How to send messages, photos, and packages
Carteret Corrections Center uses PayTel for telephone service. All calls are recorded and monitored for security. When someone is first admitted, they get one free local one-minute call to notify family, friends, or an attorney. After that, inmates who aren't released can access phones up to twice daily (at least once per week minimum), depending on facility rules and behavior. To set up service or manage calling, visit PayTel's website or call 1-800-PAY-TELL. Want to block calls to your number? Contact the detention center administrator or call PayTel at 1-800-729-8355. Since a third-party vendor handles phone service, you'll create an account, add funds, and manage options through their portal or app.
Search for a loved one and send messages and photos in minutes.
Carteret County Detention Center scans most incoming mail and delivers it digitally to inmates' tablets. The original paper letter? It may not come back to you.
Sending attorney-client mail to someone at Carteret County Detention Center? Two things matter: use the exact facility address and clearly mark the envelope as legal mail.
Sending mail to someone at Carteret County Detention Center? Your original letter or photos won't reach them in paper form. Everything that meets the rules gets scanned and delivered electronically to the inmate's tablet — then the physical mail is destroyed.
Limit each envelope to 10 pages or fewer. Go over that limit, and your mail gets rejected—not delivered.
Carteret Corrections Center uses PayTel for phone service. Set up your account through PayTel’s website or by calling 1-800-PAY-TELL, then add funds and manage available services through the PayTel portal or app.
Yes. The facility’s Paytel phone system records and monitors all calls for security reasons.
Contact the detention center administrator to request a block, or call Paytel Communications at 1-800-729-8355 to have your number blocked.
Yes, but it has to be shipped via USPS to the inmate at Carteret County Detention Center, PO Box 239, Beaufort, NC 28516. It must come directly from approved national distributors (such as major sellers), not from individuals, and hardcover books are prohibited; size and publisher restrictions apply.
If your mail meets the scanning criteria, it’s scanned and delivered to the inmate’s tablet. Some physical originals may be destroyed after scanning, and scanned mail that contains illegal material or security breaches can be turned over to authorities.
Items like Polaroid photos, glitter, glue, tape, three‑dimensional elements, and electronic components are prohibited. The mail processing center also rejects cash, personal checks, money orders, and publications such as magazines or books sent to the mail center.
Getting a book to your loved one at Carteret County Detention Center comes down to a few key details: who ships it, the exact mailing address, size and format restrictions, and what content is allowed.
You have three ways to add money to an inmate's account at Carteret County Detention Center: the lobby kiosk, online through JailATM, or mailing an approved payment. Which one makes sense depends on how fast you need the funds posted and what fees you're okay paying.
Getting a book through intake at Carteret County Detention Center comes down to the details — who ships it, how it arrives, the format, and even the package size.
