How Woodbury County Processes Mail (PO Box 591): What Happens to Letters, Photos, and Cards

Woodbury County uses a central mail processing system that scans personal mail and delivers it digitally inside the facility. Instead of handing out physical letters and photos, staff scan everything you send and the inmate receives it electronically. Here's the part that surprises people: after delivery, the original mail is destroyed - including photos and anything else you included.

For non-legal mail going through the scanning process, send it to PO Box 591, Longview, Texas 75606. Include the inmate's name and booking/jacket (SO#) number on both the envelope and the contents inside. Your return name and address must appear on the outside of the envelope. These details ensure the mail gets matched to the right person.

Send mail to any other PO Box or address? It comes right back to you. The address line matters as much as what you write inside.

The PO Box handles standard personal mail that can be scanned - not everything qualifies. Books, magazines, newspapers, legal mail, and medical mail aren't accepted there. Those items need to go directly to the facility where the inmate is housed, following that facility's specific mail rules.

Formatting Rules

• ✓ Keep everything letter-size or smaller: no larger than 8.5 x 11 inches
• ✓ Limit the mailing to 5 pages total
• ✓ Put the inmate’s name and booking/jacket (SO#) number on the mail, and include your return name and address on the envelope
• ✓ Include no more than 1 photo per mailing (more than one photo means the entire mailing is returned and nothing is scanned or delivered)

Write on one side of the page only. Mail is scanned front-side only, so anything written on the back - including the back of a letter or card insert - gets the whole mailing returned to you.

Woodbury County is strict about where mail goes and how it's labeled. Wrong PO Box or address? Returned to sender. No return name or address on the envelope? Destroyed. Double-check that return information before sealing.

Photo and formatting mistakes are the most common reasons mail doesn't make it through. Inmates can receive a maximum of one photo per mailing - include more than one, and the entire letter comes back. Nothing gets scanned or delivered. Same goes for writing on the back of pages: front-side only, or it's returned.

Once your mail is scanned at the processing center, it's sent to the inmate electronically. They view it on kiosks or tablets inside the facility.

1. Address it to the processing PO Box - Send non-legal mail for scanning to PO Box 591, Longview, Texas 75606.
2. Include the inmate’s identifying info - Put the inmate’s name and booking/jacket (SO#) number on the envelope/mail.
3. Add your full return name and address - Mail without a return name or address can be destroyed.
4. Keep it within the size and page limits - Use pages no larger than 8.5 x 11 inches and keep the mailing to 5 pages.
5. Stick to one photo only - If you include more than 1 photo, the entire mailing is returned and nothing is scanned or delivered.
6. Write on one side only - Scanning is front-side only; writing on the back can cause a return.
7. Send with the “no return/no reimbursement” rule in mind - Anything sent to PO Box 591 is delivered electronically for viewing on kiosks/tablets, and the physical originals aren’t returned.