything over that limit gets returned to the publisher.
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