Frequently Asked Questions

1 - How do I send messages to a prisoner?
At the moment you can send messages to a prisoner via this website, it takes only a few minutes and the message gets delivered to the prison rapidly. However we are currently developing a system whereby you will be able to send messages from your own email system, meaning that you will be able to send a message from anywhere you like - home, work, library, an internet cafe even.

2 - How does the message get to the prisoner?
The message is picked up by the Email a Prisoner system and is reformatted into the style required by the prison it is to be sent to. It is then forwarded, electronically, directly to the post room at that prison. When it is collected by the post room staff it is placed into an envelope, sealed and delivered to the prisoner in the standard manner.

3 - How quickly will the message get there?
The message will be processed by emailaprisoner.com and transmitted to the prison almost immediately. The time taken for the transmission depends on the size of the message but it is very quick - under a couple of minutes for most messages.

It then depends on the prisons internal systems as to how long it takes for the message to be processed and delivered to the prisoner in the standard message. However, this usually occurs within a matter of hours of the message being sent.

4 - How private is the Email a Prisoner system
Messages sent to the Email a Prisoner system are very secure, once they have been received they are processed automatically by sophisticated software, there is no human intervention so privacy can be assured. The message is transmitted via a direct telecommunications link directly to the post room inside the prison. At this point they are handled by prison staff as per any mail: however messages from Email a Prisoner are placed into an envelope before they are delivered to ensure privacy within the prison wings.

5 - What does it cost?
Each message you send using Email a Prisoner will cost you just 25p and this includes almost instant delivery to the prison postroom day or night and the message being placed in an envelope for privacy before delivery.

We accept payments from debit/credit card, postal orders, cheques and if you have a paypal account you can even pay through the account.