Where to Mail Letters to Inmates at Lewis and Clark County Detention Center
Lewis and Clark County Detention Center uses two different mailing addresses depending on what you're sending. Use the wrong one—or include something that can't be scanned—and your mail may be returned or destroyed.
On July 1, 2023, Lewis and Clark County Detention Center switched to a new mail process. Now, all inmate mail goes to a Texas processing PO Box - except legal and medical mail, which still goes directly to the facility in Helena.
Here's how it works: your letter (and anything you include, like a photo) gets scanned at a central processing location and delivered electronically to the inmate. Once processed, the original paper is destroyed. Nothing comes back to you, and by sending it you're agreeing it won't be returned or reimbursed.
Heads up: Since July 1, 2023, regular inmate mail goes to the Texas PO Box for scanning, and the originals are destroyed after processing. Don’t send anything you’d need back.
For regular inmate mail - anything that isn't legal or medical - send it to the Texas processing address: PO Box 591, Longview, TX 75606.
Legal and medical mail must be mailed directly to the Lewis and Clark County Detention Center at 221 Breckenridge Ave, Helena, MT 59601. Don’t send legal or medical mail to the Texas PO Box.
- ✓ Regular inmate mail → PO Box 591, Longview, TX 75606
- ✓ Legal and medical mail → 221 Breckenridge Ave, Helena, MT 59601
Keep your mail standard-sized. Only letters 8.5 inches wide by 11 inches tall or smaller will be accepted for processing at the Texas PO Box.
Keep it to 5 pages or fewer. Anything longer won't be scanned - it'll just get returned to you, and your loved one won't receive it.
Write on one side of each page only. The scanner reads front-side only, so anything written on the back won't make it through - and the whole letter gets returned.
You can include a photo, but just one. Send more than that and the entire letter gets returned - nothing scanned, nothing delivered.
Reminder: If your mailing breaks the size limit, page limit, back-side writing rule, or one-photo rule, it can be returned and your loved one may receive nothing from that envelope.
Skip the Texas PO Box for publications. Magazines, newspapers, bulk mail, and books aren't accepted there - they'll be returned to sender. Those items need to go directly to the facility, following the Lewis and Clark County Sheriff's Office Mail Guidelines.
Sending a book or magazine? Mail it to the facility address in Helena instead: 221 Breckenridge Ave, Helena, MT 59601.
Once your letter reaches the Texas PO Box, it's scanned and delivered electronically. Inmates view their mail on kiosks or tablets in their living area. The original paper gets destroyed after processing, so treat anything you send to the Texas address as gone for good.
Find an Inmate at Lewis And Clark County Jail
Search for a loved one and send messages and photos in minutes.
