Sending Mail to Harford County Detention Center: Postcards, Photos, and What's Not Allowed
Harford County Detention Center has strict rules about what kind of mail gets accepted. Use the correct address format, send personal notes as approved postcards, and follow the photo limit and labeling requirements. Do all three, and your mail is much more likely to get through.
Address everything to the specific person you're writing. Harford County Detention Center requires the inmate's first and last name plus their inmate ID number on the envelope so mail can be matched and delivered to the right housing area. If the name is incomplete or the ID number is missing, your mail could be delayed or sent back.
Mailing address: Harford County Detention Center, Inmate Name and ID #, P.O. Box 1245, Bel Air, MD 21014.
For regular personal correspondence, Harford County Detention Center only accepts commercially produced postcards that meet U.S. Postal Service postcard standards. So the "quick note in an envelope" approach won't work here. If what you send doesn't meet the postcard requirement, it won't be accepted.
- ✓ Use a commercially produced postcard
- ✓ Make sure it meets U.S. Postal Service postcard standards
- ✓ Do not send handmade postcards
- ✓ Do not send index cards
Common rejection: Handmade postcards and index cards are not accepted, even if they fit in postcard size.
You can send photographs, but there's a strict limit. Harford County Detention Center accepts a maximum of five photos, and they must be mailed in an envelope clearly marked "Photos" or "Photographs." Skip the label or include more than five pictures, and the photos may be rejected or returned.
- Choose up to five photos - keep it to five total.
- Put them in an envelope - photos must be mailed in an envelope, not loose.
- Label the envelope clearly - write “Photos” or “Photographs” on the outside.
- Address it to the inmate - include the inmate’s first and last name and inmate ID number, and use the facility’s P.O. Box address.
Most mail problems come down to format. Personal letters not sent as commercially produced USPS-standard postcards get rejected. Handmade postcards and index cards won't make it through either. Photo mail gets tripped up when people include more than five pictures or forget to mark the envelope "Photos" or "Photographs." Incorrect addressing, especially a missing inmate ID number, can also lead to delays or returns.
Before you mail it: Double-check that you used an approved postcard type, stayed within the five-photo limit (with the envelope labeled), and included the inmate's full name, ID number, and the correct P.O. Box address.
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