What Happens to Your Greeting Card: Yakima County Jail's Mail Restrictions Explained
Sending a greeting card to someone in Yakima County Jail sounds simple—until it gets rejected for the wrong envelope color, a pop-up design, or something stuck inside. Here are the mail restrictions that trip people up most often, plus safer ways to make sure your message actually gets through.
Top Rejected Items
- ✓ 3-D greeting cards
- ✓ Pop-up greeting cards
- ✓ Cards that fold out or expand
- ✓ Oversized greeting cards
- ✓ Cards that contain cardboard
- ✓ Cards that contain staples
- ✓ Bubble envelopes
- ✓ Padded envelopes
- ✓ Hard envelopes
- ✓ Stamps
- ✓ Stickers
The jail also rejects anything considered an "unknown substance" - and that includes hand-colored or hand-painted pictures and drawings. Markers, crayons, paint from home? All treated as contraband risks. That sweet hand-colored card or drawing can get stopped before it ever reaches your loved one.
- ✓ Food items
- ✓ Other perishables
- ✓ Clothing
Even if your envelope and card pass the physical checks, content can still get mail rejected. Yakima County Jail won't accept photos, drawings, or written material that depicts gang or criminal activity, shows nudity (including partial nudity), is sexually explicit, or is racially inflammatory. If there's any chance a joke, image, or lyric could be read that way, leave it out. Stick to a straightforward message.
Use a white envelope. Yakima County Jail requires it - colored or decorative envelopes get kicked back.
Include a clear return address written in pen. If the return address is missing or hard to read, it can trigger an automatic return or rejection before anyone even looks at what you wrote inside.
Here's something that surprises people: Yakima County Jail inmate mail is processed by a third-party vendor (Securus), so you're not mailing directly to the jail. Address your correspondence like this: Inmate Name and ID Number, Yakima County WA, PO Box 20888, Tampa FL 33622. If the name, ID, or address format is off, your mail can be delayed or rejected.
Practical Alternatives and Tips
- ✓ Choose a flat, standard greeting card (no pop-ups, fold-outs, or expanding pieces)
- ✓ Avoid any card that includes cardboard parts or staples
- ✓ Mail it in a regular envelope - not a bubble, padded, or hard envelope
- ✓ Stick with a plain white envelope for the outer mailing envelope
If your main goal is sending support that actually arrives, keep it simple. The jail accepts general correspondence - regular letters and money orders/checks - but rejects many "extra" card formats: 3-D, pop-up, fold-out, oversized, or anything with cardboard or staples. Choosing between a fancy card and a plain letter? The plain letter wins.
Legal mail: Yakima County Jail treats legal mail differently from general correspondence, and it must clearly show who it’s to/from (for example, a court, court staff, or an attorney of record) in the mailing address or return address on the front of the envelope.
Find an Inmate at Yakima County Jail, WA
Search for a loved one and send messages and photos in minutes.
