How Garland County's Mail System Works — and Exactly How to Address Letters to Inmates
If your mail to someone at the Garland County Detention Center keeps getting returned, the problem is almost always the address. Here's the exact mailing address to use, what needs to go on the outside of the envelope, and how the scanning and tracking process works.
As of June 1, 2023, Garland County Detention Center no longer accepts postal mail directly at the facility. All letters and postcards now go through Smart Communications at a designated PO Box address. Anything that arrives at the detention center itself gets returned to the sender. Use the Smart Communications address, or your letter bounces right back to you.
Use the Smart Communications address exactly as written below. Print the inmate's name and booking or ID number clearly on the outside of the envelope or postcard. Smart Communications Garland Co. Det. Ctr. Adam Smith #123456 PO Box 9141 Seminole, FL 33775-9141 The name plus booking or ID number is how the system routes your mail to the right inmate account.
- ✓ Write the inmate’s full name on the outside of the envelope or postcard
- ✓ Include the inmate’s booking or ID number, printed clearly
- ✓ Address it to Smart Communications / Garland Co. Det. Ctr. at PO Box 9141, Seminole, FL 33775-9141
- ✓ Do not mail it to the detention center itself (mail received at the facility is returned)
Once your letter, postcard, or greeting card arrives, Smart Communications scans it and uploads a digital copy. Inmates read their mail through kiosks inside the facility, so they're viewing the scanned version, not the physical original.
Note: Inmates at Garland County Detention Center read their postal mail as scanned copies on facility kiosks, not as physical letters.
Want to know what happened to your mail? Sign up for a free MailGuard Tracker account. It lets you check delivery status, get notified if your mail is rejected, and download copies of mail that's been received and processed. This is worth doing, since improperly addressed mail gets returned without any other notification.
- Create a free MailGuard Tracker account - this gives you access to tracking and notifications.
- Check your mail’s delivery status - you can see when mail has been received and processed.
- Turn on rejection notifications - you will be alerted if your mail is rejected.
- Download processed copies - keep a copy for your records once it is received and processed.
Common Mistakes
- ✓ Mailing to the detention center instead of Smart Communications (mail received at the facility after June 1, 2023 is returned)
- ✓ Leaving off the inmate’s booking or ID number
- ✓ Writing the booking or ID number in a way that is hard to read (print it clearly on the outside)
- ✓ Not including the inmate’s name on the outside of the envelope or postcard
Warning: Mail sent directly to the facility (rather than to the Smart Communications PO Box) or not properly addressed will be returned to the sender.
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