What You Can't Mail to USCF: The Complete List of Prohibited Items
USCF has strict mail rules, and plenty of well-meaning items get rejected. Check the lists below before you send anything — it'll save you wasted postage and frustration.
USCF's mailroom only accepts up to five pages per mailing. Send more than that, and your envelope can be rejected outright. Money in any form is prohibited. Certain envelope types won't make it through either - Express or Priority mail, hard mail, bubble-type envelopes, and large thin paper envelopes are all off the list. Skip the "extras" too: unused blank envelopes, blank paper or stationery, and stamps will get your mail rejected. One more thing that trips people up - if your letter looks like official public, legal, government, or business correspondence but it's actually from friends or family, the mailroom can deny it.
When mail gets denied, USCF returns the envelope to you. The inmate receives a denial slip so they know what happened.
Common Categories
- ✓ Mail with glitter, rhinestones, stickers, or glued-on items
- ✓ Shaped-cut (non-rectangular) photos or papers
- ✓ Greeting cards that are overly thick, electronic, fold-out, 3D, have pop-ups, or are oversized
- ✓ Letters written on tiny papers or sticky notes
- ✓ Coins, crystals, religious tokens, toys, keychains, and other small objects
- ✓ Official documents you don’t want destroyed (for example: birth certificates, driver’s licenses, Social Security cards)
- ✓ Books, booklets, magazines, or anything with a spine
- ✓ Express or Priority mail, hard mail, bubble-type envelopes, or large thin paper envelopes
- ✓ Unused/blank envelopes, blank paper, stationery, or stamps
You can't mail photographs directly to USCF. Polaroids aren't allowed, and photos printed and shipped from third-party vendors like Shutterfly are also prohibited. Want your loved one to receive photos? You'll need to use one of the approved services listed below.
- ✓ Pelipost
- ✓ Ameelio
- ✓ Flikshop
Don't put money in the mail. Cash, checks, coins, gift cards - all prohibited, all returned.
Warning: To avoid delays or loss of funds, do not send any funds to Pigeonly in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Letters or enclosures that don't meet USCF's rules - including the five-page limit - can be denied. The envelope comes back to you, and the inmate gets a denial slip.
Watch out for anything that looks "official." Mail that resembles public, legal, government, or business correspondence can be denied if staff determine it's actually from friends or family. Privileged legal mail works differently: attorneys must register with the Privileged Mail by Pigeonly system and use a one-time QR code sticker to send privileged legal mail directly to USCF.
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