Mailing to Someone at SCI Dallas: Where to Send Letters, Photos, Photo Books, and Legal Mail

For letters, photos, and drawings, Pennsylvania DOC routes everything through a central mail vendor. Address your envelope to: Smart Communications/PA DOC Inmate Name/Inmate Number State Correctional Institution PO Box 33028 St. Petersburg, Florida 33733 Smart Communications opens and scans incoming mail, then sends it electronically to the facility mailroom, which prints it for delivery. Your loved one won't receive the original - they'll get a printed copy.

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• ✓ Include a full return address with your first and last name.
• ✓ Write the inmate’s full, correct name and inmate number.
• ✓ Use 8 ½ by 11 paper.
• ✓ Don’t send items that are bound or that open like a book.

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• ✓ Keep it to 25 photos per mailing.
• ✓ Don’t send photos that contain obscenity, explicit sexual material, or nudity.
• ✓ Assume you won’t get originals back - photos can’t be returned.
• ✓ Know the timeline: original photos are securely destroyed after 45 days.

Photo books have to meet Pennsylvania DOC's specs: soft cover, no more than 25 pages (not counting the cover), and 8 x 11 inches max. Content must comply with DOC guidelines. One catch - photo books have to come from a third-party vendor. You can't assemble one at home and mail it yourself.

Books, magazines, and calendars don't go to the same address as letters. Send publications to the DOC Security Processing Center: Inmate Name, Inmate Number 268 Bricker Road Bellefonte, PA 16823-1667

Official documents - IDs, checks, birth certificates, Social Security cards, driver's licenses, diplomas - go directly to the institution, not the Smart Communications PO Box. Use this format: Attn: Business Office – Inmate name/inmate number [Institution Address] Some facilities have a separate mailing address for these items. Check the facility page - if a different mailing address is listed, use that one for all official and original documents.

Legal mail (also called privileged mail) goes directly to the institution, not the central PO Box. Address it to the inmate's name and number at the facility's legal mailing address. Make sure to include your full return address on the envelope - it's required for privileged correspondence.

1. Put the control number on the envelope - include an attorney or court control number associated with the law office.
2. Add the weekly authentication code (attorneys only) - include the secondary authentication number/time code issued for that week.

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• ✓ Don’t mail letters, photos, or drawings directly to SCI Dallas - send general correspondence to the Smart Communications PO Box in St. Petersburg.
• ✓ Don’t forget the inmate’s full name and inmate number; missing or incorrect info is a common reason mail gets delayed.
• ✓ Don’t skip your return address (with your first and last name); it’s required.
• ✓ Don’t use odd sizes or formats - stick to 8 ½ by 11 paper and avoid anything bound or that opens like a book.