Inmate Package Program: How It Works and What's Allowed
, by Jahmaxx Care Packages, 6 min reading time
An inmate package program is the system a corrections department uses to control what incarcerated people can receive from outside. Packages must be ordered from a vendor and shipped directly to the facility, with limits on how many arrive per month, how much they weigh, and what they may contain.
Quick answer: An inmate package program is the system a corrections department uses to control what incarcerated people can receive from outside. Packages must be ordered from a vendor and shipped directly to the facility, with limits on how many arrive per month, how much they weigh, and what they may contain. Each state runs its own program, so the rules that apply depend entirely on where the person is held.
This page explains how these programs work generally, then covers New York State in full detail.
Why package programs exist
Corrections departments moved to vendor-only package programs to control contraband. A sealed commercial product from a known shipper can be screened; a box assembled in someone’s kitchen cannot be screened the same way, and drugs in particular can be introduced into home-prepared food in ways an x-ray will not catch.
The trade-off fell on families, who lost the ability to send anything they made themselves. What replaced it is a catalog.
The common structure
Programs differ in detail but share the same architecture:
- Vendor control. Either an approved list you must order from, or a disapproved list you must avoid. New York uses the second model — any vendor is acceptable unless DOCCS has specifically disapproved it.
- Package and weight caps, usually monthly or quarterly.
- Direct shipping. The vendor ships to the facility. The family never handles the box.
- Identification. The person’s full name and inmate number on the label.
- An allowable items list governing ingredients, packaging, colors, sizes, and value.
- Facility-level variation. Individual prisons add their own restrictions on top.
If you are sending outside New York, confirm rules with that state’s corrections department. What follows is New York.
The New York program: Directive 4911
New York’s program is governed by DOCCS Directive #4911, “Packages & Articles Sent to Facilities.” The current version took effect December 21, 2023.
Food packages
Three per month, combined weight not exceeding 40 pounds, from a vendor only. There is no family exception for food.
Two details cost families money regularly. Packages are counted by arrival at the facility, not by order date — slow shipping can push a package into the next month or stack it onto packages someone else sent. And split shipments count separately: the directive warns that vendors operating as third-party fulfillment services may break one order across multiple boxes, each counting against the limit. One order arriving as three boxes uses the whole month.
Non-food packages
Non-food does not count against the food limit. And unlike food, families have a direct option: up to two non-food packages per calendar year sent by family or friends. Most vendor sites do not mention this. It appears in Section I and again in Section IV-G.
Those packages must bear the person’s name and DIN, and the return address must include the sender’s first and last name. Contents still have to be on the allowable list.
Who is excluded
- Reception status — no packages for 30 days from arrival at a reception or classification facility
- Special Housing Unit — governed by Directive #4933 instead
- In transit — temporarily housed elsewhere
- Lakeview Shock Incarceration, Drug Treatment Centers, CASAT, Work Release, IASAT, Edgecombe Residential Treatment Facility — unless specifically authorized
- Anyone serving a disciplinary disposition including loss of package privileges
What the program allows
Attachment A of the directive is the complete list, organized into ten categories: food, food utensils, tobacco, toilet articles and cosmetics, clothing, educational supplies, miscellaneous, recreational supplies, art and hobby supplies, and religious articles.
Food must be commercially packaged in airtight, hermetically sealed containers — heat-sealed plastic or vacuum-sealed pouches. No glass, no cans. Paper, film, and foil seals do not qualify. Fresh fruit and vegetables are the only exception to sealing. Prohibited: alcohol, creatine, protein or vitamin enrichment, energy products, poppy seeds, marshmallows, frozen food, government surplus, and anything home, bakery, restaurant, or deli prepared.
Clothing must be new. Blue, black, gray, and orange are prohibited except where specified. No denim, no spandex, no quilted material, no removable linings. Most items cap at $90.
Electronics and audio require a local permit. Radios cap at $150 with a clear see-through case, no larger than 8" by 14". Headphones cap at $50 with no metal bands.
Anything over $30 must arrive with the vendor’s original printed receipt. Handwritten is not accepted.
What happens at the facility
Every package is opened and searched, with contents removed from the shipping container and inspected visually and by x-ray. The shipping box is never given to the person.
Individual sealed items usually stay sealed unless there is a security concern, in which case the officer files a memorandum explaining why. Product labels are preserved. Packages are held no more than 72 hours.
Spoiled food is destroyed and DOCCS accepts no liability. The directive is explicit: the Department is not responsible for articles damaged in shipping or received spoiled. There is no refund process on their side.
If something is rejected
If the item is not on the allowable list, it is not issued and there is no review.
If it is on the list but was withheld over specifications — wrong size, color, price, ingredients — the person can request review by completing Form #2068. An area supervisor reviews it during rounds. Refusing to sign the form forfeits the review entirely.
Choosing a vendor within the program
Eligibility is the floor, not a differentiator — every vendor shipping into NYS facilities meets it. What separates them:
- Single shipment or split? Split orders burn the monthly allowance.
- How do they pack perishables? There is no recourse if food spoils.
- How fast do they ship? Arrival date determines the monthly count.
- Do they ship to every facility? Some serve a subset.
- Printed invoice for items over $30?
Ordering through Jahmaxx
Jahmaxx Care Packages is a Queens, New York based vendor shipping to all 42 New York State DOCCS facilities for over a decade. Over 5,000 products including Caribbean, Spanish, and vegan items. Single shipment per order — never split across boxes. Typically ships next day, with most orders arriving the same week. Among the lowest shipping rates of any NYS package vendor.
Browse meats, cheese, snacks, provisions, seafood, clothing, bath and body, or the full catalog.
Related: Directive 4911 explained, how to choose a vendor, inmate food packages.
Sources
- NYS DOCCS Directive #4911, effective December 21, 2023 — doccs.ny.gov
- NYS DOCCS, “Mail & Packages” — doccs.ny.gov/mail-packages
New York details reflect Directive #4911 as of December 21, 2023. Programs outside New York are set by each state. Confirm with the facility before ordering.