How to Send Mail to Someone at Van Zandt County Jail (what address to use and how to format it)
Getting a letter accepted comes down to using the right address and staying within the jail's scanning limits. Here's the exact format Van Zandt County uses—and what to double-check before you mail anything.
Starting Monday, August 11, 2025, Van Zandt County requires all inmate mail to go through a central processing PO Box - except legal and medical mail. Sending a regular personal letter? Use the PO Box address below so it gets processed under the Sheriff's Office jail mail rules.
If you've mailed here before, you might remember earlier instructions tied to JailATM. Those older rules (effective October 1, 2021) required non-legal, non-commercial mail to go through JailATM - either electronically or mailed to a Fort Worth processing address with the inmate's full name and ID on the envelope. The jail has since published a newer PO Box process (effective August 11, 2025). Before you drop your letter in the mail, verify which system they're currently using.
For non-legal mail going through the central processing PO Box, format your envelope exactly like this: Inmate Name SO# Van Zandt County Jail PO BOX 591 Longview, Texas 75606 Here's an example (use the real name and SO# for your person): Jordan Smith SO# 123456 Van Zandt County Jail PO BOX 591 Longview, Texas 75606
Don't skip the identifiers. Put the inmate's name and Sheriff's Office booking number (SO#) on the outside of the envelope, plus your return address. Mail missing these details may not get matched to the right person.
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- ✓ Use standard paper size only: 8.5 inches wide x 11 inches tall.
- ✓ Keep it to 5 pages or fewer total; anything over 5 pages won’t be scanned and will be returned.
- ✓ Write on the front side only - mail is scanned front-side only, so don’t write on the back of your pages.
Plan your letter to fit on five one-sided sheets. Don't write on the back of pages - those won't be scanned. Go over five pages and the whole thing gets returned to you instead of reaching the inmate.
Don't send legal mail through the processing PO Box. The Sheriff's rules specifically exempt legal and medical mail, and older guidance confirms these should go directly to the facility. If your mail is time-sensitive or falls into either category, follow the jail's procedures for mailing it straight to Van Zandt County - don't route it through the scanning process.
Van Zandt County has published multiple sets of instructions over time - an older JailATM process and a newer central PO Box process. Take two minutes to confirm the current procedure before you send anything. That quick check can save you weeks of delay if you use the wrong address or accidentally route legal or medical mail through the processing center.
- Check the Sheriff’s Office mail rules - confirm whether the current process is the central PO Box (effective Aug. 11, 2025) and review any listed exceptions.
- Call the jail to confirm the correct address for your situation - ask whether your letter should go to the PO Box or be mailed directly to the facility (especially for legal/medical-type mail).
- If a vendor process is mentioned (like JailATM), confirm the exact procedure before mailing - vendor instructions have been used in the past, so verify the correct address and labeling rules for that system.
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