Why Your Letter to Pocahontas Is Photocopied (and What Will Actually Reach an Inmate)
Mailed a handwritten letter or printed photos to Pocahontas Correctional Center, only to hear your loved one received a blurry black-and-white copy? That's not a mistake. Under Virginia Department of Corrections (VADOC) mail processing, general correspondence gets photocopied—and only the copies are delivered. Knowing this helps you send mail that actually survives the scanning process.
Pocahontas Correctional Center accepts standard general correspondence: letters, greeting cards, and postcards. You can include non-pornographic photos too, but they won't arrive as originals. Photos go through the same photocopy process as everything else.
- ✓ Inmate’s full first and last name
- ✓ Inmate’s 7-digit VADOC state ID number
- ✓ Pocahontas Correctional Center name and full mailing address with ZIP code on the envelope
This is why your letter looks "copied": all incoming general correspondence gets photocopied, and only those copies reach the inmate. Your handwriting, ink colors, and photo quality all pass through a black-and-white copier before your loved one sees anything.
Heads up: After photocopying, VADOC shreds the original envelope and everything inside - including personal photos. Don't send irreplaceable originals.
There's also a delivery cap. VADOC delivers a maximum of three 8.5" x 11" black-and-white photocopied pages per mailing, counting both front and back. The photocopied envelope counts toward that limit too - so extra pages or lots of add-ins can push you over quickly.
Prohibited Items
- ✓ Money orders, cash, checks, or other items of monetary value (VADOC directs you to use JPay to send money)
- ✓ Postage stamps
- ✓ Prepaid postage envelopes or postcards
- ✓ Nude or semi-nude images of anyone
- ✓ Contraband or other items not in compliance with VADOC operating procedures
Keep that three-page limit in mind when deciding what to include. If your mailing produces more than three black-and-white pages once copied (front and back counted), your loved one may not receive everything.
Legal mail follows different rules. Attorneys and courts sending legal correspondence for someone at Pocahontas must mail it directly to the VADOC Central Mail Distribution Center for screening - not as regular general correspondence.
Send mail for someone who isn't actually housed at Pocahontas? VADOC treats it as unauthorized. It may be returned to the post office unopened - or, if opened and your address is known, returned directly to you with a written explanation.
Practical Tips
- ✓ Write the inmate’s full first and last name exactly as it appears in records.
- ✓ Add the inmate’s 7-digit VADOC state ID number.
- ✓ Put “Pocahontas Correctional Center” and the full mailing address/ZIP on every envelope.
- ✓ Stick to letters, greeting cards, postcards, and appropriate (non-pornographic) photos.
- ✓ Expect everything in general mail - including photos - to be scanned/photocopied; your loved one receives the copy, not the original.
- ✓ Don’t include money orders, cash, checks, stamps, or prepaid postage envelopes/postcards; use JPay if you’re trying to send money.
- ✓ Keep your mailing small: only up to three 8.5" x 11" black-and-white photocopied pages (front and back counted) are delivered per mailing.
Final reminder: General correspondence is photocopied and originals are shredded. If you'd be upset to lose it, don't mail the original.
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