Legal Mail vs Personal Mail in Alabama Prisons: What Families and Attorneys Need to Know
Legal mail and personal mail are handled differently in Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) facilities. Those differences affect privacy, tracking, and how quickly someone receives critical documents.
ADOC's inmate mail rules come from Administrative Regulation 448 (AR 448) and U.S. Postal Service regulations. Under those rules, "legal mail" gets special treatment, while personal letters go through standard mail processing. If you're sending something time-sensitive, make sure it's clearly identified and addressed correctly. That way it enters the legal-mail pipeline instead of getting stuck in the regular mail stream.
- ✓ Mail from an attorney or law office representing the inmate
- ✓ Mail from a court (including orders, notices, and filings)
- ✓ Mail from a clerk of court or other court staff using official letterhead
- ✓ Mail from certain government offices tied to a legal matter (for example, an agency communicating about a case)
Legal mail isn't opened the same way as ordinary letters. ADOC rules require that legal mail be opened and inspected for contraband in the inmate's presence. This protects legal confidentiality while still letting the facility check for prohibited items.
- Mail staff records the sender - Each piece of incoming legal mail is logged with the sender’s name.
- Mail staff records the inspection date - The log includes the date the legal mail was inspected.
- Mail staff records the delivery date - The log includes the date the mail was delivered to the inmate.
- The inmate signs for it - The recipient inmate’s signature is captured in the log.
Note: Because legal mail is opened in the inmate's presence and recorded in a log, it often moves on a different timeline than personal mail. If anything about the addressing triggers verification, the piece may be routed to the Warden or designee, which can add delay.
ADOC provides inmates two free stamps per week, but only for legal mail. The facility logs who receives those stamps. If your loved one is trying to meet a court deadline or stay in contact with counsel, knowing about this limit helps you plan ahead. Additional postage may be needed through other approved means.
Tip: If there's ever a dispute about whether someone had access to postage for legal mail, ask about the facility's free-stamp log. It's one of the few built-in records tied specifically to outgoing legal mail support.
Attorneys may be able to hand-deliver legal mail directly to an inmate, but it's not automatic. The Warden or designee decides whether to allow it, and any hand-delivered legal mail still goes through a contraband search. If you're counsel and timing is critical, confirm the hand-delivery process with the facility ahead of time. Build in extra time for the required search.
Simple addressing errors are one of the most common reasons legal mail slows down. Under ADOC rules, improperly addressed legal mail gets forwarded to the Warden or designee for verification before delivery. That extra step protects the integrity of legal mail, but it can also mean your documents reach the inmate later than expected.
- ✓ Use the sender name that clearly identifies the attorney, firm, court, or office, not a personal nickname.
- ✓ Write “Legal Mail” clearly on the outside of the envelope so it is routed correctly.
- ✓ Double-check the inmate’s identifying information before you send, since mistakes can trigger verification.
- ✓ Include a complete return address and a phone number for the sending office when possible, so staff can verify the sender without guesswork.
- ✓ Avoid adding extra materials that can complicate inspection (for example, loose items not needed for the legal communication).
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