How to write to a prisoner

Keeping in touch with the outside world can be very important to those in prison.

If you wish to write to someone and know which prison facility they are in you can find the address here.

If you are not sure which prison the person is held in you can send a letter to the Department of Corrections Head Office, with a covering letter asking for the letter to be forwarded to the prisoner.

The address for the Department's Head Office is:

Head Office
Department of Corrections
PO Box 1206
Wellington 6140
New Zealand

It is up to the prisoner whether to respond to letters, so lack of reply does not necessarily mean the person is not in prison.

Please note, before being given to the prisoner your letter will be opened to check for contraband with two Corrections Officers present.

Banned items include:
Drugs
Alcohol
Cigarettes
Cellphones
Weapons
Food

You can send a prisoner phone cards or a cheque to be deposited into their prison Trust Account. Do not send cash. Prisoners are able to spend money on approved goods through the prison’s weekly shopping system.

If you wish to send a prisoner other items like clothing, books and magazines or radios and music players, each prison has its own processes for dealing with these. Contact the prison to find out its regulations before posting anything.

The Department provides writing paper and envelopes for prisoners and will pay for them to send three standard post letters per week. If they wish to send a fast post letter or a parcel, the prisoner must pay for this themselves.

Prisoners do not have access to the internet or email.