When mailing a letter or postcard to an inmate, please address your mail as follows:
Inmate's First and Last Name
Harris County Joint Processing Center
700 N San Jacinto Street
Houston, TX 77002
....
Important: Use the third-party mail service address directly below for personal mail, IF IT IS DIFFERENT than the above address:
Inmate's Full Name, Full SPN
Housing Location, Cell Block
Harris County Sheriff’s Office
700 N. San Jacinto
Houston, TX 77002
Inmates have their mail delivered Monday thru Friday. There is no limit on how much mail they can receive. Inmates are allowed to send mail to friends and family, but NOT to co-defendants, other inmates in this or other jails or prisons, and NOT from people they have a 'no contact' order in place from.
The Harris County Joint Processing Center has a zero-tolerance policy regarding mail violations.
Follow these instructions exactly to help ensure that your inmate receives his/her mail and not have it thrown away.
Scroll down for a list of Frequently Asked Questions and Answers regarding how to send an inmate mail, or call the Harris County Joint Processing Center at 713-755-5300 with your questions.
Postcards
The Harris County Joint Processing Center allows inmates to receive unlimited pre-metered postcards like the type purchased from the post office. They also allow certain photo postcards as long as they have not been tampered with or contain images that may be considered to be obscene or violent in nature.
Envelopes
The Harris County Joint Processing Center allows inmates to receive an unlimited amount of letters as long as they conform to the mail guidelines. Letters should arrive in standard letter-sized envelopes and must have a complete return address, including your first and last name and address.
First look up the Inmate's SPN Number, Housing Location & Cell Block.
You will need all of these to mail them a letter, postcard, magazine, newspaper or books.
Here is an example of what the information looks like when you look up an inmate online.
In this example below, the Inmate's Name and SPN are in RED on the white background.
The Housing Location & Cell Block are in BLUE.
The other RED number is the inmate's Case Number. You will need this for looking up their court dates.
If you can't find an inmate online, call the Inmate Locator hotline at 713-755-5300.
Postcards & Envelopes (personal mail) are mailed to:
Inmate's Full Name, Full SPN
Housing Location, Cell Block
Harris County Sheriff’s Office
700 N. San Jacinto
Houston, TX 77002
Newspapers
You can purchase a newspaper subscription for an inmate but it must be mailed to the jail directly from the publisher and must include the Inmate’s Full Name, SPN, Housing Location & Cell Block.
Magazines
Magazines are also allowed, but must be mailed directly from the publisher and include the inmate’s full name and SPN. Any magazine containing lewd photos, nudity, pornography, or anything promoting drugs or violence will be confiscated by jail staff and discarded.
Books
If you wish to mail a book to an inmate you must have it sent from either the publisher or from a third-party vendor such as Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble.
Books must NOT contain images or content that are considered excessively violent, pornographic or obscene.
In addition, the contents cannot present a threat to the security of the facility. Any book that does not meet the Harris County Joint Processing Center standards will be disposed of.
Hard cover books will not be accepted by the jail due to their potential to be used as a weapon.
All book shipments must include the inmate's name and SPN. You can also call 713-755-5300 to get the number.
Magazines, Newspapers and Books are mailed to:
Inmate Full Name, Full SPN
701 N. San Jacinto, Visitor Control Center
Attn: Books- Mail Room
Houston, Texas 77002
Care packages
Care packages are pre-chosen items packaged together and sent to the inmate from a third-party vendor. They include clothing, snacks, hygeine products and seasonal items.
Harris County Joint Processing Center only allows care packages from Access Securepak.
What is my inmate’s mailing address?
How do I mail a letter to an inmate in the Harris County Joint Processing Center?
How do I address a letter to an inmate?
If a letter is withheld from being delivered to an inmate, will they be notified?
What can I send to an inmate by mail?
Can I send pictures to an inmate?
How often can I send letters or cards to an inmate?
How often can an inmate mail letters?
What is considered ‘contraband’ in an inmate’s mail?
Can I send printouts from my computer to an inmate?
Can I send an inmate a package?
If I send something to an inmate that is not allowed, can the inmate or I get in trouble?
Can I send an inmate postage stamps?
How can an inmate get stamps while in jail or prison?
If an inmate has no money, will the Harris County Joint Processing Center give them stamps?
What happens if I send the inmate drugs, a weapon or anything illegal, will I get in trouble?
What are some other important mail tips to avoid problems?
By law, every inmate is entitled to receive mail delivered through the United State Postal Service. While for years, this mail was always delivered in the form of a letter or a postcard from friends and loved ones directly to the inmate, the definition of inmate mail has changed a bit.
Inmate mail can be:
• A letter in an envelope,
• A postcard,
• A greeting card, or
• A digital letter
Because of security and contraband concerns, mainly the paper and envelope that a letter is written on or enclosed in, being soaked in a liquid form of drugs, many jails are increasingly limiting the type of mail inmates can get.
Some still allow regular mail in an envelope with a stamp, but many now have the letter sent to a third-party that opens the letter, scans it and the envelope into a computer, emails the letter to the jail where they print it out, giving the photocopies to the inmate, or they send it to a computer kiosk or tablet digitally that the inmate can access.
Others only allow postcards, specifically the white, pre-stamped postcards that you can purchase from the post office.
When greeting cards are allowed, they can’t be cards with glitter, music or other do-dads. They can only be plain paper cards.
Some jails, in fact most, require that mail be written or typed with only black or blue ink. Some allow black pencils to be used.
None allow crayons, markers, lipstick prints, etc.
All require white envelopes, white paper or lined paper such as from a pad. Very few allow paper that is card stock. It must be plain white, 20-lb. printer paper.
To see the inmate mail policies for Harris County Joint Processing Center check out the inmate mail details above or call the jail at 713-755-5300 for specific information.
There are five different types of addresses for every jail:
1. The physical address of the jail.
2. The mailing address for an inmate’s personal mail.
3. The mailing address for the inmate’s legal mail.
4. The mailing address for the jail’s administrative staff.
5. The mailing address for sending money to the inmate’s trust or commissary fund. (visit the Inmate Money page for this information)
In general, the only three addresses that friends and family of inmates need to be concerned about are:
• The inmate address for personal mail.
• The address for sending money orders to the inmate’s commissary account.
Visit the Inmate Money page for this information.
• The physical address of the jail.
Because this section is about mailing an inmate, the address for mailing an inmate is:
Inmate's Full Name, Full SPN
Housing Location, Cell Block
Harris County Sheriff’s Office
700 N. San Jacinto
Houston, TX 77002
or
Inmate's Full Name
Inmate ID#
Harris County Joint Processing Center
700 N San Jacinto Street
Houston, TX 77002
If a red address is visible above, then use that address, as that is the new address the jail is using for an inmate's personal mail to combat contraband entering the facility.
To mail a letter to an inmate in the Harris County Joint Processing Center, first completely read all the mail policies and guidelines that are on this page. Also read any updated mail guidelines that are on the official page for the facility. If you still have questions, then call the jail at 713-755-5300 and ask specifics.
It is important to understand that if even one thing is done incorrectly when sending a letter to the jail, even if everything else is done correctly, then your letter will not be delivered to the inmate. In fact, even though the jail claims they will mail your letter back to you so that you will know it was not delivered, there is always the chance it will be disposed of.
Don't be the loved one sitting at home, wondering why your inmate is not responding to your letter, when in fact they may not have even received it.
All mail to the inmate must be addressed as follows:
A full return address, which includes your full name and full address. Without this the mail will not be delivered to the inmate.
A complete address to the inmate, including:
Full Name (name that they were booked under)
Inmate ID# (booking #, SO #, etc.)
Inmate’s Housing location (if you know it)
Harris County Joint Processing Center
Mailing Address
City, State, Zip code
Inmate's Full Name, Full SPN
Housing Location, Cell Block
Harris County Sheriff’s Office
700 N. San Jacinto
Houston, TX 77002
A letter that is not addressed completely may not get delivered. Keep in mind that often there is more than one inmate in a jail with the same name. You certainly don’t want the wrong inmate getting your private mail, do you?
Sometimes. There are some jails that will deliver you a notification that a letter which was intended for you was returned because it was either improperly addressed, did not have return address, contained contraband of some sort, had things written in it that were against mail and jail policies, or were sent by someone you were not allowed contact with such as co-defendant or someone the court had forbidden contact with such as a spouse in a domestic violence case.
Most of the time though, the letter is either returned or destroyed, and if there are illegal substances in the letter, it will be turned over to the Harris County Sheriff or District Attorney for possible criminal investigation and/or indictment.
Generally nothing but a letter, printouts from a computer printer or photographs (not polaroid) can be sent to an inmate in the mail. If there is anything else enclosed, the entire letter and the contents will be returned to you or destroyed.
There are a few exceptions to this, such as several county jails in New York, including the infamous Riker’s Island. Riker’s allows all kinds of things to be mailed to an inmate, including a box of items every month.
Every jail has their own policy regarding allowing inmates to receive photographs in the mail, if at all. For Harris County Joint Processing Center’s policy, review the information on this page.
In general, most jails allow an inmate to have anywhere from four to six photographs in their possession at any one time. These cannot be polaroids, and the photos cannot be construed as even mildly sexual (such as a woman or child in a bathing suit), gang related, drug related or violent.
Some jails allow only photocopied photos.
Some jails only allow photos that are sent digitally and must remain digital.
There are only a few jails that do not allow any photos of any kind.
If you are still uncertain as the policy regarding photographs at the Harris County Joint Processing Center, call them at 713-755-5300.
Most jails allow newspapers, magazines and books to be sent to an inmate, as long as they come directly from the publisher, such as directly from the newspaper or magazine themselves, or from the specific book publisher or trusted mail order source such as Amazon or Barnes and Noble.
There is often a limit of the quantity of books and magazines an inmate can either receive at one time, receive each month, or have in their possession at any one time.
Hardcover books, or books with wire spiral binders are never allowed.
Any publications that portray or discuss violence, sex, gang activity, drugs, jail escapes or anything else against jail policies are not allowed and will be returned.
The 'book and periodical' policy of the Harris County Joint Processing Center are detailed on this page. However, if it is not, then call the jail at 713-755-5300 and ask.
Keep in mind that the address the publications should be mailed to is not always the mailing address of where the inmate gets their regular mail, the mail that is scanned and forwarded digitally to them.
The mailing address for publications is:
Inmate Full Name, Full SPN
701 N. San Jacinto, Visitor Control Center
Attn: Books- Mail Room
Houston, Texas 77002
or
Inmate's Full Name
Inmate ID#
Harris County Joint Processing Center
700 N San Jacinto Street
Houston, TX 77002
NOTE: Use the address in red if it is visible to you.
Exception: There are a few New York jails that allow publications to be sent directly to them as opposed to having it sent through the publisher. One of the most notable exceptions is Riker’s Island in New York City.
There is no limit to how often you can send letters or cards to an inmate. You are only limited to the types of letters and cards that you can send, considering Harris County Joint Processing Center’s policies, which are outlined on this page.
An inmate in the Harris County Joint Processing Center can mail letters as often as they like. There is no limit to the number of letters that an inmate can write and send. They are only limited by the number of stamps they can afford to purchase through commissary, and the amount of commissary 'spend' that the Harris County Joint Processing Center allows.
Contraband is defined as anything that the jail does not allow to be mailed to an inmate, which is just about everything. The list would fill ten sets of encyclopedias.
It easier to say what is allowed to be sent through the mail:
• When allowed, a certain number of photographs.
• When allowed, newspapers, magazines and books, if they are sent from a publisher.
• When allowed, a care package of snacks, hygiene products or clothing from a commissary company that has contracted with the jail.
Some jails allow printouts of photographs and information to be sent to an inmate through the mail. Refer to the mail policy on this page or by calling the jail directly at 713-755-5300.
Many jails contract with companies that send food, hygiene products and/or clothing to inmates. These can be purchased and sent by friends and family on a weekly or monthly basis.
You can only send items from the one that your jail has a contract with.
Check out the Money Page or the Commissary Page for further information, or call the jail at 713-755-5300 to see which one that the Harris County Joint Processing Center works with.
Here are all of the commissary package companies, in alphabetical order, who provide this service to jails in the United States:
Access Securepak
Care A Cell
Commissary order
Correct Pay
Express Account
icare
Inmate Canteen
Jail ATM
Jail Pack Store (McDaniel Supply)
My Care Pack
Oasis (jailcanteen)
Prodigy Solutions
Tiger
Union Supply Direct
The only gifts you can send an inmate must come from one of the stores above, and the Harris County Joint Processing Center must contract with them.
If the item that you send an inmate is illegal, then you and/or your inmate can get in trouble, otherwise if it is not illegal, it will just be destroyed or in some cases, returned to you.
Note that if you continue to send items that are considered contraband, some of your communication privileges with your inmate, such as visitation or phone calls, may be suspended.
No, you cannot send postage stamps. Stamps must be purchased by the inmate through commissary. You can send them the money for stamps, but not the stamps.
Stamps can be purchased in the jail commissary by the inmate.
Yes. If an inmate is indigent, the jail will provide them 2-3 stamps, and an equal amount of envelopes and stationery, each week.
Yes. If you send the inmate drugs, a weapon or anything illegal, it will be turned over to the Harris County Sheriff or District Attorney and it is most likely that you will be prosecuted.
Note: Inmates are NOT allowed to have in their possession any more than two (2) paperback books and four (4) magazines or other publications at any time.
Hardbound books are not permitted.
The books must come directly from the publisher.
All publications must be new.
No used books allowed.
Examples of prohibited items include:
Failure to follow the jail’s guidelines can get the inmate in trouble.
Repeated failure to follow guidelines can get future mail from you banned.
Mail is always scanned and inspected for contraband, obscenity and other rule infractions.
Assume that everything you write will be read by jail staff and can and will be used against you or your inmate in court.
Never write anything about the inmate's court case you wouldn't want read aloud in court.
Mail is considered by the jail to be a privilege. Any violations of the mail policies can result in the inmate's mail privileges being suspended.
The introduction of contraband by you into the jail through the mail could result in criminal charges being filed against both you and the inmate.
