Mail and Photos: Where to send personal mail and what happens to originals
Montana uses off-site mail processing, so the mailing address depends on the facility. For certain Montana DOC facilities (including Montana State Prison, Montana Women's Prison, Pine Hills Correctional Facility, and Riverside), personal mail is scanned off-site and delivered digitally on tablets. Physical personal mail sent directly to those facilities gets returned to the sender. Montana DOC lists a central processing address for personal inmate mail: PO Box 247, Phoenix, MD 21131, using the inmate's full name and AO number. Some county detention centers also route non-legal mail to a processing PO box. Lewis and Clark County Detention Center, for instance, directs inmate mail (except legal and medical) to PO Box 591, Longview, Texas 75606.
- ✓ If your loved one is in one of the listed Montana DOC facilities (MSP, MWP, Pine Hills, Riverside), send personal mail to the Montana DOC central processing address (PO Box 247, Phoenix, MD 21131) using the inmate’s full name and AO number.
- ✓ For Lewis and Clark County Detention Center, send inmate mail (except legal and medical) to PO Box 591, Longview, Texas 75606.
- ✓ For facilities that scan personal mail, assume originals will not come back to you after processing.
Warning: Mail sent to the Texas processing address used by Lewis and Clark County is destroyed after it is processed and delivered electronically, and the facility states it will not be returned or released.
Common Questions
Q
Where should I send personal mail or photos for an inmate in Montana?
Many Montana facilities route personal mail to an off-site scanning address, not the jail or prison itself. Montana DOC lists a central processing address for personal mail (PO Box 247, Phoenix, MD 21131) using the inmate’s full name and AO number. Some counties use a Texas processing address, for example Lewis and Clark County and Yellowstone County list PO Box 591 in Longview, Texas, so double-check the correct address for your loved one’s specific facility before you send anything.
Q
Can I send legal or medical mail through the vendor PO box?
Usually no. Lewis and Clark County states all legal and medical mail must be mailed to the Lewis and Clark County Detention Center at 221 Breckenridge Ave, Helena, MT 59601 (not to the Texas PO box). If you are unsure which address applies, call the facility and ask for the correct legal and medical mail address.
Q
What happens to originals after mail is scanned by the vendor?
In facilities that use a scanning vendor, originals are typically destroyed after processing. Yellowstone County’s mail procedures state the original letter and contents are destroyed and not held, forwarded, or returned. Lewis and Clark County also states mail sent to its Texas processing address is destroyed after it is processed and delivered electronically.
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