Inmate Mail

Attention Attorneys
Inmate legal correspondence procedure

Items that can be mailed to a jail inmate are limited.

  • All mail is opened and searched prior to delivery to the incarcerated individual.
  • All mail must contain the inmate’s DOC number, not the booking number.
  • Attempts to send contraband through the mail are addressed through the legal system.

Address for Mail to an Incarcerated Individual

Incarcerated individual name
DOC Number
Allegheny County Jail
950 Second Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15219

What Incarcerated Individuals Can Receive

Original articles of mail and photographs will be held at the Allegheny County Jail for a period of seven days and destroyed thereafter.

Letters

  • Keep it simple and use blue/black ink only
  • No stickers are allowed, including an address sticker
  • No stains, glitter, lipstick kisses or perfume
  • Everything will be photocopied. Originals will not be delivered to inmates.
  • Letters cannot be more than three pages and must be no larger than 8.5 x 11 letter sized paper- front and back.

Photos

Incarcerated individuals will only receive a colored copy of an incoming photograph and only one 4 x 6 copy of a photograph is authorized per envelope.

Books and Publications

Visit our Ordering Books page and learn how you can send books and publications to an incarcerated individual.

Money Orders

Write the incarcerated individual’s DOC number on the money order.

Items Incarcerated Individuals May Not Receive

Anything that is not specifically listed above, including but not limited to:

  • Any publication that is not mailed directly from the publisher
  • Stamps or stamped envelopes
  • Stationery
  • Cash
  • Checks of any kind
  • Credit cards, phone cards
  • Hygiene or grooming products
  • Medication
  • Clothing
  • Jewelry
  • Tobacco
  • Food
  • Gang-related photos
  • Pornography

The letter(s) and/or package(s) are being returned for the following reasons:

  • All letters and packages must have the correct name and docket number on them or will be returned
  • Any items that cannot be identified are considered contraband
  • All letters and packages must have a full name and return address or it will be returned
  • All Money Orders must have a DOC Number & the Senders Name and return address
  • Only one picture per envelope is permitted. Picture must be 4" x 6"
    • No pictures with nudity, partial nudity or explicit content will be accepted
    • Pictures must have name and DOC number on the back
    • No gang pictures or pictures with hand signals
  • Only three pages (front and back) can be accepted
  • Incarcerated individual-to-incarcerated individual correspondence mail must have prior approval of jail administration
  • All legal mail must come from a lawyer with a barcode (anything sent from home or that has a hand-written return address is not considered legal mail)
  • All correspondence or other writings containing threatening or obscene material as well as correspondence containing criminal solicitations or further a criminal plan are prohibited
  • Only black/blue ink is permitted
  • No colored pens, pencils, highlighters or colored paper
  • No drawings or coloring, of any kind, with the use of paint, crayons, colored pencils, gel pens, chalk and/or markers
  • Paper must be 8.5" x 11"
  • No perfume, lipstick, glue, tape, glitter or stains on letters, envelopes, cards and packages
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