What You Can and Can't Include in Letters to Blue Ridge Regional Jail Inmates

Blue Ridge Regional Jail doesn't deliver personal mail as physical paper. Instead, letters, pictures, and drawings get scanned at an offsite facility and delivered electronically through the tablet system. This means anything extra tucked into your envelope - stickers, small gifts, loose items - will likely get your mail rejected or returned.

Keep photo shipments small. Inmates can only have 10 pictures in their possession at any time, so sending a big stack creates problems - even if every photo follows the rules.

Stick to standard print sizes. Photos must be no larger than 4×6 inches.

Don’t send Polaroids. Polaroid pictures aren’t allowed.

Prohibited Items Checklist

• ✓ Letters, cards, or drawings with stickers, glitter, crayons, plastic, strings, or any type of pasting
• ✓ Envelopes, paper, or stamps (these must be purchased from commissary)
• ✓ Credit cards, phone cards, calling cards, books, magazines, or pamphlets

Sending a card? Keep it simple. Greeting cards with mechanical devices - ones that play music or include recordings - get rejected. Cards and drawings also won't make it through if they have add-ons like stickers, glitter, crayon, plastic pieces, strings, or anything pasted on.

1. Keep photos within the limits - Send photos no larger than 4×6, and remember the inmate can’t have more than 10 pictures at a time.
2. Avoid “craft” materials entirely - Don’t decorate letters, cards, or drawings with stickers, glitter, crayons, plastic, strings, or anything pasted onto the page.
3. Don’t add mailing supplies - Skip sending envelopes, paper, or stamps; those are commissary items.
4. Leave cards and extras out of the envelope - Don’t include credit cards, phone cards, or calling cards, and don’t mail books, magazines, or pamphlets.
5. Choose plain greeting cards - Avoid any card with a mechanical device, including musical or recording features.

Why so strict? Personal mail gets scanned and delivered electronically through the tablet system - nothing physical reaches the inmate. As for basics like envelopes, paper, and stamps, inmates have to purchase those through commissary rather than receiving them by mail.