How to send messages, photos, and packages
Staying in touch with someone at Durham County Detention means working through third-party systems. Phone calls go through Global Tel*Link (GTL)—you'll need a GTL account set up before you can accept calls. The detention center also offers free video visitation, scheduled the same way as in-person visits. For remote video sessions, download the visitation app; the facility recommends Android devices for best compatibility. Account management, scheduling, and funding all happen through vendor portals rather than the detention center directly. General questions? Email feedback@durhamsheriff.org. For emergencies, call 911 or (919) 560-0900.
Search for a loved one and send messages and photos in minutes.
Durham County Detention uses two different mailing addresses depending on what you're sending. Personal letters go to an offsite mailscan P.O. Box in Phoenix, Maryland. Legal mail, books, and packages still go to a Durham, North Carolina P.O. Box.
Starting February 1, 2023, the Durham County Detention Center stopped processing personal mail at the jail itself. Instead, personal letters, cards, pictures, drawings, and similar items are handled offsite through a mailscan system run by ViaPath Technologies, where the mail is scanned and then delivered digitally to the person in custody. That change also means the old way of mailing personal items to the facility address won’t work. Beginning February 1, 2023, personal mail sent to the previous address is returned to the sender, so using the correct address is the difference between your loved one getting your message and it coming back to you unopened.
Durham County Detention Center uses a mail scan process for personal mail—and the rules are strict. Send the wrong thing to the wrong address (especially money), and it gets rejected or returned. That means delays for you and your loved one.
All inmate phone calls at Durham County Detention go through Global Tel*Link (GTL). You’ll need to create a GTL account to accept calls from someone at the facility.
Yes. Durham County Detention offers video visitation, and the site indicates it’s free and can be scheduled the same way as an in-person visit.
Yes—remote/internet visitation requires downloading the visitation app. The facility recommends using an Android device for remote visits.
Send personal letters to the mail-scan vendor’s Phoenix, MD P.O. Box, and include the inmate’s full name and ID number. Since Feb. 1, 2023, Durham has processed personal mail offsite through ViaPath/TextBehind, not at the jail.
Send legal mail, books, and packages to the facility’s Durham P.O. Box. Put the inmate’s full name on everything you mail.
Email info@TextBehind.com for help with a missing delivery or other TextBehind mail-scan issues. Also, don’t send cash, checks, or money orders through the mail-scan system—they’ll be rejected.
Your first in-person visit goes much smoother when you handle the basics ahead of time—ID, timing, and scheduling. Use this checklist to avoid common check-in surprises at Durham County Detention.
Visiting at Durham County Detention runs on a pod-based schedule, with firm limits on how many in-person visits an inmate can have each month. Here's how the days, times, and monthly caps work—plus what to know if you need to cancel or reschedule.
At Durham County Detention, in-person visiting times depend on your loved one’s housing pod. If they’re in Pod A or Pod B, the in-person visitation window is Tuesday from 4:00 PM to 7:30 PM.
