The Harris County Inmate Care Package and Letter Regulations

Do you have a friend or a relative in prison? If you do, you’d probably want their time behind bars to be less harsh and lonely.

To help them cope with isolationism better, you can make them feel more connected by visiting them in prison.

Another way of showing your affections and sympathy is by writing to them or sending them care packages.

This DoNotPay article guides you through the rules for sending letters and care packages, including how to address them, to prisoners in Harris County Jail.

What Is the Harris County Jail Mail Policy?

Harris County Jail has strict inmate mail rules and regulations. Unless you follow them, the mail will be returned to the sender or directed to the U.S. Post Office. They are:

• The mail has to contain both the sender’s and recipient’s full addresses
• All the mail is subject to inspection by the Harris County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO)

For more specific details regarding mail and packages, read the sections below.

What Type of Mail Can a Harris County Jail Inmate Receive?

If you’d like to send mail to an inmate in Harris County, review the table below to see what eligible items are.

Other than a letter or allowed photos, the envelope cannot contain anything else. Unauthorized items will be disposed of, and they are:

• Contraband (any content, such as gang references, that could potentially pose a safety issue in a facility)
• Pens, pencils, or markers
• Envelopes, stamps, or stickers
• Greeting cards
• Drugs ( or illegal)
• Cash or money orders
• Obscene pictures (full or partial nudity)
• Food or food items
• Computer-generated material downloaded from the internet
• Photocopied images or facsimiles

How To Address Mail?

All inmate mail needs to have the sender’s full name and return address as well as the following inmate information:

• Full name
• System person number (SPN)
• Housing facility and cell block location

Depending on the inmate location, all inmate letters and paperwork are to be sent to one of the addresses:

Harris County Jail accepts only publications delivered by one of the following:

• The U.S. Postal Service (USPS)
• Federal Express (Fed-Ex)
• United Parcel Service (UPS)
• Amazon driver

You should address all publications to:

Inmate Full Name, Full SPN

701 N. San Jacinto, Visitor Control Center

Attn: Books- Mail Room

Houston, Texas 77002

What Are Inmate Care Packages? What Are the Harris County Jail Care Packages Rules?

Prisoner care packages are inmate packages containing necessities that are not readily available to inmates at the commissaries. They usually contain the following items:

• Food
• Cosmetics
• Clothes and footwear

Harris County Jail inmates can receive care packages if the parcels are sent by an authorized vendor. It means that inmates’ families and friends can purchase an approved care package, but they cannot send it themselves.

The Harris County Sheriff’s Office lists iCare as the authorized vendor, but facilities may have different policies regarding approved vendors. You should contact the jail facility your inmate is at and enquire whose service deliveries they accept.

If you would like to learn more about iCare packages for inmates, you can read about it in our guide.

Mail Your Letters to a Harris County Inmate via DoNotPay

Writing letters to an inmate you care about is deeply personal and requires reflection about the feelings and thoughts you want to share. Mundanities like checking the prison-specific mail rules or choosing the right paper should not divert your attention from what matters most—connecting with your prison pen pal.

For that reason, DoNotPay has introduced a new service—Connect With an Inmate— enabling you to send letters to prison inmates as well as receive correspondence from inmates efficiently.

The whole concept is similar to exchanging emails except that you’ll be handling the electronic mail, whereas your recipient will receive and send printed letters.

To see how this phenomenal service works, take the steps listed below:

1. Open the Connect With an Inmate product in your web browser
2. Select Send a Personalized Letter
3. Follow the instructions to input the inmate information
4. Write or upload your message to the inmate
5. Select a letter personalization template

Our DoNotPay team will process your letter, print it, and forward it to the designated recipient. When they write a responding letter, it will be mailed to an address selected by DoNotPay. We will scan the letter, digitize it, and direct it to your Virtual Mailbox.

Some prisons allow only letters written on a white sheet of paper, so make sure to check the mail regulations of the prison/facility where your recipient is.

Another Trick Up DoNotPay’s Sleeve

Our Connect With an Inmate service can help you locate your loved ones in any county, state, or federal prison. It often happens that inmates abruptly change facilities for numerous reasons, and you can easily lose track of them.

DoNotPay helps you locate an inmate within seconds!

Here’s how:

1. Visit DoNotPay in your web browser
2. Select Locate Someone under the Connect With an Inmate service
3. Enter the inmate name and state they’re in

Our diligent team will find the individual and give you their current location.

If you’d like to learn more about Harris County inmate phone calls and visitation rules, DoNotPay will assist you.

Can I Send Money to a Harris County Inmate? How?

Yes, you can deposit money to a Harris County Jail inmate’s account with the Inmate Trust Fund (known as the Inmate Bank).

Some of the approved methods and other details about money deposits are featured in the table below.

See the Inmate Trust Fund page for the full list of deposit methods.

DoNotPay—A Universal Assistant

Other than Harris County Jail inmate package regulations, DoNotPay can help you familiarize yourself with rules for Kern County inmate packages or regulations valid in Texas, generally.

DoNotPay can assist you with a spectrum of other matters, too.

Log in to your DoNotPay account in your web browser, and we will help you:

• File a small claims lawsuit against anyone
• Sign up for free trials without risks
• Protect your work from copyright infringement
• Find any unclaimed funds under your name
• Get a plane ticket refund or other compensation
• Cancel subscriptions or memberships effortlessly
• Contest your parking tickets
• Fix a DMV appointment efficiently
• Fight your speeding tickets
• Sign up for numerous services without phone verification
• Stop getting text spam
• Get in touch with your imprisoned loved ones
• Request refunds or compensation from companies
• Reach customer service reps fast and easy
• Block spam mail in no time
• Protect yourself from stalking and harassment
• Register for clinical studies
• Deal with credit card issues
• Appeal your traffic tickets
• Manage bills you are unable to pay
• Report robocalls and get compensation