In England and Wales you can send money to someone in prison, and you can write to them. Everything physical — clothes, books, a parcel — depends on the prison holding them. There is no national list of allowed items. Money now travels one way for most families: an online payment by Visa, Mastercard or Maestro debit card, paid into a basic cash account the person can use to send and receive money (GOV.UK, "Staying in touch with someone in prison", verified 14 September 2026). Bank transfer, cheque, postal order and cash by post have gone, at every prison. Some things are banned everywhere: anything indecent or obscene, anything that threatens the security of the prison, anything written in code. Sending illegal drugs, alcohol, weapons, a camera or a mobile phone is a criminal offence. For everything else, GOV.UK's own instruction is short: contact the prison and ask before you send it.
What can you send to someone in prison?
A letter, in nearly every case. Money, through one online route. Anything else, only if that particular prison accepts it, and only in the way that prison accepts it.
That is a harder answer than most families want in the first few days. The official guidance for England and Wales tells you what is forbidden. It does not tell you what is permitted. The permitted list sits with the establishment, and two prisons forty miles apart can answer the same question differently.
So the order that works is money first, letters second, property last. Money and letters follow published rules. Property follows a local rule you have to go and ask for. If you have not written yet, how to write to someone in prison covers what goes on the envelope.
How do you send money to someone in prison now?
Online, with a debit card. GOV.UK states it plainly: "You can send money to someone in prison by making an online payment by Visa, Mastercard and Maestro debit card." The payment goes into the prisoner's account — described as "a basic cash account they can use to send and receive money" (GOV.UK, verified 14 September 2026).
The older methods are closed. In the same guidance: "You can no longer send money by bank transfer, cheque, postal order or send cash by post to any prison." Not some prisons. Any prison.
There is one way back to the post. GOV.UK says you may be able to apply for an exemption — for example if you "are unable to use a computer, a smart phone or the internet" or "do not have a debit card" — and that this "will allow you to send money by post". It is an application, not a default.
Here is how the routes compare in England and Wales:
| How you send money | Where it stands now |
|---|---|
| Online payment by Visa, Mastercard or Maestro debit card | The route for most families; paid into the basic cash account |
| Bank transfer | No longer accepted, at any prison |
| Cheque or postal order | No longer accepted, at any prison |
| Cash by post | No longer accepted, at any prison |
| By post, under an exemption | Possible if you cannot use a computer, smartphone or the internet, or have no debit card |
What lands in that account is also what pays for phone calls home, alongside prison pay. That is worth understanding before you decide how much to send and how often, and how prison money works sets out where the credit comes from.
Calls are charged at a rate set by the type of number being rung: a mobile number is charged at the mobile rate, a landline number at the landline rate. Our service gives you a real 01 or 02 landline number, regulated by Ofcom, which forwards to your UK mainland mobile. The person inside has to submit that number through the prison's normal process, and the prison decides — it can refuse. Calls are still recorded and monitored exactly as before. What changes is the rate the call is charged at.
What items are banned in every prison?
Three categories apply everywhere. GOV.UK: "You must not send or give anything to a prisoner that: is indecent or obscene; threatens the security of the prison; is written in code" (verified 14 September 2026).
Then a shorter, heavier list. The same guidance states: "It's a criminal offence to send or give a prisoner: illegal drugs; alcohol; weapons; a camera; a mobile phone." That is not a matter of local policy or a governor's view. It is an offence, and it applies whether the item goes by post, by courier or in a visitor's pocket.
If something you want to send sits anywhere near those categories, the answer is not to repackage it. It is to leave it out.
Why does every prison have a different list for clothes and parcels?
Because the national guidance defines the floor, not the ceiling. It names what must never come in. What may come in — how many items of clothing, which kinds, whether books arrive direct from a retailer, whether a parcel is accepted at all — is decided at the establishment, and it can change with the regime, the wing or the person's status.
This is why any article that hands you a confident national list of clothes is guessing. There isn't one to publish. GOV.UK ends its own section on the subject with the instruction it expects you to follow: "Contact the prison if you're unsure what you can send or give." In practice that means a call to the switchboard before you spend money on anything.
What happens to something that isn't allowed?
It does not simply vanish, and it does not automatically come back.
For items sent in by post to convicted prisoners, HMPPS policy says: "Under Prison Rule 44(4) the Governor has discretion as to what action will be taken with articles sent in by post to convicted prisoners… Prison Rule 44(4) gives Governors the discretion on whether such items shall be given to the prisoner, placed in their stored property at the prison or returned to the sender." Where the sender's name and address are not known, or the article is of such a nature that it would be unreasonable to return it, the policy allows it to be "sold or otherwise disposed of and any proceeds paid to NACRO" (HMPPS, Prisoners' Property Policy Framework, §4.33, reissued 16 June 2026).
Three outcomes, then, at the governor's discretion: handed over, held in stored property, or returned. That wording is written for convicted prisoners; people held on remand generally fall under separate provisions, so if the person you are writing to has not been sentenced, ask the prison which rules apply to them.
Two practical consequences follow. Put your full name and address on anything you send, because an unidentifiable sender removes the return option. And do not assume a returned parcel means a mistake was made — it can be the policy working as written.
Letters and phone calls are the two channels that do not depend on a local property list, which is why most families end up leaning on calls far more than they expected. The mechanism there is arithmetic, not marketing: at the landline rate the same credit stretches to roughly twice as many minutes as it does at the mobile rate, for calls made in England and Wales.
What should you do before sending anything?
Ring the prison and ask, specifically, about the thing you want to send — that is what GOV.UK tells you to do when you are unsure, and it is the only way to get an answer that applies to the wing your partner or son is actually on.
Ask three things while you have someone on the line: whether that item is accepted at all, how it must arrive, and where it goes if it is refused. Write down the date and the name of whoever answers. Then send it exactly as described, with your name and address on it.
Treat the property question and the money question as two separate errands. The money route is national and published: check it at GOV.UK's "Staying in touch with someone in prison" page, which is also where the exemption application sits if you cannot pay online. The property question is local, and the only reliable source is the prison itself.
If the answer comes back as no, it is not a verdict on you. A refusal under a local property rule says nothing about the person you are sending to, and it does not affect letters, calls or visits.
The rules in this piece apply to England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland run their prisons under separate arrangements, so if the person you are supporting is held there, check with that prison rather than relying on GOV.UK's England and Wales guidance.
Parcels are a one-off. Calls happen every week, out of a limited amount of credit, which is why the rate they are charged at is worth a few minutes of your attention.
Frequently asked questions
Can I send clothes to someone in prison in England and Wales?
Sometimes, and only with the prison's agreement. There is no national list of permitted clothing. GOV.UK's guidance names banned categories and then tells you to contact the prison if you are unsure. Ring the establishment, ask about the specific items, and follow whatever they tell you about how the clothes must arrive.
Can I still send a postal order to a prisoner?
No. GOV.UK states: "You can no longer send money by bank transfer, cheque, postal order or send cash by post to any prison" (verified 14 September 2026). The route now is an online payment by Visa, Mastercard or Maestro debit card, into the person's basic cash account.
What if I have no debit card or cannot use the internet?
You may be able to apply for an exemption. GOV.UK gives being "unable to use a computer, a smart phone or the internet" and not having a debit card as examples, and says an exemption "will allow you to send money by post". Apply first; do not post money assuming it will be accepted.
Will a parcel that gets refused be sent back to me?
Not always. For convicted prisoners, HMPPS policy gives the governor discretion to hand the item over, place it in stored property or return it to the sender, and allows disposal with proceeds to NACRO where the sender is unknown or return would be unreasonable (Prisoners' Property Policy Framework, §4.33, 16 June 2026). Always put your name and address on the package.
Is a diverted landline number something the prison has to accept?
No. The number is a real Ofcom-regulated 01 or 02 landline, but the person inside must submit it through the prison's normal process, and the prison decides whether to allow it and can refuse. Calls remain recorded and monitored.
Ask the prison before you buy the jumper, not after.