Accountability.
HUNTSVILLE, Texas — Anyone who mails a book or magazine to a person in a Texas prison now has to register with the state and log each item before it is sent, under a new Book Portal the Texas Department of Criminal Justice launched Oct. 15.
Senders have until Nov. 15 to create an account and begin logging books. After that date, any book or magazine that is not tied to a verified sender in the portal will not be delivered, according to TDCJ.
What families need to do
- Go to the TDCJ Book Portal at bookportal.tdcj.texas.gov.
- Create an account and verify your identity through ID.me, the same identity service TDCJ uses for its visitation system.
- Log every book or magazine you send to an incarcerated person before you mail or order it.
- Send only softback books in new condition. TDCJ stopped accepting hardback and used books in April 2026.
Under the existing book rules, a person who receives a book that does not meet the requirements has 90 days to pay postage to send it elsewhere, or it will be destroyed. Book donations to TDCJ are now handled by the Windham School District.
Why TDCJ says it is needed
TDCJ says the portal is meant to stop drugs from entering prisons through the mail. The agency has reported that 385 books tested positive for illegal substances in 2025, with drugs hidden in hard covers and bindings or soaked into pages.
“If a publication tests positive for a narcotic, we will know who sent it,” said Jason Clark, TDCJ’s chief of programs. “Likewise, if a publication is not in the system, we will know it is from an unverified sender and it will not be delivered.”
Executive Director Bobby Lumpkin said the agency has seen a 73% decline in overdose deaths among incarcerated people since April, when the hardback and used-book restrictions took effect.
Concerns from advocates
Prison book programs and advocates have criticized the new rules. Many free book programs rely on donated used books, which are no longer allowed, and some critics have raised concerns that the registration requirement lets the state track who sends reading material to people in prison.
Families with questions can contact TDCJ at (936) 295-6371.