Harris County Jail Mail Changes (Effective 6/16/2025): What Families Need to Know
Mailing letters or photos to someone in Harris County Jail? The process changed on June 16, 2025. Here's what's different, how to address mail so it actually arrives, and what to do for legal mail.
As of 6/16/2025, the jail no longer accepts personal mail directly. You'll need to follow the Harris County Sheriff's Office (HCSO) addressing directions exactly - even small mistakes can delay your mail or get it sent back.
All incoming personal mail now goes to the Securus Digital Mail Center first. If your letter meets HCSO's requirements, staff scan it and make it available for your loved one to view on eMessaging tablets and kiosks inside the facility.
Here's how it works: you mail your letter, it arrives at the Securus Digital Mail Center, and staff check it for compliance. If everything looks good, they scan it. Your loved one reads the scanned version on tablets or kiosks - not the physical paper. Think of it as "send paper in, they read it digitally."
Heads up: Anything that can't be scanned won't be accepted. That includes non-paper items and paper larger than 8.5" x 11". Packages, certified mail, checks, and money orders will be returned to sender.
Want your original back after scanning? Include a self-addressed envelope with enough postage. Without it, the Digital Mail Center won't return your item.
Note: Letters with perfume, body fluids (including lipstick), make-up, or other substances will be returned to the sender after inspection.
Addressing Requirements
- ✓ Sender’s full name
- ✓ Sender’s complete return address
- ✓ Inmate’s full booking name (the name they are booked into jail under)
- ✓ Inmate’s SPN
- ✓ Inmate’s housing facility
- ✓ Inmate’s cell block location
Photos are still allowed, but size matters. Keep them 5" x 7" or smaller, and limit yourself to 10 photos per package. Drawings work too, as long as they're on paper no larger than 8.5" x 11". Anything bigger - or anything that isn't paper - won't be accepted.
- ✓ Packages
- ✓ Certified mail
- ✓ Checks
- ✓ Money orders
Legal mail warning: Don't send legal mail to the Digital Mail Center address. If you do, it will be returned unopened.
Legal mail and attorney communications follow a separate process at the facility where your loved one is housed. Use that facility's legal-mail procedure - not the Digital Mail Center. Same goes for publications.
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