How Statesville Handles Your Mail: Why Letters Are Scanned and What You'll Never See on the Tablet

Here's how it works: mailroom staff scan the front and back of the envelope, plus every item inside, in color. Those scans become PDF images that get uploaded to the person's Bulletin Board. They view the mail on their tablet - the original paper never reaches them.

Once the scans are uploaded, they'll get a notification that new documents are available. They can then download and view the PDFs on their tablet.

Not Scanned or Photocopied

• ✓ Publications
• ✓ Official documents mailed from a government entity (for example, birth certificates and Social Security cards)
• ✓ Correspondence sent to an individual in custody from IDOC staff
• ✓ Any mail identified as “unauthorized mail” under IDOC incoming mail policies
• ✓ Any mail addressed to the facility that will be returned to the sender

Some mail gets rejected based on how it looks. IDOC won't accept anything with stains or discoloration - that includes perfume, lipstick, oily substances, unusual marks, and bodily fluids. Every piece of mail also needs a return address. No return address? It won't go through.

Keep the paper simple. Crayon, glitter, and any foreign or unknown substances will get your mail rejected. The same goes for added textures like beads or craft materials that change how the page feels.

Those "cute" add-ons? They cause problems. Return address stickers and labels are prohibited. So are stickers or tape anywhere on the correspondence or package.

Books have their own restriction in this policy: hardback books are not allowed to be mailed to individuals in custody.

Legal or privileged mail follows different rules, but it has to be clearly labeled to get that treatment. Mark the envelope "privileged" or "legal," and make sure the sender's name, title, and address are clearly visible.

Practical Tips

• ✓ Expect non-privileged mail to be scanned in color and delivered as PDF images on the person’s tablet (via their Bulletin Board), not as original paper.
• ✓ Always include a return address - mail without one is prohibited.
• ✓ Keep everything clean and plain: avoid perfume, lipstick marks, oily spots, unusual stains, or anything that could look like bodily fluids.
• ✓ Don’t use crayon or glitter, and don’t add any foreign/unknown substances to the paper.
• ✓ Skip craft add-ons like added textures or beads.
• ✓ Don’t use return address stickers/labels, and don’t put stickers or tape on the correspondence.
• ✓ Don’t mail hardback books.