Mailing Letters and Photos to Montgomery County Jail: White-Envelope Rule, Photo Restrictions, and Getting Originals Back
Mail gets rejected at Montgomery County Correctional Facility for simple reasons: wrong envelope color, missing return address, or photos that break the rules. Follow these guidelines to get your letter or pictures through on the first try.
Montgomery County Correctional Facility only accepts mail in plain white envelopes. Since November 1, 2017, anything else - colored envelopes, decorative stationery, patterned designs - gets treated as contraband and sent back to you.
- ✓ Use a plain white envelope (colored envelopes are considered contraband and will be returned).
- ✓ Write a clearly marked return address on the outside of the envelope (no return address means it will be returned to the post office).
Every piece of incoming mail gets opened and inspected for contraband. Even routine letters can be delayed or rejected if something inside isn't allowed.
Don't mail photos directly from a third-party service. The facility won't accept photographs sent through vendors like Shutterfly or FreePrint - you need to mail them yourself.
Stick to standard sizes. Photos larger than 4x6 won't be accepted, even if everything else about your mailing follows the rules.
Heads up: If even one photo in your envelope violates policy, all photos in that mailing will be returned to the sender - there’s no partial delivery.
Photos have the same envelope rules as letters: plain white envelope, clear return address. Use a colored envelope and the whole mailing comes back to you as contraband.
The facility photocopies all incoming photographs before delivery. Your recipient gets the copy; the original stays with the facility. This only applies to photos - publications and legal mail are handled differently.
Original photos are held for 60 days. If no one picks them up within that window, they're destroyed.
- ✓ The inmate must arrange for an outside person to retrieve the original mailing within 60 days.
- ✓ The pick-up person must bring a government-issued ID and it must match the individual authorized to pick up the original mailing.
- ✓ Pickups are only available Monday through Friday, 7am to 3pm (excluding holidays).
Mail containing contraband may be returned to the sender. If the contraband potentially violates Maryland law, the facility may turn it over to the Montgomery County Police Department.
Reminder: All incoming mail is opened and inspected, and every envelope needs a return address - otherwise it will be returned to the post office.
Send mail to: Montgomery County Correctional Facility, Attn: [Inmate Name and ID Number], P.O. Box 247, Phoenix, Maryland 21131. Conflicting addresses circulate online, so double-check the official DOCR mail page before sending anything.
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