How CorrLinks Works: Complete Guide for Federal Prison Families

CorrLinks is a web-based messaging service that connects federal inmates with approved outside contacts. It is operated by Advanced Technologies Group under contract with the Federal Bureau of Prisons. CorrLinks is not a general email service - it operates through the TRULINCS system and has no connection to standard email providers.

Inmates access CorrLinks through TRULINCS computer terminals in their housing unit. They can compose messages, read incoming messages, and manage their contact list from these terminals. Inmates are charged for the time they spend using the system at a rate of $0.05 per minute. This cost comes from the inmate trust account, not from outside contacts.

Outside contacts use the CorrLinks website at corrlinks.com or the CorrLinks mobile app to read and reply to messages. Creating a CorrLinks account as an outside contact is free. You are not charged to send or receive messages through CorrLinks.

You cannot create a CorrLinks contact connection on your own. The process must begin with the inmate. The inmate logs in to TRULINCS at a facility terminal, enters your name, mailing address, and email address, and submits a contact request. CorrLinks then sends you an invitation email.

When you receive the invitation email from CorrLinks, it will contain a link and an authorization code. Click the link and follow the instructions to create your free CorrLinks account. You will need to enter your name, email address, and create a password.

Once your account is created, you must accept the contact request from the inmate. After both sides confirm the connection, you can begin exchanging messages. If you do not receive an invitation, ask your loved one to submit the request again using the correct email address.

Account creation and approval typically takes between 30 minutes and a few hours. If you do not receive the invitation email within 24 hours, check your spam folder before asking the inmate to resend.

Log in to your CorrLinks account at corrlinks.com or through the CorrLinks mobile app. Select the inmate from your approved contact list. Click compose or new message and type your message in the text field.

Messages on CorrLinks are text only. You cannot send photos, attachments, videos, or files through CorrLinks. If you want to send photos to a federal inmate, you must use a separate photo delivery service such as Pigeonly or a print-and-mail service.

The maximum message length is 13,000 characters, which is roughly 2,000 to 2,500 words. There is no minimum length. You can send as many messages as you like. Outside contacts are not charged per message.

After you submit the message, it enters a review queue. Staff monitoring means messages typically take around one hour to be delivered to the inmate. Messages from the inmate to outside contacts take around 20 minutes. These times vary by facility.

Creating a basic CorrLinks account as an outside contact is completely free. You can send and receive messages at no cost. The cost of using TRULINCS is charged entirely to the inmate at $0.05 per minute for composing, reading, and browsing messages.

CorrLinks offers a Premier Account for outside contacts that costs approximately $6 per year. The Premier Account provides real-time push notifications when you receive a new message, faster message delivery in some cases, and access to the full mobile app features.

A separate text message notification service is also available that allows CorrLinks message alerts to be delivered to your phone as a text message. This costs $6 per month or $36 per year and is separate from the Premier Account.

If the inmate chooses to print incoming messages, the facility charges $0.15 per page for printing. This cost also comes from the inmate trust account.

All messages sent and received through CorrLinks are monitored by Bureau of Prisons staff. There is no privacy in CorrLinks communication. Do not send sensitive legal information, financial details, or anything that could be interpreted as a violation of facility rules.

CorrLinks does not support photo attachments, file attachments, or links. Text only is allowed. Messages that contain prohibited content will be blocked and may result in disciplinary action for the inmate or revocation of messaging privileges.

Not all federal inmates have access to CorrLinks. Inmates whose crimes involved the use of a computer may be restricted from using the TRULINCS system. Ask your loved one if they have confirmed CorrLinks access before attempting to set up an account.

If an inmate is transferred to a new facility, their CorrLinks contact list transfers with them. You do not need to re-register. However, the new facility must also use TRULINCS, which is standard at all BOP facilities.

CorrLinks has a 1.7 star rating from hundreds of consumer reviews with the most common complaints involving login failures, the app not syncing with the server, messages not appearing in the inbox despite notifications, and difficulty reaching customer service. These issues are widely reported and knowing how to handle them saves significant frustration.

If CorrLinks shows a communication error or cannot connect to the server, the first step is to clear your browser cache and cookies and try again. On the mobile app, delete the app completely and reinstall it fresh. Many users report that reinstalling resolves persistent sync failures that other troubleshooting steps cannot fix. If the problem continues for more than 24 hours, check issitedownrightnow.com or a similar service to see if CorrLinks is experiencing a widespread outage.

If you received a notification that a new message arrived but the message is not visible in your inbox, this is a known sync issue with the CorrLinks app. Log out of the app, clear the cache, and log back in. If the message still does not appear, switch to the CorrLinks website at corrlinks.com through a browser rather than the app. Messages are sometimes visible on the website when the app fails to sync them.

If you cannot log in at all and the site shows an Argo tunnel error or a security block, try accessing corrlinks.com directly by typing the full address including https in your browser rather than clicking a saved link. Saved links sometimes point to a version of the URL that redirects incorrectly. Try both https://corrlinks.com and https://www.corrlinks.com to see which one loads.

CorrLinks offers a Premier Account subscription that costs approximately $6 per year for outside contacts. The Premier Account provides real-time push notifications when you receive a new message, which means you do not have to manually check the inbox to know when a reply arrives. Without the Premier Account, you must log in and check your inbox manually to see if new messages are waiting.

Users report significant frustration when Premier Account payments are processed but the account does not reflect the subscription status. If you paid for a Premier Account and it still shows a zero balance or expired status, contact CorrLinks customer service immediately with your payment confirmation. Keep the email receipt from your payment as documentation.

Whether the Premier Account is worth the cost depends on how actively you message. If you exchange messages daily or near-daily, the notification feature saves time and ensures you reply quickly. If you message less frequently, manually checking the inbox is manageable and the basic free account is sufficient. The $6 annual cost is relatively minor but the value depends entirely on whether the notifications function reliably on your device.

CorrLinks customer service is consistently cited as one of the platform's biggest weaknesses. Users report difficulty reaching a live person, unanswered support tickets, and billing disputes that are not resolved despite multiple contacts. When standard customer service channels fail, there are escalation options.

Submit a written complaint through your CorrLinks account rather than relying on phone support. Written tickets create a paper trail that is useful if you need to escalate further. Save copies of every support ticket you submit and every response you receive.

If CorrLinks charged you for a Premier Account or a service that was not delivered, contact your bank or credit card company to dispute the charge. Provide your CorrLinks confirmation email, the date of the charge, and documentation that the service was not delivered or was not functional. Banks generally resolve clear cases of non-delivery in favor of the consumer.

You can also file a complaint with the Federal Bureau of Prisons if the service disruption is affecting your ability to communicate with a federal inmate. The BOP contracts with CorrLinks and has leverage over the provider. Contact the specific facility and ask to speak with the Communications Coordinator about ongoing CorrLinks issues affecting family communication.

Under a rule introduced in late 2024 that remains in effect, the Bureau of Prisons limits CorrLinks accounts to a maximum of 10 outside contacts per inmate at one time. Before this change, inmates could have more than 10 approved contacts. If an inmate has already reached the 10-contact limit, they cannot add new contacts until an existing one is removed.

If you submitted a contact request and have not received your invitation email after 48 hours, the 10-contact limit may be the reason. Ask your loved one to log in to their TRULINCS terminal and check their contact list. If they are at the limit, they will need to remove an inactive contact before your request can be processed.

The 10-contact limit affects extended families and support networks more than immediate family members. Inmates who had large networks of pen pals, advocacy contacts, or distant family members on CorrLinks may have had to reduce their contact list to comply with the new rule. If you were previously connected and the connection was dropped without explanation, this policy change may be the cause.