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Email or send mail to an adult in jail
King County uses Access Corrections to manage email. You need to set up a prepaid account at www.accesscorrections.com to send emails to adults at the Seattle and Kent facilities. Jail staff will screen your email, and if approved they will forward it to the person. You may also send photos via email.
The cost of sending an email is set by Access Corrections.
Adults in jail will not be able to reply by email or forward your email to anyone else. They will only be able to write letters, which are sent through the mail (U.S. Postal Service).
Postal mail
All mail must meet facility rules. To keep people in jail safe, we limit the kinds of mail we accept at our detention facilities. This also helps ensure fair treatment to everyone in our custody. Jail staff open and search all non-legal mail for prohibited items and content. We do so to stop criminal activity and to keep our facilities secure.
Anybody in jail found in possession of prohibited items will have the item taken away. They may also face penalties for having received prohibited items from you.
- All mail must be delivered through the U.S. Postal Service. Items delivered from any other service, including UPS, FedEx, or Amazon delivery, will be denied and returned to sender.
- Correspondence between people in custody is prohibited and may cause the loss of mail privileges. This includes using a third-party, like a family member or friend, to try to deliver a letter to another person in jail (including at other secure detention facilities).
Guidelines and prohibited items
To keep everybody in our custody safe and secure, we limit the items we accept at our facilities. You must follow these guidelines, or your mail will be returned to sender.
Mail that is racist, inflammatory, or sexually suggestive/explicit will be rejected. This includes nude or semi-nude photos, even of babies and children. Letters or photos with gang symbols or any type of hand gestures will be rejected. Rejected items will be returned to sender. If no address is provided, the items will be thrown away.
Books, magazines, and newspapers
Paperback books and magazines can be sent from a publisher, distributor, or online book seller* as long as the items are shipped via the U.S. Postal Service. Items shipped via other delivery services such as UPS, FedEx, or Amazon delivery will be denied and returned to sender.
*Books that are stored or shipped from a personal residence are not considered online book sellers. They are prohibited.
Prohibited items
DAJD does not allow adults in custody to receive packages. However, they may receive books sent under specific guidelines. See above.
Any mail including the following items will be returned to sender:
- Hardcover books
- Urban fiction or street lit (a literary genre containing excessive profanity, graphic sex, and extreme violence)
- Content that includes nudity, sexual or violent content, and inflammatory/racist content or materials
- Magazines with the following content:
- Acts of violence
- Nudity or partial nudity
- How to make tattoos
- Criminal activity
- Any writing or publication that shows or explains:
- How to make a weapon
- Instructions for escape or riot
- Jeopardizes the security or safety of others
- Examples of prohibited content include:
- Boxing, wrestling, or martial arts
- Tactical maneuvers
- Weapons or the use of them
- Unlawful substances
- Gang-related symbols, hand gestures, or graphics
- 'R' and 'X' rated materials
Letters
Letters sent to adults in custody must be:
- Written on white paper
- Written using black or blue ink
- Mailed in a white envelope with your name and return address clearly written and visible (return address labels/stickers are not allowed)
- Photographs (except Polaroids) may be included as long as they do not include nude or semi-nude subjects, or any of the prohibited content listed on this page
Prohibited items
Letters or packages that include any of the following items will be returned to sender.
- Colored paper or colored envelopes
- Handmade paper
- Greeting cards of any type
- Manila or Tyvek envelopes
- Ink that is not black or blue
- Ink that is gel/metallic
- Excessive ink, marker, or paint
- White-out
- Address labels, stickers, Post-it notes, glued, or taped items
- Blank cards, envelopes, paper, postcards, stamps, or stamped items
- Cash or personal checks
- Cardboard
- Coupons
- Gambling items
- Bubble wrap
- Foil or foil-lined envelopes
- Laminated items
- Money orders that are unsigned, incomplete, or altered
- More than 10 puzzle or coloring pages per envelope
- Pages torn from books
- Polaroid photos
- String, ribbon, confetti, or glitter
- Tape
- Unknown substances on paper, envelopes, or photos
- Books, magazines, or newspapers (these must be shipped directly from the distributor)
- Clothing items
- Food items
- Scented items, including lipstick, perfume, or cologne
- Phone cards
- Plastic or metal items, including paper clips, staples, or metal clasps
- Tobacco or tobacco products
How to send mail
People in custody can receive email via Access Corrections, or letters via the U.S. Postal Service.
If you want to send a letter through the U.S. Postal Service, please follow these instructions. You will need to include the person's "book of arrest" (B/A) or booking number, which you can find using Subject Lookup Tool.
Remember to use white paper, a white envelope, and use only black or blue ink. Be sure your name and return address are clearly written and visible. Please refer to the additional guidelines and prohibited items listed in the section above before sending mail to a person in custody.
Where to send mail
To send mail to an adult at the King County Correctional Facility (Seattle jail), use this address:
Full name (name the person is booked under)
B/A number (book of arrest)
500 Fifth Ave.
Seattle, WA 98104
To send mail to an adult at the Maleng Regional Justice Center (Kent jail), use this address:
Full name (name the person is booked under)
B/A number (book of arrest)
620 W. James St.
Kent, WA 98032