How to Send Mail to an Inmate at Fairfax County Adult Detention Center (Smart Communications rules)
Sending mail to someone at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center is straightforward once you know the rules. Some items go to Smart Communications; others must go directly to the jail.
Personal mail for inmates at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center now goes through Smart Communications. The ADC no longer accepts personal mail directly.
Use this exact format for personal mail sent through Smart Communications: Smart Communications/FXCOADC Inmate Name/Inmate Number P.O. 9128 Seminole, FL 33775-9128
- ✓ Full return address
- ✓ Sender’s first and last name
- ✓ Inmate’s full, correct name
- ✓ Inmate number
Heads up: Smart Communications can’t process materials that are bound or open like a book. If you send those as general correspondence, they’ll be rejected.
- Mail your personal correspondence to Smart Communications - it’s received by the vendor first.
- Smart opens and scans the mail - your envelope and contents are turned into an electronic document.
- ADC/AIB mail room screens it - the electronic version is reviewed for approval.
- Approved mail is delivered electronically - it’s forwarded to the inmate’s electronic account.
Official Direct Adc
- ✓ Cashier’s checks and money orders
- ✓ Passports
- ✓ Birth certificates
- ✓ Social Security cards
- ✓ Driver’s licenses
- ✓ Personal identification cards
- ✓ Alien Registration Card/Green Card
- ✓ Welfare card
- ✓ Medical card
- ✓ School diploma
Need an inmate to sign original documents - like a vehicle title transfer? Mail them to the ADC Property Officer. The Property Officer (or designee) will arrange a time for the inmate to review and sign, then handle postage to mail the documents back. This process is strictly for transactional paperwork. Inmates can't keep other original documents sent this way.
For official documents and in-person/legal deliveries, use the ADC’s street address: 10520 Judicial Drive, Fairfax, VA 22030.
Books, magazines, and newspapers follow different rules than personal letters. Publications must ship via U.S. Postal Service directly from the publisher or a third-party retailer. Address them to the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center at 10520 Judicial Drive, Fairfax, VA 22030, with the inmate's full name and number.
Timing: Publications mailed to the ADC may take up to five business days to be delivered.
Pitfalls and Help
- ✓ Put a full return address on every piece of general correspondence, and include your first and last name.
- ✓ Double-check the inmate’s full, correct name and inmate number before you seal the envelope.
- ✓ Don’t send anything bound or open like a book as “general correspondence” through Smart Communications - it will be rejected.
- ✓ Send publications (books, magazines, newspapers) through USPS directly from the publisher or a third-party retailer.
- ✓ Keep categories separate: personal correspondence goes to Smart Communications; publications go to the ADC; official documents go to the ADC Property Officer.
Legal mail still goes directly to the ADC. It must be clearly labeled as Legal Mail and come from the inmate's attorney of record, a Commonwealth's attorney, or the courts.
Running into a mail issue that seems vendor-related? The county's Notice of Award for the inmate communications contract lists a Sheriff's Office buyer contact: Michelle Nelson at 703-246-4435 or michelle.nelson@fairfaxcounty.gov.
Parking: A public parking garage a short walk from the ADC is located at 10550 Page Avenue, Fairfax, VA 22030.
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