Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 15, § 3133 - Definitions and Disposition of Mail
(a)
Definitions:
(1) First-Class Mail is all mail
wholly or partly in writing or typewriting, all actual and personal
correspondence, all bills and statements of account, and all matter sealed or
otherwise closed against inspection. The maximum weight for a First-Class
letter is 13 ounces. All First-Class Mail shall be delivered to the
incarcerated person as soon as possible, but not later than seven calendar days
from receipt of the mail at the facility mailroom.
(2) Standard Mail, formerly called Bulk Mail,
is used for advertising mail, catalogues, and newsletters of a non-personal
nature that are not required to be mailed as First-Class Mail. The maximum
weight for Standard Mail is 16 ounces.
(3) Periodicals are a class of mail
consisting of magazines, newspapers or other publications formed of printed
sheets that are published at least four times a year at regular, specified
intervals from a known office of publication. The known office of publication
must be a public office for transacting the business of the publication during
normal business hours, and must also be the office where the publication's
circulation records are available for USPS examination.
(4) Package Services are Parcel Post, bound
Printed Matter, Media Mail, and Library Mail. With the exception of parole
clothes and third party special purchase health appliances, incarcerated
persons shall not be allowed to receive package services directly from personal
correspondents. Packages containing parole clothes or third party special
purchase health care appliances must be clearly marked with either "Parole
Clothes" or "Health Care Appliance" on the outside of the package. Personal
correspondents do not include the Courts, Law Firms, County, State and Federal
Agencies, Publishers, Bookstores, Book Distributors, Religious Organizations
that provide written materials only, etc.
(b) All incoming and outgoing mail shall be
handled in accordance with the following:
(1)
All incoming mail shall be properly addressed. Appropriately addressed mail
shall include the incarcerated person's name and department identification
number. The mail should also include the address designated by the institution
for incarcerated person. The receiving institution is required to update any
mail piece that does not reflect accurate housing or institutional location.
Standard Mail must be addressed to an individual incarcerated person, showing
their name, CDCR number and the address for the applicable
institution.
(2) All outgoing mail
shall be properly addressed, and shall be marked indicating that it originated
from a California State Correctional Facility. If addressed to an incarcerated
person, it must contain the sender's name, department identification number and
the return address designated by the institution for incarcerated person mail,
including housing. It shall also contain the recipient's name, address, city,
state, and zip code.
(3) All
incoming packages and non-confidential mail addressed to an incarcerated person
will be opened and inspected before delivery to the incarcerated person. The
purpose of inspection will be to receive or receipt any funds enclosed for
deposit to the incarcerated person's trust account, to verify and record the
receipt of permitted personal property, and to prevent the introduction of
contraband. All non-confidential incarcerated person mail, incoming or
outgoing, is subject to being read in its entirety by designated staff. All
non-confidential incarcerated person mail that is "returned to sender" shall be
opened and inspected before being returned to the incarcerated
person.
(4) Facilities shall not
require incoming books, magazines or newspapers to have an institution
pre-approved "vendor approved" label affixed to the packaging. A departmentally
approved vendor is any publisher, book store, or book distributor, that does
mail order business. Books, periodicals or other publications that are mailed
from a religious organization shall be considered as coming from an authorized
vendor.
(c) Confidential
Mail with Trust Account Withdrawals. Incarcerated person confidential mail
submitted with a CDCR Form 193, Trust Account Withdraw Order (Rev. 07/24), to
pay for filing fees or other costs may be left unsealed so that the voucher
(check) can be enclosed after the trust account withdrawal has been processed.
Incarcerated persons who do not wish to forward this type of mail unsealed
should attach a stamped, appropriately addressed envelope to the confidential
mail so the check can be enclosed and forwarded in the extra
envelope.
(d) Undelivered Mail. All
undelivered letters and packages returned to a facility by the post office
shall be opened and inspected before being returned to the incarcerated person.
This inspection is to determine if the content originated with the incarcerated
person sender identified on the letter or package, and to prevent the
transmission of contraband, material, substances, and property that an
incarcerated person is not authorized to possess in the correctional facility.
The inspection of returned mail includes regular mail and letters that were
mailed as confidential correspondence. In the case of returned confidential
correspondence, the envelope shall be opened in the presence of the
incarcerated person. It shall be examined and read to the degree necessary to
determine if it was sent by the incarcerated person and opened or tampered with
before its return to the facility. Upon completion of this examination, the
returned correspondence shall be given to the incarcerated person. Any
contraband found in the returned correspondence shall be confiscated and
processed, and appropriate disciplinary action taken.
(e) Unmailed Correspondence. If any
First-Class Mail is not accepted for mailing, or is accepted for mailing but is
not properly mailed, the incarcerated person shall be notified in writing of
the reason for refusal to accept or to promptly mail the item(s). When the
delay in mailing exceeds 5 business days, the notice shall be sent and include
the disposition of such mail. Unless retention of such mail is required in
administrative, legal, or disciplinary proceedings against the incarcerated
person or other persons, it shall be promptly mailed or returned to the
incarcerated person.
(f) Forwarding
Mail. Mail received for an incarcerated person who has been transferred from
the facility where the mail is received shall be immediately forwarded to the
facility or agency that has current custody of the incarcerated person. Mail
addressed to an incarcerated person who has been transferred or released shall
not be returned to the sender as "Addressee Unknown" unless the individual has
been discharged from CDCR. First-Class Mail and Periodicals addressed to an
incarcerated person who has been transferred within the CDCR shall have a label
affixed with the current address and shall be forwarded via the USPS. For
incarcerated persons who have paroled, the affixed label shall state "Paroled
Region # ___", and shall show that Parole Regions' address. Standard Mail with
a "Mailer Endorsement" that was appropriately addressed, but is undeliverable
because the incarcerated person is no longer housed at the facility, shall be
returned to the USPS for processing. Mailroom staff shall affix a label to the
Standard Mail piece showing the correct address before returning it to the USPS
for processing. For incarcerated persons who have paroled, the label affixed to
the Standard Mail piece shall state "Paroled Region # ___" and shall show that
Parole Regions' address. The Mailer Endorsement will appear either near the
address block or below the return address in the top left corner of the mail
piece. A Mailer Endorsement may read "Address Service Requested", or
"Forwarding Service Requested", or "Change Service Requested", or "Return
Service Requested". Staff may dispose of any Standard Mail piece that does not
have a Mailer Endorsement, and is undeliverable because the incarcerated person
is not currently housed at the institution. Daily newspapers that are delivered
by courier will not be forwarded nor will they be held for an incarcerated
person who is temporarily away from the facility for longer than 72 hours.
Exceptions will be made when the absence results from the incarcerated person's
participation in facility approved activities such as a community release
program, firefighting or other disaster control assignments. Newspapers that
are delivered by the USPS will have a forwarding address affixed and shall be
returned to the USPS for processing.
(g) Forwarding Confidential Correspondence.
All confidential correspondence for incarcerated persons that must be forwarded
will be done on a daily basis. If delivery of confidential correspondence from
the courts is impeded because the addressee's name and CDCR number do not
conform to each other, the mailroom will contact the Litigation Coordinator who
will telephone the court to clarify the identification of the addressee in
order to expedite delivery of confidential correspondence. Staff will document
their efforts to identify the addressee when confidential correspondence from
the courts cannot be delivered.
(h)
Temporary Absence. Mail shall be held for an incarcerated person who is
temporarily away from the facility when the incarcerated person's return is
anticipated within one week.
Notes
Note: Authority cited: Section 5058, Penal Code. Reference: Sections 2601 and 4570, Penal Code; Procunier v. Martinez, 416 U.S. 396; and Bell v. Wolffish, 99 S. Ct 1861.
Note: Authority cited: Section 5058, Penal Code. Reference: Sections 2601 and 4570, Penal Code; Procunier v. Martinez, 416 U.S. 396; and Bell v. Wolffish, 99 S. Ct 1861.
2. New subsection (h) and subsection relettering filed 7-23-2020 as an emergency; operative
3. Repealer of subsection (a)(5) filed 9-17-2020; operative
4. Emergency filed 7-23-2020 extended 60 days pursuant to Executive Order N-40-20 and an additional 60 days pursuant to Executive Order N-66-20 (Register 2020, No. 48). A Certificate of Compliance must be transmitted to OAL by 4-30-2021 or emergency language will be repealed by operation of law on the following day.
5. New subsection (h) and subsection relettering refiled 4-27-2021 as an emergency; operative
6. Certificate of Compliance as to 4-27-2021 order, including repealer of subsection (h) and subsection relettering, transmitted to OAL 11-29-2021 and filed 12-20-2021; amendments effective
7. Change without regulatory effect amending section filed 7-1-2024 pursuant to section 100, title 1, California Code of Regulations (Register 2024, No. 27).
State regulations are updated quarterly; we currently have two versions available. Below is a comparison between our most recent version and the prior quarterly release. More comparison features will be added as we have more versions to compare.
(a) Definitions:
(1) First-Class Mail is all mail wholly or partly in writing or typewriting, all actual and personal correspondence, all bills and statements of account, and all matter sealed or otherwise closed against inspection. The maximum weight for a First-Class letter is 13 ounces. All First-Class Mail shall be delivered to the incarcerated person as soon as possible, but not later than seven calendar days from receipt of the mail at the facility mailroom.
(2) Standard Mail, formerly called Bulk Mail, is used for advertising mail, catalogues, and newsletters of a non-personal nature that are not required to be mailed as First-Class Mail. The maximum weight for Standard Mail is 16 ounces.
(3) Periodicals are a class of mail consisting of magazines, newspapers or other publications formed of printed sheets that are published at least four times a year at regular, specified intervals from a known office of publication. The known office of publication must be a public office for transacting the business of the publication during normal business hours, and must also be the office where the publication's circulation records are available for USPS examination.
(4) Package Services are Parcel Post, bound Printed Matter, Media Mail, and Library Mail. With the exception of parole clothes and third party special purchase health appliances, incarcerated persons shall not be allowed to receive package services directly from personal correspondents. Packages containing parole clothes or third party special purchase health care appliances must be clearly marked with either "Parole Clothes" or "Health Care Appliance" on the outside of the package. Personal correspondents do not include the Courts, Law Firms, County, State and Federal Agencies, Publishers, Bookstores, Book Distributors, Religious Organizations that provide written materials only, etc.
(b) All incoming and outgoing mail shall be handled in accordance with the following:
(1) All incoming mail shall be properly addressed. Appropriately addressed mail shall include the incarcerated person's name and department identification number. The mail should also include the address designated by the institution for incarcerated person. The receiving institution is required to update any mail piece that does not reflect accurate housing or institutional location. Standard Mail must be addressed to an individual incarcerated person, showing their name, CDCR number and the address for the applicable institution.
(2) All outgoing mail shall be properly addressed, and shall be marked indicating that it originated from a California State Correctional Facility. If addressed to an incarcerated person, it must contain the sender's name, department identification number and the return address designated by the institution for incarcerated person mail, including housing. It shall also contain the recipient's name, address, city, state, and zip code.
(3) All incoming packages and non-confidential mail addressed to an incarcerated person will be opened and inspected before delivery to the incarcerated person. The purpose of inspection will be to receive or receipt any funds enclosed for deposit to the incarcerated person's trust account, to verify and record the receipt of permitted personal property, and to prevent the introduction of contraband. All non-confidential incarcerated person mail, incoming or outgoing, is subject to being read in its entirety by designated staff. All non-confidential incarcerated person mail that is "returned to sender" shall be opened and inspected before being returned to the incarcerated person.
(4) Facilities shall not require incoming books, magazines or newspapers to have an institution pre-approved "vendor approved" label affixed to the packaging. A departmentally approved vendor is any publisher, book store, or book distributor, that does mail order business. Books, periodicals or other publications that are mailed from a religious organization shall be considered as coming from an authorized vendor.
(c) Confidential Mail with Trust Account Withdrawals. Incarcerated person confidential mail submitted with a CDCR Form 193, Trust Account Withdraw Order (Rev. 07/24), to pay for filing fees or other costs may be left unsealed so that the voucher (check) can be enclosed after the trust account withdrawal has been processed. Incarcerated persons who do not wish to forward this type of mail unsealed should attach a stamped, appropriately addressed envelope to the confidential mail so the check can be enclosed and forwarded in the extra envelope.
(d) Undelivered Mail. All undelivered letters and packages returned to a facility by the post office shall be opened and inspected before being returned to the incarcerated person. This inspection is to determine if the content originated with the incarcerated person sender identified on the letter or package, and to prevent the transmission of contraband, material, substances, and property that an incarcerated person is not authorized to possess in the correctional facility. The inspection of returned mail includes regular mail and letters that were mailed as confidential correspondence. In the case of returned confidential correspondence, the envelope shall be opened in the presence of the incarcerated person. It shall be examined and read to the degree necessary to determine if it was sent by the incarcerated person and opened or tampered with before its return to the facility. Upon completion of this examination, the returned correspondence shall be given to the incarcerated person. Any contraband found in the returned correspondence shall be confiscated and processed, and appropriate disciplinary action taken.
(e) Unmailed Correspondence. If any First-Class Mail is not accepted for mailing, or is accepted for mailing but is not properly mailed, the incarcerated person shall be notified in writing of the reason for refusal to accept or to promptly mail the item(s). When the delay in mailing exceeds 5 business days, the notice shall be sent and include the disposition of such mail. Unless retention of such mail is required in administrative, legal, or disciplinary proceedings against the incarcerated person or other persons, it shall be promptly mailed or returned to the incarcerated person.
(f) Forwarding Mail. Mail received for an incarcerated person who has been transferred from the facility where the mail is received shall be immediately forwarded to the facility or agency that has current custody of the incarcerated person. Mail addressed to an incarcerated person who has been transferred or released shall not be returned to the sender as "Addressee Unknown" unless the individual has been discharged from CDCR. First-Class Mail and Periodicals addressed to an incarcerated person who has been transferred within the CDCR shall have a label affixed with the current address and shall be forwarded via the USPS. For incarcerated persons who have paroled, the affixed label shall state "Paroled Region # ___", and shall show that Parole Regions' address. Standard Mail with a "Mailer Endorsement" that was appropriately addressed, but is undeliverable because the incarcerated person is no longer housed at the facility, shall be returned to the USPS for processing. Mailroom staff shall affix a label to the Standard Mail piece showing the correct address before returning it to the USPS for processing. For incarcerated persons who have paroled, the label affixed to the Standard Mail piece shall state "Paroled Region # ___" and shall show that Parole Regions' address. The Mailer Endorsement will appear either near the address block or below the return address in the top left corner of the mail piece. A Mailer Endorsement may read "Address Service Requested", or "Forwarding Service Requested", or "Change Service Requested", or "Return Service Requested". Staff may dispose of any Standard Mail piece that does not have a Mailer Endorsement, and is undeliverable because the incarcerated person is not currently housed at the institution. Daily newspapers that are delivered by courier will not be forwarded nor will they be held for an incarcerated person who is temporarily away from the facility for longer than 72 hours. Exceptions will be made when the absence results from the incarcerated person's participation in facility approved activities such as a community release program, firefighting or other disaster control assignments. Newspapers that are delivered by the USPS will have a forwarding address affixed and shall be returned to the USPS for processing.
(g) Forwarding Confidential Correspondence. All confidential correspondence for incarcerated persons that must be forwarded will be done on a daily basis. If delivery of confidential correspondence from the courts is impeded because the addressee's name and CDCR number do not conform to each other, the mailroom will contact the Litigation Coordinator who will telephone the court to clarify the identification of the addressee in order to expedite delivery of confidential correspondence. Staff will document their efforts to identify the addressee when confidential correspondence from the courts cannot be delivered.
(h) Temporary Absence. Mail shall be held for an incarcerated person who is temporarily away from the facility when the incarcerated person's return is anticipated within one week.
Notes
Note: Authority cited: Section 5058, Penal Code. Reference: Sections 2601 and 4570, Penal Code; Procunier v. Martinez, 416 U.S. 396; and Bell v. Wolffish, 99 S. Ct 1861.
Note: Authority cited: Section 5058, Penal Code. Reference: Sections 2601 and 4570, Penal Code; Procunier v. Martinez, 416 U.S. 396; and Bell v. Wolffish, 99 S. Ct 1861.
2. New subsection (h) and subsection relettering filed 7-23-2020 as an emergency; operative
3. Repealer of subsection (a)(5) filed 9-17-2020; operative
4. Emergency filed 7-23-2020 extended 60 days pursuant to Executive Order N-40-20 and an additional 60 days pursuant to Executive Order N-66-20 (Register 2020, No. 48). A Certificate of Compliance must be transmitted to OAL by 4-30-2021 or emergency language will be repealed by operation of law on the following day.
5. New subsection (h) and subsection relettering refiled 4-27-2021 as an emergency; operative
6. Certificate of Compliance as to 4-27-2021 order, including repealer of subsection (h) and subsection relettering, transmitted to OAL 11-29-2021 and filed 12-20-2021; amendments effective
7. Change without regulatory effect amending section filed 7-1-2024 pursuant to section 100, title 1, California Code of Regulations (Register 2024, No. 27).