CorrLinks: How to Email a Federal Inmate (TRULINCS)

CorrLinks is the website families use to email someone in federal prison. It's the public-facing portal for the Bureau of Prisons' TRULINCS system (Trust Fund Limited Inmate Computer System), and it's also used in a handful of state facilities. Launched in 2005, it's run by Advanced Technologies Group, a Keefe Group company.

How CorrLinks actually works

TRULINCS is a closed, monitored network — incarcerated people have no open internet. They type messages on prison kiosks; you read and reply on the CorrLinks website. Every message, in both directions, is screened and archived before delivery. Your personal email never receives the actual message text — it only gets a notification that something is waiting in the CorrLinks portal.

Setting up: it starts with the inmate

You can't just sign yourself up. The process begins inside:

1. Your loved one adds your name and email address to their approved contact list, which staff must approve.
2. CorrLinks then emails you an invitation with a unique identification code.
3. In the federal system this invitation is valid for 10 days — register at corrlinks.com before it expires (use the exact email address the invitation was sent to).
4. Create your free account, verify it, log in, and enter the identification code under Manage My Inmate List to link to your contact.

If the code expires, your loved one has to re-add you, which generates a new invitation. Always check your spam folder — the invitation comes from a corrlinks.com address.

What it costs

Creating a CorrLinks account is free for outside contacts. The cost falls on the incarcerated person's side: in the federal system, TRULINCS messaging is charged against their trust account at a small per-minute rate for composing time. There are no photo attachments or video in the federal version — it's plain text only. (Some state facilities on CorrLinks may differ.)

Important quirks

• You must log in to read and reply — the system only notifies you by email, it doesn't deliver the message there.
• Neither side gets instant delivery; every message passes through a screening queue.
• It's monitored — never discuss anything you wouldn't want reviewed, and keep legal communication to proper legal channels.

State, federal, or county?

CorrLinks is the answer for federal (BOP) inmates. For state facilities, email usually runs through JPay, GettingOut, or Access Corrections (Secure Mail). If you're not sure where your loved one is held, our home-page inmate search and our provider directory can help you figure out which system applies. Prefer paper? Our send letters service prints and mails physical letters and photos for you.