What you can and can't mail to an inmate at Travis County (including books and photos)
Mail rules feel picky, but they're predictable once you know what gets flagged. Here's how to address items correctly, avoid common contraband, and send books and photos without getting them returned.
For regular mail like letters and cards, address everything to the facility where your loved one is housed. Travis County requires the inmate's full name, date of birth, and Jail/Booking number so staff can route it correctly. Every piece of mail also needs a return address from the sender - without one, the facility can't send it back if there's a problem.
Contraband Overview
- ✓ Postage stamps
- ✓ Metered envelopes
- ✓ Blank paper
- ✓ Blank envelopes
- ✓ Addressed envelopes
- ✓ Return address labels
- ✓ Sticky notes
- ✓ Stickers
- ✓ Tape
- ✓ Lamination
- ✓ Writing instruments
- ✓ Watercolors or paint
- ✓ Glitter
- ✓ Glue
- ✓ Felt
- ✓ Ribbon
- ✓ Beads
- ✓ Magnets
Photos are one of the easiest ways to stay connected, but Travis County does have strict format rules. Don’t send photographs larger than 8"x10", and skip anything that’s harder to inspect or store - Polaroids, framed photos, photo albums, slides, negatives, and laminated photos are all prohibited.
Warning: Photos or drawings that show gang-related signs (including hand signs), symbols or tattoos, altered or blacked-out images, partial or full nudity (even baby photos), excessive violence, obscene gestures, sexual content, guns, or racial material are treated as contraband and will be returned to the sender.
Want to send reading material? Who ships it matters as much as what you pick. Travis County accepts paperback books, magazines, and newspapers only when mailed directly from a U.S. publisher, a publication supplier or distributing warehouse, or a bookstore. You can't mail these items yourself. The return address also needs to show a store hand stamp - that's how they confirm it came from an approved source.
- ✓ Inmates may not possess more than two books and two magazines at a time.
- ✓ If books or magazines arrive when the inmate already has more than the allowed limit, they will be returned to the publisher.
- ✓ Damaged, discolored, or soiled used books or magazines are considered contraband and will be rejected.
When something counts as contraband, Travis County rejects it and returns it to the sender - often along with everything else in the letter or package. That's why items like postage supplies, adhesive stationery materials, art supplies (including writing instruments and craft items), and photos or drawings with disallowed content are risky add-ons, even if the rest of your mail is fine. Do a quick re-check before sealing anything up so your loved one doesn't miss out because of one prohibited item.
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