If you want to send pictures to California Men’s Colony, Inmate Photos is here to help. We know the rules. We know the process. We make it simple.
Our customer service department is here if you get stuck or need a bit more help with something.
About California Men’s Colony
California Men’s Colony (CMC) is a prison northwest of San Luis Obispo in San Luis Obispo County, CA. It is about halfway between LA and San Francisco, west of US Highway 101 and just north of California Highway 1.
The prison is often called one of the Golden State’s best. The variety of programs and activities lead some people to call it a “country club prison.”
The prison has two separate complexes: East and West.
East
East Facility Level III security has five distinct units, A, B, C, D, and H. A-D house the inmates, including those with developmental disabilities and men who need help with daily living activities. In addition, a medical unit here provides treatment for inmates from around the state. Unit H is the 50-bed Mental Health Crisis center. It opened in 2013.
West
West is a lower security facility, Level I and II, divided into units E, F, G, and M. Unit G uses inmates to train service dogs. Unit M is the firefighting division.
Some famous people housed here are 1960s Black Panther leader Huey Newton, famous drug user Timothy Leary, Tina Turner’s ex-husband Ike Turner, and several Manson Family members.
The driving address for East and West is:
California Men’s Colony
Highway 1
San Luis Obispo, CA 93409
How to Send Pictures to Inmates at California Men’s Colony in 2026
- Download the Inmate Photos app
- Upload the pictures that you want printed and sent as photographs to the inmate
- Relax knowing that Inmate Photos will be mailing your prints to the inmate, and that they will be sent in a timely manner.
The Rules of Sending Pictures to California Men’s Colony
If you want to know how to send pictures to a loved one at California Men’s Colony, then you must know the rules. If your mail breaks a rule, it is not delivered.
Here are a few of the rules you need to know:
- No nudity or sexual activity. If your picture has naked people or sex, it will be returned to you or thrown away.
- No security issues. If you send something that could threaten the security of the prison or the people there, it will not be delivered.
- Inspection. All inmate mail is opened and inspected by the prison staff. If they find anything that breaks the rules, the mail is not delivered.
- Name and number. All inmate mail must have the person’s name and California penal system number on the envelope. You can look up the number on state’s inmate search webpage.
- Pictures must be sent to the Post Office box, not the street address.
California Men’s Colony wants letters addressed differently than other prisons. When you use Inmate Photos, we take care of addressing the envelope. We even give you the address, in case you need it.
CDCR is the California Department of Corrections. You can find your loved one’s number at the CDCR website here. The California Men’s Colony Housing is East or West.
Emailing Inmates
California prisons do not let inmates have direct access to email. Unfortunately, the results are not what you want.
Inmate email is sent through a private company. You pay for this. Every letter, up to 5,000 characters, is about the cost of a first-class stamp. If you attach a picture, that is about the cost of two stamps. You can only attach one picture per email, which will cost you about three stamps per picture.
All email is inspected by the prison staff, just like regular mail. If something in the email violates prison rules, the entire email is discarded. If your letter violates a rule and you attach a picture, both are trashed.
If the email and pictures are approved, the staff prints them in black and white on cheap paper. It is delivered during mail call. If you send a picture bigger than the sheet of paper, it may or may not be sized to fit.