Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 15, § 3134 - General Mail Regulations

(a) First-Class Mail is limited to the following items, and subject to an incarcerated person's authorized property under section 3190.

(1) Written, typed, or printed communications on paper, addressed to a person or organization.

(2) Photographs, with the exception of photographs with attached backing, framed photographs that cannot be searched, Polaroid's, negatives, and slides.

(3) Calendars.

(4) Written and blank greeting cards (No three-dimensional attachments or stamps).

(5) Postage embossed envelopes, up to forty.

(6) Business reply and metered envelopes.

(7) Blank envelopes.

(8) Writing paper or tablets (white or yellow lined only -- no cotton paper).

(9) Typing paper (no cotton paper).

(10) Legal paper, to include colored paper required by court rules (no cotton paper).

(11) Drawings.

(12) Cardstock and drawing paper (white only).

(13) Newspaper clippings, internet downloaded articles, photocopies of clippings, articles, or electronic mail (e-mail) messages.

(14) Maximum of 40 postage stamps. If there is a United States Postal Service rate change, an item of First-Class mail may include 40 stamps at the old rate, and 40 stamps at the additional amount needed to equal the new rate. Personalized postage stamps are prohibited.

(b) Business Reply and Metered Envelopes. Business Reply and Metered Envelopes sent with mail must adhere to the following conditions:

(1) The postage amount must be enough to prepay the postage in full.

(2) Indicia may be printed directly on the mail piece or on a label and must be positioned appropriately.

(3) Indicia used to prepay reply postage must not show the date.

(4) The words "NO POSTAGE STAMP NECESSARY POSTAGE HAS BEEN PREPAID BY" must be printed above the address.

(c) Contests. Incarcerated persons shall not participate in any contest when a financial obligation is involved or when such participation shall result in expense to the institution beyond the cost of processing the mail. If lottery tickets, lottery scratchers, or other contest materials, are discovered in incoming mail, the entire envelope and its contents shall be disapproved. Incarcerated persons shall be notified of the disapproved mail via the issuance of a CDCR Form 1819 (Rev. 08/24), Notification of Disapproval for Mail/Packages/Publications, which is incorporated by reference, and given the opportunity to determine how to dispose of the mail under subsection 3191(c).

(d) Incarcerated person Manuscripts. Manuscripts include, but are not limited to, written, typed or printed articles of fiction and nonfiction, poems, essays, gags, plays, skits, paintings, sketches, drawings, or musical compositions created by an incarcerated person. Any manuscript remains the property of the incarcerated person who created it, and may be retained in the incarcerated person's possession, unless it violates sections 3006 or 3135. If unauthorized state materials have been used in the creation of a manuscript, the item shall be confiscated pending disciplinary action and reimbursement by the incarcerated person for the state materials. Incoming and outgoing manuscripts shall be processed as First-Class Mail in accordance with the provisions of this article.

(e) There shall be no limitations placed on the number of persons with whom an incarcerated person may correspond. With the exception of staff, contractors, service providers, and other persons as identified in section 3139, incarcerated persons and other persons are not required to receive pre-approval to correspond.

Notes

Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 15, § 3134

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.

1. Change without regulatory effect amending section filed 10-29-90 pursuant to section 100, title 1, California Code of Regulations (Register 91, No. 6).
2. Editorial correction deleting duplicate sentence (Register 91, No. 11).
3. Editorial correction of printing error in Note (Register 92, No. 5).
4. Amendment filed 11-18-96; operative 12-18-96 (Register 96, No. 47).
5. Renumbering of former section 3134 to section 3138 and renumbering of former section 3138 to section 3134, including repealer and new section, filed 7-17-2008; operative 7-17-2008 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4 (Register 2008, No. 29).
6. Amendment of subsection (c)(4) filed 6-14-2011; operative 7-14-2011 (Register 2011, No. 24).
7. Change without regulatory effect amending subsections (a)(11), (c)(1)-(4) and (d)-(f) filed 7-1-2024 pursuant to section 100, title 1, California Code of Regulations (Register 2024, No. 27).
8. Amendment filed 11-21-2024; operative 11/21/2024 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4(b)(3) (Register 2024, No. 47).
9. Change without regulatory effect amending subsection (c) filed 2-28-2025 pursuant to section 100, title 1, California Code of Regulations (Register 2025, No. 9).