Legal Mail vs. Personal Mail at Western Tidewater: Where to Send Each

Personal mail and legal mail follow different paths at Western Tidewater. Letters from family and friends go to a P.O. Box, where they're scanned and delivered digitally through the tablet's

For personal mail from family and friends, address it to the jail’s P.O. Box and include the inmate’s name and jacket number. The jail specifies that the jacket number must be five digits. Use this format: Western Tidewater Regional Jail Inmate Name Inmate Jacket# (five digit # must be included) P.O. Box 247 Phoenix, MD 21131

For legal mail from attorneys, lawyers, and various courts, send it directly to the facility for distribution to the inmate. Use the street address: 2402 Godwin Blvd. Suffolk, VA 23434

Personal mail won't arrive as physical paper. Instead, it's scanned and delivered digitally to the inmate through the tablet's

Keep in mind: that 24-hour window depends on when your letter hits the processing queue. Western Tidewater processes mail daily except Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays. If your letter arrives Friday evening, it won't be processed until Monday.

Tips Labeling Speed

• ✓ Put the inmate’s name and five-digit jacket number on all personal mail, and send it to: Western Tidewater Regional Jail, Inmate Name, Inmate Jacket# (five digit # must be included), P.O. Box 247, Phoenix, MD 21131.
• ✓ Send legal mail from attorneys/courts to the facility street address: 2402 Godwin Blvd., Suffolk, VA 23434.
• ✓ Plan for timing: incoming mail is delivered within 24 hours after it’s processed, and it may be forwarded or returned if the inmate has been transferred.