Why Your Mail Isn't Arriving: Maury County Jail's Digital Mail Policy (and what you can still send)

Maury County Jail changed how inmate mail works on February 1, 2021. Paper mail no longer goes directly to inmates. Instead, incoming mail - including greeting cards and photos (if approved) - gets scanned and sent to the inmate's electronic mail account. Your letter may still be "received," but your loved one will see it on a screen rather than holding the original paper you mailed.

Photos are a big reason mail gets rejected. Maury County Jail doesn't allow photographs as physical items in incoming mail. The only way a photo reaches an inmate is if it's approved and processed through the jail's electronic scanning system. Dropping printed photos into an envelope? That's a common way to end up with mail that never makes it through.

• ✓ Greeting cards larger than 5 x 8 inches
• ✓ Padded greeting cards
• ✓ Musical greeting cards
• ✓ Laminated greeting cards
• ✓ Cards with non-paper parts (rhinestones, string, foam, glitter, etc.)

Legal mail works differently. If your envelope is clearly marked "legal mail," staff will open it in front of the inmate, screen it for contraband, and hand it over. This is separate from the general scanned-mail process, so labeling matters - legal mail still gets special handling.

Maury County Jail uses a kiosk email system inside the housing units. When someone is booked in, they're issued a kiosk log-in number. From there, they can access the housing-unit kiosks to send and receive email - often the fastest way to stay in touch when paper mail isn't being handed over directly.

Sending messages costs money on the inmate side: $0.50 per outgoing email. The upside? Each of those emails can receive a reply at no charge, so you can respond without paying.

Practical Alternatives

• ✓ Expect your regular letters and greeting cards to be scanned and delivered to your loved one’s electronic mail account - not as the original paper (effective February 1, 2021).
• ✓ Don’t mail printed photographs; physical photos aren’t allowed. If you want to share images, use the electronic system where photos may be accepted if approved.
• ✓ Keep greeting cards simple: under 5 x 8 inches, not padded, not musical, not laminated, and with no non-paper decorations like glitter, foam, string, or rhinestones.
• ✓ If you’re communicating through the kiosk email system, remember inmates get a kiosk log-in number at booking and use housing-unit kiosks to send/receive messages.
• ✓ Plan for the $0.50 fee per outgoing inmate email; your reply back to that message is free.
• ✓ If you attach photos to email, expect possible extra vendor fees and a delay for administrative approval.
• ✓ For attorney/court-related correspondence, clearly mark it as “legal mail” so it can be opened in front of the inmate, screened for contraband, and then given to them.