Sending Mail to Someone at SCI Waymart: Which Address to Use and When

For regular letters, greeting cards, kids’ drawings, and photos, Pennsylvania DOC requires you to mail general incoming correspondence through Smart Communications. Address it exactly like this: Smart Communications/PA DOC Inmate Name/Inmate Number State Correctional Institution PO Box 33028 St. Petersburg, Florida 33733

• ✓ Include a full return address with your first and last name.
• ✓ Put the inmate’s full, correct name and inmate number on the mailing.

Smart Communications opens your mail, scans it into an electronic document, and the facility mailroom prints that scanned copy for delivery. Don't send anything you need back. Including photos? Keep it to 25 per mailing. Originals can't be returned - after 45 days, they're securely destroyed. Everything you send should be on 8 ½ by 11 paper, and nothing bound or book-like (no booklets or anything that opens like one).

Books, magazines, calendars, and photo books don’t go through Smart Communications. They must be sent to the Pennsylvania DOC Security Processing Center (SPC). Use this address format: Inmate Name, Inmate Number 268 Bricker Road Bellefonte, PA 16823-1667

Here's where people get tripped up: publications must come from original source vendors - publishers, bookstores, or online distributors. You can't mail books or magazines from home. Instead, order through a vendor and have them ship directly to the SPC.

• ✓ Soft cover only
• ✓ 25 pages or fewer (excluding the cover)
• ✓ No larger than 8x11 inches
• ✓ Must comply with DOC content criteria
• ✓ Must originate from a third-party vendor

If you need to send original, official, or transactional documents - things like IDs, checks, birth certificates, or Social Security cards - send them to the inmate’s institution and direct them to the Business Office. Use this format: Attn: Business Office – Inmate name/inmate number Institution Address Line #1 City, State Zip Code

Timing and Tracking Tips

• ✓ Use a complete return address with your full first and last name.
• ✓ Plan for at least a week of processing time - different mail types have different delivery estimates.

For SPC items like books, magazines, and photo books, tracking saves a lot of guesswork. If you order through a vendor that provides shipment tracking, use it - you'll be able to confirm the package made it to the Security Processing Center.