Straight answers for people who want to write, for people inside, and for their families.
No. Looking through profiles and writing letters is free. The person inside, or someone paying for them, pays for the listing. The only things you can pay for are optional extras: Letter Relay ($15 a month, if you would rather not share your own address), Spanish-English translation ($5 a letter), and Match Suggestion ($10, one time).
If you write through the facility's messaging system (CorrLinks for federal prisons), the system records the delivery, and the person usually gets it within a day. If you write by regular mail, it depends on the facility's mailroom. For federal prisons that is usually 3 to 7 days. If you use Letter Relay, we tell you when we have your letter and send it on within 1 business day.
It depends on the facility. Some people can get to a messaging terminal every day. Some only once a week. Expect the first reply in one to four weeks. After that, letters usually move faster as you both settle into a rhythm. If six weeks go by with no reply, tell us. We will check on the person through the facility's messaging system.
Whatever you would write to a thoughtful person you are getting to know. Books, work, family, the news, what you are cooking, what worries you, what you are proud of. One thing not to do: do not treat the person like an interview. "What is it like inside" should not be the only thing you ask. They are a person with a life, not something to be curious about.
Do not send anything sexually explicit. It breaks the facility's rules and the person will be punished for it. Do not send money, and do not ask for it. Do not talk about anyone else's open court case. Do not make promises you do not plan to keep, like a visit, money, help getting out, or a relationship. And do not write something this week that you would not be willing to write again in three months.
Photos by mail, yes, as long as they follow the facility's rules: no nudity, no contraband, no pictures of children. Most federal prisons accept photo prints but not Polaroids. Gifts and care packages are not allowed through the mail in federal prisons. There are approved companies for that. Ask before you send anything.
Please say so. The person inside cannot tell the difference between a decision and a mail delay. A short goodbye is a kinder ending than silence. There is no fee and no obligation when you stop.
Through the facility's own messaging system (for example, CorrLinks for federal prisons), from an InsideLines account, word for word with nothing changed. The only thing we add is a one-line note at the top saying the message was relayed by InsideLines. We use paper mail if you or the person inside asks for it. Facility staff read everything that goes through those systems. If a facility's system ever blocks or flags relayed messages, we pause relay for that facility the same day and offer paper mail in the meantime.
Use the report form on the safety page, or email [email protected]. A person replies within 2 business days. We act the same day on anything involving a threat, a child, or a victim of a listed person's crime. If you are a victim and you find a listing, we take it down the same day we read your message, and we will not ask you to prove anything.
Fill in the form on the List a profile page. A family member or friend can fill it in for you. If you are already on StayCloser, you can also reply to any message from InsideLines through the facility's messaging system and say you want to be listed. Either way, we send you a short consent message first. Nothing is published until you agree in writing.
Yes. They must agree themselves, in writing. A family member or friend can start the process and pay, but cannot agree for them. We send the person a short, plain message or letter through the facility's messaging system or by mail. They reply in their own words. Nothing is published until we have that reply. They can change their mind at any time, and nobody will ask why.
Yes. If their case is still open, the profile says "Charges pending — not convicted" and lists the charges as filed. It never hints at guilt. We check jail profiles again every 30 days. If the person is moved, we pause the profile until we confirm the new facility.
Not everyone. Some corrections systems restrict pen-pal listings. Before we list anyone from a system we have not worked with before, we check that system's rules once and tell you what we find. Depending on the rules, we may list the person normally, allow Letter Relay by paper mail only, ask the person inside to sign a short note saying they understand the risk, or say no. If we say no, there is no charge.
$25 a quarter for Standard, $40 a quarter for Featured, $60 a quarter for Premier. Pay for a year and save 20%. The first group of listings gets the first quarter free. You can pay by card through Stripe (a family member, friend or sponsor outside pays), or by check or money order from the facility trust account where the facility allows it. See pricing.
Profiles in our first group of listings get their first quarter free, on any plan. It does not renew on its own. We send a reminder 30 days before it ends. If you wrote to us before we announced this and nobody told you about it, you are in the first group.
Sometimes we say no to a profile, or take one down for a reason of our own. That means a real, current danger, a request from a victim, a facility rule we find out about after payment, or our own mistake. In those cases we refund the unused part of the current term within 5 business days. Sometimes a profile comes down because the person asked us to after it was published, or because they were released before the term ended. In those cases there is no refund for the current term, and no more charges. The full details are in our Terms.
No. No kind of conviction keeps you off the site by itself. We check your charges against state and federal prison records and show them plainly on your profile. People read what the record says and decide whether to write. We may say no in a single case where a profile is a real, current danger that showing the record does not fix. For example, a bio with open threats in it, or signs that someone is still trying to reach people they should not. We decide those one at a time, never by group, and the money paid is refunded in full. If a county-jail case is still open, the profile says "Charges pending — not convicted" and never hints at guilt.
By reading the profile. It shows the convictions we found, the sentence, the earliest release date, the bio in the person's own words, their interests, and the languages they write in. Anyone who wants to know more can use public sources: the BOP Inmate Locator, PACER federal court records, state prison lookups, the NSOPW sex offender registry, and state and county court records. They are all linked on the safety page.
It depends on your plan, your bio, and how many people see it. Many people on Standard get a first letter within 4 to 8 weeks of going up. Some take longer. Some get no letters in their first term. We cannot promise that anyone will write. We can only promise the listing. Featured and Premier profiles are seen by more people, which usually means more first letters. Not every first letter turns into a lasting pen pal.
Yes. Changes are free on every plan. Your bio, photos, interests and first name are yours to change. Your facility, release date, charges and sentence change only when the record changes. Premier makes changes within 24 hours. Standard and Featured make them within 3 business days. Mistakes are fixed within one business day.
Your profile comes down within 30 days of your release date, or sooner if you ask us in writing. If the people you met through InsideLines keep writing to you after you are home, that is between you and them. InsideLines is not a service for after release.
InsideLines is a sister brand of StayCloser, which runs a text-relay service for families. The two keep separate records. InsideLines is operated by Bridge Unity Network, Inc., doing business as InsideLines. See our Terms.
No. We are a business. We chose the .org web address to show that we are here to serve, not just to sell. But we are not a 501(c)(3) charity. The listing fees are what keep the site running.
No. InsideLines is not affiliated with or endorsed by any federal, state or local law enforcement, corrections agency, jail or court. We are a private listing service, and we follow each facility's rules about mail and messages.
For a safety concern (a profile that should not be up, a letter that is threatening or breaks the rules): use the report form or email [email protected]. For questions about a listing, a bill, or anything else: use the form below or email [email protected]. We reply within two business days.
Ask it here. A person replies within 2 business days.
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