What Happens to Your Letter: VADOC Mail Processing, Photocopy Limits, and Legal Mail Rules
If you write to someone in VADOC custody, the letter they receive probably isn't the original you mailed. Here's how general mail gets handled, what actually gets delivered, and how legal mail needs to be sent.
When you send general correspondence to someone in the Virginia Department of Corrections (VADOC), your letter gets photocopied. The person you're writing to receives those photocopies, not the original letter you put in the envelope.
Heads up: After photocopying, the original envelope and everything inside it (including personal photos) is shredded. Don’t send originals you want back.
This is standard VADOC procedure for general correspondence. Your incoming letter is copied for delivery, and the originals (including photos) are destroyed afterward. If you're used to facilities that hand over original paper mail, this policy can catch you off guard. Plan for it before sending anything sentimental or hard to replace.
There's also a delivery limit. Each mailing can include a maximum of three 8.5" x 11" black-and-white photocopied pages. Front-and-back printing is allowed within that limit.
- ✓ Plan on 8.5" x 11" pages.
- ✓ Mail is delivered as black-and-white photocopies.
- ✓ Front-and-back pages are allowed (still subject to the three-page maximum per mailing).
Legal correspondence works differently. VADOC requires legal mail from attorneys and courts to be mailed directly to the VADOC Central Mail Distribution Center, where it gets screened and inspected.
Legal mail routing matters: If an attorney or court is sending time-sensitive documents, they need to address and send them directly to the VADOC Central Mail Distribution Center. This ensures the documents go through the correct screening process.
Practical Tips
- ✓ Don’t mail one-of-a-kind originals or personal photos you want returned, because originals (including photos) are shredded after photocopying.
- ✓ Keep each mailing short and within the three-page maximum (8.5" x 11", black-and-white photocopies, front and back allowed).
- ✓ If you’re an attorney or a court sending legal correspondence, mail it directly to the VADOC Central Mail Distribution Center for screening and inspection.
For anything time-sensitive (especially legal documents), use a mailing option with tracking and delivery confirmation. Keep a copy of what you sent, too. That way you can verify when it arrived at the Central Mail Distribution Center and follow up quickly if something goes wrong.
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