How To Get in Touch With Prison Penpals (Male)

iEditorial Note: These blog posts represent the opinion of DoNotPay’s Writers, but each person’s situation and circumstances vary greatly. As a result, you should make sure to do your own independent research. Because everyone is unique, our self-help tools are never guaranteed to help with any specific situation. DoNotPay is not a law firm and is not licensed to practice law. DoNotPay provides a platform for legal information and self-help.

A Walkthrough—Locate and Connect With Prison Pen Pals (Male)

Detached from the outside world, estranged, lonely, frustrated, scared, and hopeless. These are only a few from a whole spectrum of emotions that prisoners feel.

Some male prisoners turn to aggressive behavior as a coping method. Yet, all they need is guidance and understanding.

You may wish to contact an inmate. Maybe write them a letter? It could be a rewarding experience for both you and your prison pen pal.

How and What To Mail to My Male Prison Pen Pal?

Writing letters to inmates, especially for the first time, can be a bit intimidating. You may be anxious, not knowing how to address mail to an inmate, let alone what to write.

To address the first issue, your letter should be written on sheets of white paper. The envelope should be white as well, and contain only the return address (yours) and the inmate information, i.e.:

  • The inmate’s full legal name and ID number
  • Facility name and address
  • City, state, and ZIP code

As for the content of your letter—it depends on the nature of your relationship. You will also have to follow the prison protocols because all mail is subject to inspection before delivery to the inmate.

Here are a few ideas on what to do and what to avoid at all cost:

DosDon’ts
  • Foster a change for the better through support and encouragement
  • Share inspiring ideas
  • Write love quotes
  • Establish rapport with your pen pal
  • Enclose positive photos
  • Exchange jokes
  • Encourage violent behavior
  • Send cash
  • Apply perfume, lipstick, stickers, glitters, and more onto the envelope or sheets
  • Share anything you are not comfortable with, especially information that could compromise your safety
  • Enclose lascivious photos
  • Write or enclose contraband

Most prisons have their own inmate mail rules and regulations, so make sure to check the ones pertaining to the facility your pen pal is.

How Do I Find Prison Pen Pals?

In case you want to write and provide moral support to an imprisoned individual, there are numerous websites where you can find a prospective pen pal.

Those platforms feature inmates' profiles and addresses and are usually free to use. Many come with filters to optimize your search.

Some of the most popular platforms for finding prison pen pals are:

Locate Your Male Pen Pals in Prison via DoNotPay

Your childhood friend or a distant relative is serving time for a felony, and you want to get in touch with them but don’t know what prison or facility he is in or how to find him? Nothing to worry about—DoNotPay can help you locate your soon-to-be pen pal in an instant via its Connect With an Inmate feature.

The process cannot be simpler! You can see it for yourself by:

  1. Logging in to your DoNotPay account in any
  2. Selecting Connect With an Inmate and then Locate Someone
  3. Entering the inmate’s name and the state they are in

Once you have provided these details, DoNotPay will automatically search through prisoner databases and generate the exact location of the inmate you have been looking for.

Can I Call My Male Pen Pal in Prison?

Whether you know the person or they are someone you have met on a pen pal platform, you cannot make calls to prison inmates. No jail or prison allows incoming calls—only outgoing ones are possible under the following conditions:

  • All calls are subject to monitoring or recording, except for the ones involving legal representatives
  • The inmate has to have completed the intake process to have their phone privileges
  • You must be on the inmate’s approved list of contacts (the list can be expanded)
  • They can call you in one of the two ways:

Send and Receive Letters With DoNotPay

As you can see, our new service has other tricks up its sleeve!

You can exchange letters with your prison pen pal using virtual space. You’ll be using it—the other party will still be getting printed or hand-written letters.

DoNotPay’s Connect With an Inmate service is an excellent tool because:

  • You can send mail wherever you are—handy if you are always on the road
  • The pen pal won’t have your address unless you share it—particularly useful if you are corresponding with someone you don’t know well enough

Try it out and see what we’ve been on about. Here’s how:

  1. Access the Connect With an Inmate service from your
  2. Select Send a Personalized Letter
  3. Provide the inmate details, including name, prisoner ID, and the facility
  4. Compose your letter or upload the one you have already written
  5. Add any photos or pictures
  6. Choose a template to customize your letter

DoNotPay will print the letter and send it to your beloved pen pal right away!

You will see that you can also activate your Virtual Mailbox, where you will receive and store all the letters from your pen pals in one place. To enable it, hit the Create My Mailbox, and that’s it. Every time you want to see if there’s any new mail, click Request Mail Check.

If I Want To Send a Gift to My Inmate Pen Pal, Can I?

Your pen pal would be thrilled to get any tokens of affection from you, but prison policies are generally strict regarding sending gifts or other packages to inmates.

In most cases, you will only be able to order cards, care packages, books, magazines, and other publications and have them sent by official vendors (or publishers).

Prisons have these policies to ensure that nothing illegal is smuggled into their facilities, and all inmate packages have to pass security checks.

Can I Visit a Male Prison Pen Pal?

Usually, inmate visitation is allowed unless the inmate has been restricted from having visitors due to misconduct.

Most prisons require that visitors are added to the list of approved contacts and apply for a visit in advance.

If you are planning to visit a friend or meet an inmate for the first time, you should be mindful of the following:

  • Dress code—modest, non-revealing clothing
  • Visiting duration—depends on the prison facility
  • Physical contact—hugs, kisses, and hand-shakes at the beginning and end of the visit (though these regulations may vary across facilities)
  • Conduct—you and the inmate should demonstrate dignity and well manners

Note: when you arrive, you should have a valid photo ID, as you will have to through a security inspection.

When Everything Fails, DoNotPay Prevails

If you want to gain more prison-related information, DoNotPay is your best starting point!

Do you want ideas for writing a supportive letter to an inmate? We will provide sample letters of encouragement to inmates. Maybe you don’t know what rules apply to federal inmate phone calls? Or what packages are allowed in Ohio, Alabama, or Pennsylvania? Whatever dilemmas you may have, DoNotPay is here to provide solutions.

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