What Happens to Your Original Letter After You Mail It to Van Zandt County Jail

Van Zandt County uses a central processing system for most personal mail. Your letter arrives at the processing location, gets scanned, and is delivered electronically through the inmate messaging system. Your loved one sees an electronic version on the kiosk - not your original letter. As of Monday, August 11, 2025, the jail handles all inmate mail this way, with exceptions only for legal and medical mail. Even a handwritten letter in a stamped envelope goes through electronic delivery, not physical delivery.

Once the mail-scanning vendor processes your letter, the original is destroyed. This applies to ordinary letters and anything else that goes through the scanning process. Sending something sentimental - a handwritten note, a card you'd want to keep? Make a copy or snap a photo before you mail it.

Pay attention to where you're sending mail. The Sheriff's Office warns that anything sent to PO Box 591, Longview, TX 75606 for processing will NOT be returned or released. This matters if you're hoping a rejected item comes back, or if you're mailing something irreplaceable. Once it goes to that PO Box, assume you won't get the original back.

This scanning-and-destruction process changes how you should handle photos and one-of-a-kind items. Don't send irreplaceable photographs, original documents, or anything you'd be upset to lose through the vendor-processing stream - because the original gets destroyed. Legal and commercial mail work differently. The facility says to send legal and commercial mail directly to the jail, not through the scanning vendor. The August 11, 2025 policy also carves out legal and medical mail as exceptions. If you're sending attorney correspondence, medical records, or time-sensitive materials, call the jail first to confirm the current routing instructions.

1. Copy what you’re sending - since originals processed by the vendor are destroyed, take a photo or make a copy of letters, drawings, and anything you may need later.
2. Address it clearly with name + ID - the inmate’s full name and ID number need to be clearly printed on the outside of the envelope or postcard to avoid lost or misdirected mail.
3. Choose the right destination - mail sent to PO Box 591 (Longview, TX 75606) for processing won’t be returned or released, so don’t send anything there that you expect to get back; legal and commercial mail should go directly to the facility (and legal/medical mail are treated as exceptions under the August 11, 2025 policy).
4. Plan for messaging costs - if you’re using the inmate messaging system, standard messages cost $0.25 each, and picture/document messages cost $0.35 per picture/document.

• ✓ Inmate full name and inmate ID number are clearly printed on the envelope/postcard
• ✓ You’re not sending legal/medical items to PO Box 591 (Longview, TX 75606) for processing
• ✓ You understand anything sent to PO Box 591 for processing will NOT be returned or released