South Dakota Inmate Phones/Sending Money & Mail

Sending Mail to Inmates in South Dakota

Offenders in South Dakota are allowed to receive and send correspondence from friends and family members.  All incoming mail must have the sender's full name and address on the upper left hand corner of the envelope.  In addition, the inmate's full name, identification number and inmate mailing address must be present on the front of the envelope.

You should address your mail using the following format:
Inmate Name, ID Number
Facility Name
PO Box or Street address
City, State, zip code

At no time can you send an inmate in South Dakota envelopes, stamps, stickers, calendars, homemade cards, electronics cards, multi-layered cards, coloring book pages, or food.  You may however, send an inmate letters, normal greeting cards, up to ten sheets of blank paper, and up to five small newspaper clippings.  Additionally you can send 4"x6" photographs to an inmate.  Photos must not be Polaroid, or contain any nudity.

All incoming mail is opened and inspected for contraband and may be read.  Legal mail that is clearly marked may not be read but can still be opened and inspected in the presence of the offender.  All stamps and envelopes must be purchased through the facilities commissary.

How to Send Books and Magazines to South Dakota Inmates

Prisoners in South Dakota prisons are allowed to receive books and magazines that come directly from a reputable publisher like Amazon.com.  All books must come new from Amazon and be paperback editions.  Publications must not contain any nudity or describe how to manufacture drugs, alcohol or weapons.  If you want to learn more about sending these items to an inmate read about it here.  

Sending Money to Inmates in South Dakota

All inmates in the South Dakota Department of Corrections have a bank account that has been established in their name.  Offenders can use these funds to purchase items from the commissary such as stamps, writing supplies, food, snacks, and various hygiene items.

Inmates can receive business and payroll checks, cashier's checks and money orders.  Personal checks are not accepted.  The most common way of sending funds is by purchasing a United States Postal Money order made payable to the inmate.  Mail the funds to the inmate using the inmate mailing address of the institution.  All transactions are tracked through a computerized system, and inmates are notified when funds are deposited into their account.

For more information on sending funds to an inmate, read our guide here.

South Dakota Inmate Phone Calls

Inmates will establish a call list of up to twenty numbers during the Admissions and Orientation process.  Offenders will be allowed to make calls to any of the numbers on their phone list throughout each day, however phone calls are considered a privilege which may be revoked for behavioral/disciplinary issues.  At no time can you make an incoming call to an inmate.  All calls are made either collect or through a pre-paid debit phone account.  Collect calls will bill the person who is accepting the call, whereas pre-paid debit calls will come out of the inmate's phone account.  Additionally, friends and family members on the inmate's approved telephone list can setup a telephone debit account that will allow them to pay for the calls at a reduced rate when compared to a collect call.

All calls are recorded and monitored.  Three way calling and call forwarding is prohibited.  Call waiting may cause the phone call to terminate early.

The phone service provider for South Dakota is GTL AdvancePay.  You can setup your account over the phone by calling 1-800-483-8314 or by visiting their website.  To setup an account you will need to know the inmate's identification number and full name. 

GTL AdvancePay 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.