28 CFR § 540.70 - Purpose and scope.

---
identifier: "/us/cfr/t28/s540.70"
source: "ecfr"
legal_status: "authoritative_unofficial"
title: "28 CFR § 540.70 - Purpose and scope."
title_number: 28
title_name: "Judicial Administration"
section_number: "540.70"
section_name: "Purpose and scope."
chapter_name: "BUREAU OF PRISONS, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE"
subchapter_number: "C"
subchapter_name: "INSTITUTIONAL MANAGEMENT"
part_number: "540"
part_name: "CONTACT WITH PERSONS IN THE COMMUNITY"
positive_law: false
currency: "2026-03-24"
last_updated: "2026-03-24"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
authority: "5 U.S.C. 301; 551, 552a; 18 U.S.C. 1791, 3621, 3622, 3624, 4001, 4042, 4081, 4082 (Repealed in part as to offenses committed on or after November 1, 1987), 5006-5024 (Repealed October 12, 1984 as to offenses committed after that date), 5039; 28 U.S.C. 509, 510; Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, Sec. 12003(c)."
cfr_part: "540"
---


# 540.70 Purpose and scope.

Except when precluded by statute (see § 540.72), the Bureau of Prisons permits an inmate to subscribe to or to receive publications without prior approval and has established procedures to determine if an incoming publication is detrimental to the security, discipline, or good order of the institution or if it might facilitate criminal activity. The term publication, as used in this subpart, means a book, booklet, pamphlet, or similar document, or a single issue of a magazine, periodical, newsletter, newspaper, plus such other materials addressed to a specific inmate such as advertising brochures, flyers, and catalogs.

[61 FR 57568, Nov. 6, 1996]