Before you send: a short checklist
- ✓ Find the facility’s written mail rules (often in the inmate handbook under communication/correspondence)
- ✓ Match the address format to what you’re sending (general mail, legal mail, or packages)
- ✓ Add your loved one’s full name and inmate ID/number (if required)
- ✓ If personal mail is routed to a centralized processing address, use that address
- ✓ If you’re helping with a mail-in ballot, confirm the current procedure with local election officials and the facility
Common Questions
Q
Can I send photos and greeting cards to someone in jail?
Often, yes, but they have to follow the facility’s personal mail rules and they will be processed under that mail policy. Example (state-specific): one department directs personal mail, greeting cards, photos, and drawings to a Digital Processing Center address instead of a facility street address.
Q
Can I mail a package or order something online for an inmate?
Sometimes, but a common restriction is “vendor-only” packages. Example (state-specific): one corrections system allows packages and articles only when they are received directly from vendors via USPS, FedEx, UPS, and similar carriers.
Q
How should I send legal mail to ensure privacy and special handling?
Follow the facility’s legal (privileged) mail instructions, since legal mail is usually handled under separate rules from general mail. Example (state-specific): one department states legal mail should be addressed to the inmate at their assigned unit, with no changes as of 12/05/25.
Q
Can someone in custody receive and return a mail-in ballot?
In some places, yes. Example (state-specific): Arizona describes counties coordinating with sheriffs and detention facilities to set up reasonable procedures for delivery and return of ballots-by-mail, and it also notes that Arizona early ballots include a postage-paid return envelope.
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