Penmate Inmate Support Guides

For Attorneys: How to Register for Kentucky DOC's Legal Mail Portal to Reach Clients at WKCC

If you represent someone at Western Kentucky Correctional Complex (WKCC), Kentucky DOC requires attorneys to register through a Legal Mail Portal before sending legal mail. Here's how to register, what you'll need to upload, and the precautions you're agreeing to follow.

• 2 min read Verified from official sources
  1. Open the Kentucky DOC Legal Mail Portal page for WKCC - In a web browser, go to the Legal Mail Portal login page that corresponds to WKCC (the page with jail_id=2516).
  2. Click “Create Account” - This starts the registration flow so you can enter the required fields and submit your attorney verification request.

Docs Upload Verification

  • ✓ Proof of licensure in good standing from your Bar Association (upload as an image or PDF).

You'll also need to verify a phone number during setup. The portal can send a text message or make an automated phone call, so either a cell number or an office line works as long as you can receive the code.

Once your registration is reviewed and approved, your account status switches to "verified." You'll also receive a Mail ID Number. Note that this Mail ID begins with a letter.

Password requirements: Your Legal Mail Portal password must be at least 8 characters long and include at least one lowercase letter and at least one number.

Registration isn't just a technical step. By signing up for the Attorney Verification System, you're agreeing to take reasonable precautions to ensure nothing you send contains contraband. That expectation covers what you send, how you prepare it, and how it enters the mail stream.

  • ✓ Do not send documents you did not generate yourself (or through trusted staff) unless they are official documents from a trusted source, for example a birth certificate, death certificate, affidavit, or something similar.
  • ✓ Do not place original documents provided by a third party into mail going into WKCC unless they are in that limited official-document category. Kentucky DOC warns that third-party originals may contain drugs.
  • ✓ If you receive a document from a third party that needs to go to your client, send a photocopy rather than the original.

Keep control of your outgoing legal mail. Don't hand your attorney envelope to a third party (including a client's family) to mail on your behalf. Kentucky DOC's guidance: seal the envelope yourself or have trusted staff do it, then place it directly into the mail stream without delay.

Contraband warning: Kentucky DOC notes that household chemicals (including wasp spray) can be applied to paper to create contraband. Do not send paper that is discolored or appears to have been soaked or sprayed with anything.

If you run into problems registering or using the Legal Mail Portal, email doc.legalmailportal@ky.gov.

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