Mail and Photos to Central California Women's Facility

The Correct Mailing Address

Address letters and cards to:

[Full Legal Name, CDCR Number] Central California Women’s Facility P.O. Box 1508 Chowchilla, CA 93610

Always include the recipient’s full legal name and CDCR number. Without the CDCR number, mailroom staff may not be able to match the letter to the right person, especially if the name is common.

Don’t Mix Up the Two P.O. Boxes

CCWF runs P.O. Box 1501 for institution business correspondence, like billing or administrative matters, and a completely separate P.O. Box 1508 for inmate mail. Sending a personal letter to Box 1501 can delay delivery, so double-check you’re using 1508 for anything addressed to an incarcerated person.

How Mail Gets Processed

Incoming letters are opened and visually inspected for contraband before being forwarded to the recipient. CCWF handles this directly instead of routing mail through an outside scanning company, which is different from states where mail goes to a separate processing center first.

Getting Someone’s CDCR Number

If you don’t already have the recipient’s CDCR number, search for them on CIRIS at ciris.mt.cdcr.ca.gov, or call the institution’s Public Information Officer for help confirming their housing and number.

Sending Emails and Photos Through the Tablet System

CCWF has completed CDCR’s transition to Securus for tablets, so inbound e-messages and photos go through the Securus platform. Each e-message or photo costs a small per-item fee (currently 3 cents on Securus), with a 2,000 character limit per message. When the message is processed, the incarcerated person receives it on their tablet instead of as a printed page.

Sending Packages

CDCR only allows quarterly packages through its approved outside vendors, not items purchased and mailed from home. Check CDCR’s current list of approved package vendors before ordering anything, since unapproved packages will be rejected and returned or destroyed instead of delivered.

What’s Not Allowed

CDCR inspects all incoming mail for contraband, including drugs, weapons, and unauthorized electronics. Sexually explicit material, material depicting or encouraging violence, and anything that could help someone escape are also prohibited. If a letter or package is rejected, the mailroom typically returns it to the sender or notifies the recipient of the rejection, depending on what it contains.

If Something Gets Rejected

If your letter or package doesn’t make it through, you can contact CCWF’s mailroom directly to ask why. Confirm you used the correct P.O. Box (1508, not 1501) and included the CDCR number, since incomplete or incorrect addressing is one of the most common reasons mail gets delayed or returned.