Sending Mail to Cedar Creek: What Gets Rejected and Why
Mail rules can feel picky, but most rejections come down to a few repeat mistakes: wrong carrier, prohibited items in the envelope, or missing address info. Here's how to get your letter delivered the first time.
Cedar Creek only accepts mail through USPS, UPS, and FedEx. Anything sent through a different carrier may not make it. Stick to those three.
Note: Incarcerated individuals can't mail postcards. If you're hoping to hear back, expect regular letters instead.
Prohibited Items
- ✓ Cash
- ✓ Personal checks
- ✓ Stamps
- ✓ Any mail containing the items above (it will be rejected and returned at the incarcerated individual’s expense)
Include cash, a personal check, or stamps? The mail gets rejected and returned - and the return postage comes out of the incarcerated person's account. Keep letters paper-only and use approved methods for sending money.
Addressing Rules
- ✓ Incarcerated individual’s full name
- ✓ Six-digit DOC number
- ✓ Correct facility address (Cedar Creek Corrections, PO Box 37, Littlerock, WA 98556)
- ✓ If you include letter(s) inside an envelope, the letter(s) must be addressed to the same incarcerated individual named on the envelope
Every envelope needs a proper return address with an identifiable last name (per USPS standards). Anonymous or incomplete return addresses raise flags, and without one, staff can't send the letter back if something's wrong.
Quick check before you seal it: Double-check the six-digit DOC number and make sure your return address includes your last name. These two details are behind most delays and returns.
Legal mail gets different treatment. Staff open it in front of the incarcerated person and inspect the contents to verify it qualifies as legal mail and doesn't contain contraband.
Note: If an employee inadvertently opens a piece of legal mail, the employee will write his or her initials on the envelope.
Non-English letters are reviewed before delivery. If a Department-certified translator works at the facility, they'll handle it. Otherwise, the mail goes to a contracted vendor for translation.
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