Phone, CorrLinks, and Mail: Staying Connected

Staying connected across prison walls costs money, takes patience, and follows rules you cannot control. Phone time comes on the facility’s schedule, not yours. Email is monitored. Letters are slow. Knowing how each channel actually works, and what each one really costs, helps you stay close without running up bills you cannot afford or missing a call because you did not know when it would come.

Here is how federal prison phones, email, and mail work, and how to build a connection plan that holds up over months and years. Prisonpedia keeps a citation-heavy reference on these systems: Telecommunication Systems: Phones, Email, and Tablets.

Federal prison phones: how they work

People in federal prison place outgoing calls (prepaid, debit, or collect) from phones in the housing unit. A contracted vendor runs the system, and different vendors serve different facilities, so you will learn which one applies once she is designated. Calls go out during scheduled “phone time,” which varies by facility and unit. You do not choose when she can call; the facility does.

To receive calls:

1. Set up an account with the phone vendor once you know which one serves her facility.
2. Add money to the account.
3. List your phone number or numbers.
4. She adds your number to her approved list and can call during her scheduled phone time.

What calls cost: This is where a lot of online information is badly out of date. Federal prison phone rates are set under a Federal Communications Commission rate order, and the caps have come down sharply. Under the 2024 FCC order that took effect January 1, 2025, audio calls in federal prison are capped at roughly $0.06 per minute. (FCC, Incarcerated People’s Communications Services) A few carriers or call types may run somewhat higher, so a 20-minute call typically costs only a couple of dollars, not the $45 to $75 some old guides still quote. The FCC revisited these caps again in 2025, so treat any figure as a moving target and confirm the current rate with the vendor.

There is also real relief worth knowing: since January 1, 2025, the Bureau of Prisons has offered 300 free phone minutes per month to people who are actively participating in First Step Act recidivism-reduction programming. (Bureau of Prisons, phone-policy update)

None of this makes the cost zero. A few dollars per call, several times a week, still adds up over a multi-year sentence, and the money comes out of her trust account. But the order of magnitude is dollars a call, not tens of dollars a minute.

How to manage phone costs:

• Agree on a realistic call frequency together. A few short calls a week is easier to sustain than daily long ones.
• Lean on email for day-to-day updates so calls are for connection, not logistics.
• Think about which numbers you give her. Multiple numbers can mean multiple accounts to fund.
• Some families take turns funding the account month by month.

Call security and monitoring

All federal prison calls are recorded. Assume nothing is private. Do not discuss:

• Illegal activity
• Drug use
• Escape
• Ways to move contraband
• Anything you would not want staff to hear

Ordinary connection is fine: “I love you,” “the kids are good,” “I’ll visit Saturday,” “your mom sends love.” Calls may cut off when time runs out or if the system flags prohibited topics, so stay aware of what you are saying.

CorrLinks and TRULINCS email: the cheaper channel

CorrLinks is the outside-world side of the Bureau of Prisons’ electronic messaging system, called TRULINCS on the inside. She can exchange text messages with approved contacts. Messages are monitored, just like calls, but email is cheaper and more flexible than phone time.

How it works:

1. You create an account on the CorrLinks website and provide your email address.
2. She adds your email to her contact list, and the facility approves it.
3. The two of you exchange messages.

What it costs: Email is billed for the minutes she is connected to the messaging terminal, on the order of a few cents a minute, so a normal exchange costs very little compared with a call. Some facilities also apply a small account fee. Pricing and units vary by facility, so confirm the current rate rather than assuming, but as a rule email is the low-cost way to stay in daily contact.

Limits to expect:

• Access is scheduled; she may only reach the terminal at certain times.
• Messages have length limits (usually a few hundred words).
• Only pre-approved addresses can communicate. She has to submit your address for approval; you cannot simply be added on the spot.
• Technical outages happen at some facilities.

Email is ideal for daily check-ins, family updates, practical information, and connection between calls.

Postal mail: the slowest but freest channel

You can mail letters to her. Mail costs only postage and is not monitored in real time the way calls and email are, though staff do read it. The rules:

What can be mailed:

• Letters and cards
• Approved photographs (color or black-and-white, depending on facility)
• Approved books and magazines (many facilities require these to come directly from the publisher)
• Legal mail from attorneys, which is handled under special procedures

What cannot be mailed:

• Items with staples, tape, or bindings that can conceal contraband
• Cash (fund her account through the approved deposit channels instead)
• Packages of clothing or commissary items (these go through the BOP catalog or approved vendors)
• Anything that looks coded or hidden
• Anything sticky, scented, or otherwise suspicious

Mail is slow. A letter you send Monday may not arrive until the end of the week or later. For anything urgent, use the phone or email.

Address format: Her committed name, her eight-digit BOP register number, her housing unit, and the facility’s name and address. Get the exact format from the facility’s website or its inmate-mail guidance.

Why mail still matters:

• Write regularly. A letter from someone who cares lands hard inside.
• Send photos. Many people keep them on their bunk.
• Send encouragement in words she can hold onto and reread.
• Include the ordinary news of home, the kids, work, what is happening. That thread to the outside world is part of what she is holding onto.

Avoiding the isolation trap

Cost and scheduling can quietly starve a relationship of contact. If money runs short or an account lapses, she may have no way to reach you, and that can turn into shame on her side or guilt on yours. Head it off:

• Be honest and specific about what you can afford.
• Use email and mail for the stretches between calls.
• Set expectations about frequency together, out loud.
• Do not disappear. Even a short letter or message says you are still there.

Connection does not require money every single time. Use all three channels: phone for real-time voice, email for daily contact, mail for the things that take time to matter.

A note for supporters on the outside

The person carrying the account is usually also carrying the emotional load of the relationship. That weight is real, and it is heavier when you feel it alone. Some families work with a support group like the White Collar Support Group to share it. You do not have to hold this by yourself.

Bringing it together: a connection plan

Before she reports, set the plan:

• Phone: pick a realistic frequency and fund the account; ask whether she qualifies for the free monthly programming minutes.
• Email: set up a CorrLinks account so messaging is ready on day one.
• Mail: plan to write at least weekly.
• Visitation: plan your first visit for after approval, which commonly takes several weeks.

Post the vendor website and CorrLinks login somewhere visible, and set a reminder to refill the account before it runs dry. Connection sustained over years takes planning, money, and intention, and it keeps her tied to the people and the world she is coming home to.

Frequently asked questions

How does the federal prison phone system work?

People in federal prison make outgoing calls, prepaid or collect, from phones in their housing unit during scheduled phone times. A contracted vendor runs the system. Under the FCC's 2024 rate order that took effect January 1, 2025, audio calls in federal prison are capped at roughly $0.06 per minute, far below the rates county jails once charged. To receive calls, you set up an account with the vendor, add money, and list your number; she can then call during her unit's phone time. Rates and rules change, so confirm the current cost with the facility's provider.

What is CorrLinks?

CorrLinks is the public-facing side of the Bureau of Prisons' electronic messaging system (TRULINCS). Approved contacts exchange monitored text messages with the person inside. It is much cheaper than calling and works on the facility's schedule. You register your email, and once the facility approves you as a contact, the two of you can message back and forth.

Can I call my inmate directly, or do they have to call me?

She calls you. People in federal prison can place outgoing calls, but they cannot receive incoming calls on the prison phone system, so you cannot call her directly. If she needs to reach you on a particular day, she has to call during her unit's scheduled phone time. This catches many families off guard.

Are phone calls monitored?

Yes. Federal prison phone calls are recorded and monitored for security. Assume staff can hear anything you say. Do not discuss criminal activity, drugs, escape, or ways to move contraband. Ordinary conversation about family, love, and daily life is fine, but treat every call as not private.

How much does it really cost to stay in touch?

Far less than older articles claim. Under current federal caps, audio calls run about $0.06 per minute, so a 20-minute call is only a few dollars, though the total adds up across a multi-year sentence. Since January 1, 2025, the Bureau of Prisons has also offered 300 free phone minutes a month to people actively taking First Step Act programming. Email through TRULINCS is cheaper still. Budget for it, plan a realistic call schedule, and confirm current rates with the facility's provider.

Which facility is she going to?

Nothing above changes based on the facility, but almost everything practical does: the visiting schedule, what commissary stocks, how far the drive is, which programs actually run there. Every federal facility that houses women has its own guide.

• FCI Danbury Danbury, Connecticut
• FCI Aliceville Aliceville, Alabama
• FCI Greenville Greenville, Illinois
• FCI Estill Estill, South Carolina
• FCI Hazelton (SFF) Bruceton Mills, West Virginia
• FCI Phoenix Phoenix, Arizona

See every federal facility that houses women, on one map →