Mail & Packages in Nebraska (NDCS)

How personal mail works now

Since November 12, 2024, all incoming personal mail to NDCS is scanned by an off-site vendor, TextBehind — physical letters never reach the prison. Address personal mail this way:

[Facility name]
State of Nebraska Department of Correctional Services
[Incarcerated person's committed name and NDCS ID number]
Box 247
Phoenix, MD 21131

The vendor scans everything into a single full-color PDF, normally delivered within about a day to the person’s ViaPath tablet (or, if they have no tablet, staff print photocopies).

Photos and greeting cards

Photos may be no larger than 4×6 inches, with a limit of five per envelope. NDCS bans photos and cards showing gang signs or hand gestures, nudity (including of infants), people in only underwear or swimwear, drugs, displays of large amounts of cash, images of incarcerated people, and social-media images or screenshots that contain text. Greeting cards are allowed (they are scanned), but not cards with musical components, pop-ups, glitter, or any liquid or paste. Because every photo is scanned and the original is not returned, the physical type of photo — including Polaroids — makes no difference.

Books, magazines, and newspapers

Books, magazines, and newspapers are publisher-only: they must be prepaid and shipped directly from a publisher, bookstore, or approved commercial vendor — not from family or friends. Unlike personal mail, these go to the facility’s own address, not the Maryland scanning center. Religious publications may come directly from a religious organization after screening.

Packages

NDCS does not accept general care packages from family. Commercial items must come from an approved vendor, prepaid, to the facility. NDCS runs a holiday food-gift program through an approved vendor each year; confirm the current vendor and the spending limit on the NDCS website, since both change.

Sending money

Do not enclose money with a personal letter — it will be returned by the scanning vendor. Money orders or checks (no cash) go to the facility’s address, and electronic deposits run through ViaPath. See Sending Money.

Legal and privileged mail

Privileged mail — from courts, attorneys, public officials, and the Ombudsman and Inspector General offices — goes to the facility, not the scanning vendor, and is opened and inspected only in the incarcerated person’s presence. At the Nebraska State Penitentiary, Tecumseh, and the Reception and Treatment Center, privileged mail is photocopied in front of the person and the originals are shredded, as an anti-contraband measure.

Tablets, e-messages, and photos

NDCS issues ViaPath tablets that handle electronic messages, e-cards, photos, and video-grams, set up through the GettingOut platform. See Phone & Video Calls.

Verify Before Acting

For the general, nationwide overview of this topic, see the national guide: Staying in Touch.