Sending Legal Mail to Mid-State: What Attorneys and Courts Need to Know

Under NJDOC rules,

To be treated as privileged/legal mail for Mid-State, send it directly to the facility. Don’t route it through a third-party mail service.

Mark Format

• ✓ Clearly mark the front of the envelope: “Legal Mail”
• ✓ Or clearly mark the front of the envelope: “Attorney/Client”
• ✓ Or clearly mark the front of the envelope: “Confidential”
• ✓ Or use a similar marking that designates the item as legal mail

NJDOC requires attorney privileged mail to be identifiable from the outside of the envelope - both by your return address and how you format the recipient's address. Use a full return address with your law office name and street address. For the recipient, format it exactly as: Incarcerated Person's Name / SBI Number, then the Institution, then the Institution Legal Mail Address. Including the SBI number and using that specific line order helps the facility route it correctly as privileged mail.

Attorney Checklist

• ✓ Use a full return address with the law office name and address
• ✓ Address the recipient as: Incarcerated Person’s Name / SBI Number, then Institution, then Institution Legal Mail Address
• ✓ Clearly mark the front of the envelope “Legal Mail,” “Attorney/Client,” “Confidential,” or similar
• ✓ Send privileged/legal mail directly to Mid-State (not through third-party services)
• ✓ Do not send privileged/legal mail to Pigeonly Corrections (it will be returned)