Sending Mail to Inmates in Missouri
Mail is one of the best, most reliable, and cheapest ways you can maintain communication with your inmate. A quick letter, note or card means more to an inmate then you realize. The daily delivery of mail is one of the most looked forward to events for inmates. In Missouri you can send a hand written or typed letters to an inmate, and up to five 8.5"x11" enclosures. Offenders may also receive photos, but the photos must come in a separate envelope from any other correspondence.
Photos can be no larger than 4"x6" and must not contain nudity. In addition, you may not send Polaroid or instant photos as these present a security risk. Never send any photos that show tattoos, or gang activities (certain hand gestures may be misconstrued as having a gang affiliation).
At no time can you send stamps, paper, envelopes, or any other items to an inmate. Inmates must purchase these items through the commissary.
When sending mail to your inmate, format it in the following manner:
Offender's Name, ID Number
Facility Name (Housing Unit if known)
PO Box or Street address
City, State, Zip Code
How to Send Books and Magazines to Missouri Inmates
Offenders can receive books and magazine subscriptions purchased by family members and friends through a reuputable vendor like Amazon.com. Inmates must have completed the reception and diagnosis process and be at their permanent facility before you can send publications. When ordering from Amazon.com you may only send paperback books, and they must be new directly from Amazon, no third party sellers or used books are allowed. You may also purchase a magazine subscription for your inmate through Amazon. Books and magazines must not contain nudity, or incite violence or hate. Furthermore, publications must not describe or depict how to make weapons, drugs, alcohol or contain maps or anything else that would jeopardize the security of the institution. To learn more about sending books and magazines to an inmate read this.
Sending Money to Inmates in Missouri
Inmates in Missouri may receive funds from friends and family members. Each offender has a commissary account that the inmate can utilize to purchase various items from within the institution. There are two ways of sending funds to an inmate; through the mail, and electronically.
Sending Funds Through the Mail
To send money through the mail, you will first need to request a Missouri Department of Corrections deposit slip. The deposit slip is not available online, and must be mailed to you by the offender. Once you have a deposit slip you can purchase a money order from the United States Postal Service. Make the money order payable to "Missouri Department of Corrections" and include the inmates name and ID number in the memo field. Send the completed money order and completed deposit slip to:
Offender Finance Office
Missouri Department of Corrections
P.O. Box 1609
Jefferson City, MO 65102
No other items should be mailed to this address. You must use blue or black pen to fill out the deposit slip. For more information or questions you can call the Offender Finance Office at 573-526-6445.
Sending Funds Electronically
The fastest way of sending funds to your inmate is through Access Corrections. You can send the money using a MasterCard or Visa debit or credit card over the phone by calling 866-345-1884, or online by visiting the Access Corrections Website.
Before you can send the funds you will need to know the following information:
- The Inmates Name
- The Inmates Identification Number
- The current location of the inmate
You can find all of the above information by doing an inmate search.
For more information on sending funds to an inmate, read our guide here.
Missouri Inmate Phone Calls
Inmates have access to telephones throughout the day to all offenders who are not on restricted status. Segregation inmates have limited telephone privileges. At no time can you initiate a phone call to an inmate, he or she must use the telephones to make either a collect call, a debit call, or a prepaid call. All phone calls are subject to being monitored and recorded. Three way calls and call waiting will result in the phone call being dropped. Cell phones are unable to receive collect calls, so if the only telephone you own is a cell phone and you want to receive calls from your inmate you will need to setup an account with Securus/Advanced Connect.
The phone service provider for Missouri is Securus, and you must setup an account if you want to receive prepaid, or debit calls from your inmate. You can setup your account over the phone by calling 1-800-844-6591 or by visiting their website at securustech.net.
Securus will charge you a fee for each call, plus a rate per minute. You may be able to drastically reduce your inmate phone bill by setting up your account with a number local to the facility. Learn more about how you can save money on your inmate phone calls by reading this article here.