Sending Legal Mail vs. Regular Mail to Western Virginia Regional Jail
Western Virginia Regional Jail routes mail to two different destinations. Regular inmate mail goes to a P.O. Box in Phoenix, Maryland. Legal or privileged mail must go directly to the jail's street address in Salem. Getting the address right — and labeling legal mail correctly — keeps your letter from bouncing back.
For regular (non-legal) mail, use the P.O. Box - not the jail's street address. As of January 18, 2024, all inmate postal mail goes here: Western VA Regional Jail Inmate Name Inmate ID Number P.O. Box 247 Phoenix, MD 21131 The jail's street address is 5885 West River Road, Salem, Virginia 24153, but that's reserved for legal/privileged mail only. Regular letters from family and friends should always go to the Maryland P.O. Box.
- ✓ Clearly PRINT the inmate’s full name on the outside of the envelope or postcard.
- ✓ Clearly PRINT the inmate’s ID number on the outside of the envelope or postcard.
- ✓ If the mail does not include both the inmate’s name and ID number, it will be returned to sender.
Legal or privileged mail goes directly to the jail's street address: Inmate Name 5885 West River Road Salem, Virginia 24153 Mark the envelope clearly as legal/privileged. This ensures staff handle it as legal correspondence instead of routing it through the regular mail system.
What counts as legal mail? At Western Virginia Regional Jail, that means correspondence from an attorney, a court, the Department of Corrections, or the Parole Board. If your letter is from one of these sources, send it to the Salem street address and label it legal/privileged.
Quick reminder: Legal/privileged mail must be clearly marked and come from an attorney, court, Department of Corrections, or Parole Board. Send it to 5885 West River Road in Salem - not the Phoenix, MD P.O. Box used for regular mail.
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