How Long Does Mail Take to Reach an Alabama Inmate? Realistic Timelines

ADOC's goal is to deliver incoming letters and packages to the inmate within 72 hours after the facility receives them, not counting weekends and holidays. If the person you're writing has been transferred or released to another known address, approved mail and packages should be forwarded within 48 hours (again, excluding weekends and holidays). Those are the targets. In practice, your actual timeline can stretch when mail needs extra screening or rerouting.

Inside each facility, the mail clerk keeps the whole process moving. They collect, inspect, and distribute both incoming and outgoing mail, and they maintain the mail records. All that inspection and recordkeeping is a big reason ADOC describes the 72-hour delivery window as an "every effort" goal. Your letter still has to be screened before it reaches the right person.

Transfers and releases are another spot where mail can lose time. When an inmate is moved or released and there's another known address, approved mail and packages should be forwarded within 48 hours (excluding weekends and holidays). In practice, that means your letter may be processed at one location, then routed again before it reaches the inmate. A transfer can easily make mail feel "stuck" even when it's actually moving through the system.

For outgoing mail, ADOC's standard is daily pickup on business days. Designated staff collect outgoing mail once each business day, so an inmate's letter can't leave the facility until the next scheduled collection. If a letter misses that day's pickup, it waits until the following business day.

Inspection is the biggest built-in source of delay. All incoming mail, including legal mail, is inspected for contraband and misuse of the mail privilege. Outgoing mail can be randomly inspected too. Legal mail has an extra safeguard: it won't be opened for contraband inspection except in the inmate's presence. If staff suspect incoming mail has been altered or could contain unknown substances or contraband, they can copy the documents and envelope (in the inmate's presence if possible, and always in the inmate's presence for legal mail) and give the inmate copies instead of the originals. Any extra handling like that adds time.

Sometimes mail isn't just delayed. It's rejected. When that happens, the mail clerk cites the specific policy violation, completes ADOC Form 448-A (Notification of Rejected Mail), and forwards that notice to the inmate. This matters for you because the notice explains why your mail wasn't delivered and what needs to change before you send again.

Weekends and holidays change what "72 hours" and "48 hours" actually look like on a calendar. ADOC's incoming delivery goal is 72 hours after the facility receives the mail, excluding weekends and holidays. So a letter that arrives late on a Friday can feel much slower than one received on a Monday. The same exception applies to forwarding: approved mail for someone who has transferred or been released to another known address should be forwarded within 48 hours, excluding weekends and holidays. Add a transfer on top of a holiday weekend and it's easy for mail to take longer than you'd expect.

How to Minimize and Next Steps

• ✓ Address the envelope with the inmate’s name, AIS number, facility name, housing unit, and bed assignment.
• ✓ Include “ALDOC Inmate Mail Processing” along with the inmate name and AIS number.
• ✓ Write your full name and physical return address clearly in the top left corner of the envelope.
• ✓ When using the centralized processing address, send it to: P.O. Box 17339, San Antonio, TX 78217 (with the inmate name and AIS number).

Fewer delays start with the basics. Help mailroom staff route and clear your envelope quickly by using the inmate's name and AIS number consistently. Make sure the outside of the envelope includes the facility name, housing unit, and bed assignment. Put "ALDOC Inmate Mail Processing" on the address line as instructed, and don't skip your own full name and physical return address in the top left corner. When identifying information is missing or hard to read, your mail is more likely to get held up during inspection and distribution.

1. Ask whether a rejection notice was issued - If the inmate received an ADOC Form 448-A (Notification of Rejected Mail), the notice should cite the policy violation tied to that piece of mail.
2. Use the cited violation to correct your next send - The whole point of Form 448-A is to tell the inmate what rule triggered the rejection, so you can avoid repeating the same issue.
3. Keep the notice for reference - If you need to track patterns (for example, repeated rejections for the same reason), the cited violation on the form is the clearest starting point.