Why you only get three pages: VADOC's mail photocopying and shredding policy
If your loved one says they only received a few photocopied pages from your letter, that's VADOC's mail process at work. Here's what happens to general correspondence, why the envelope counts toward your limit, and how to write so more of your message actually gets through.
When you send general correspondence to someone in a Virginia Department of Corrections (VADOC) facility, staff can open, search, and read it during processing. VADOC then photocopies the letter. Your loved one receives those photocopies, not the original items you mailed.
Takeaway: With VADOC general correspondence, your loved one receives photocopies only, not the original letter or contents.
Once the photocopy is made, VADOC shreds the original envelope and everything inside it. That includes personal photos. If you're hoping your loved one can keep something in its original form, know that it will be destroyed after copying.
Note: Originals (including photos) are not kept or returned after they are photocopied. They are shredded.
VADOC limits each mailing to a maximum of three photocopied pages. The copies are black and white on 8.5" x 11" paper.
Here's the catch: the envelope counts toward that limit. VADOC includes a photocopy of the envelope as one of the three pages. That leaves only two pages for your actual letter and any photos or other items you include.
Rule of thumb: Per mailing, up to 3 black-and-white photocopied 8.5" x 11" pages are delivered, and the photocopied envelope counts as one of them.
Legal correspondence works differently. Attorneys and courts must mail legal documents directly to the VADOC Central Mail Distribution Center, where they go through screening and inspection before being forwarded.
- ✓ If the sender is an attorney or a court, have the legal correspondence mailed directly to the VADOC Central Mail Distribution Center for screening and inspection.
- ✓ Do not route attorney or court mail through the normal general-correspondence process.
- Write with the three-page cap in mind. VADOC delivers a maximum of three photocopied pages per mailing, so keep your letter concise if you want it to arrive in full.
- Remember the envelope uses up a page. Because a photocopy of the envelope counts as one of the three pages, assume you may only have room for a couple pages of actual letter in what gets delivered.
- Treat general mail as “copy-only”. Since only photocopies are delivered and general mail can be opened, searched, and read, write with the expectation that the original will not reach your loved one.
- Do not send irreplaceable originals or personal photos you want returned. VADOC shreds the original envelope and all enclosed contents, including personal photos, after photocopying.
- If you have more to say, split it across separate mailings. The three-page delivery limit applies to each mailing, so longer updates usually work better as multiple letters sent separately.
Reminder: Incoming mail may be opened, searched, and read, and originals (including photos) are shredded after copying. Keep anything sensitive or irreplaceable out of general correspondence.
Find an Inmate at Marion Correctional Treatment Center
Search for a loved one and send messages and photos in minutes.
