Mail and Photos to Cumberland County Jail

The Mailing Address

Send mail to:

[Full Legal Name]
C/O Cumberland County Jail
50 County Way
Portland, ME 04102

This address is confirmed directly from the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office website. Always include your own return address on the envelope, since incomplete return addresses are specifically listed as a reason mail gets refused.

The White Envelope Rule

Every piece of incoming personal mail, including birthday cards and holiday postcards, must be sent in a white, legal-size envelope. The jail states this rule assists with drug detection in incoming mail. Any mail that doesn’t meet this requirement is returned to sender, with one exception: incoming legal mail is exempt from the white-envelope rule.

Photo and Card Size Rules

Photos can’t be larger than 4 inches by 6 inches. Instant camera photos, such as Polaroids, aren’t accepted in any size. Cards can’t be larger than 5 inches by 7 inches, and two-ply cards, musical or recordable cards, and any homemade or poster-style cards are all prohibited outright.

What’s Not Allowed

Cumberland County Jail publishes a specific, detailed list of items that will be refused, disposed of, or returned to sender. This includes:

• Any non-paper items
• Anything gang-related, including photos, colors, writing symbols, or hand gestures
• Blank paper, cards, or stamps
• Cash, personal checks, or second-party checks
• Colored envelopes, except legal mail
• Colored pencils, markers, crayons, paint, watercolors, or wax on any part of the envelope
• Correction tape or fluid
• Correspondence written in code
• Drugs or foreign, unidentified substances
• Homemade cards or poster cards
• Identification cards or facsimiles
• An incomplete return address
• Instant camera photos, like Polaroids
• Items with suspicious stains or markings
• Lottery tickets or prepaid phone cards
• Magazine or newspaper clippings
• Magazines, books, or newspapers not sent directly from the publisher or Amazon.com
• Mail from another penal institution
• Mail that violates a no-contact order, protection from abuse order, or other court order
• Musical or recordable cards
• Envelopes with no inmate name on them
• Padded envelopes
• Photos larger than 4 inches by 6 inches
• Pictures or drawings that are nude, obscene, or sexually explicit
• Plastic items, laminated items, or anything made of cardboard
• Rubber ink stamps
• Stickers of any kind, including return address labels
• Tape
• Two-ply cards

Books, Magazines, and Newspapers

Magazines, books, and newspapers are only accepted when they come directly from the publisher or from Amazon.com. Copies sent from any other outside source, including a family member repackaging a book they bought elsewhere, will be refused. Inmates are limited to 2 magazine subscriptions at a time.

Processing Time

Excluding weekends, holidays, and emergency situations, incoming and outgoing letters are held no more than 24 hours, and packages are held no more than 48 hours, before being processed to or from the inmate.

Legal Mail

Legal mail from attorneys, courts, or government officials and representatives is handled differently from personal mail. It’s opened to check for contraband, but only in the presence of the inmate, protecting the confidentiality of the contents. Legal mail is also exempt from the white-envelope requirement that applies to personal mail.

Mail Between Incarcerated People

For security reasons, Cumberland County Jail does not allow mail to or from anyone incarcerated at another juvenile or adult detention or correctional facility.

If Someone Has Transferred or Been Released

Mail addressed to someone who is no longer at Cumberland County Jail, whether they’ve been released or transferred, is marked “return to sender” and sent back with the next business day’s outgoing mail. Confirm the person is still in custody using the inmate search guide before mailing anything, especially a package or a large batch of photos.

Never Mail Cash

Never mail cash, a personal check, or a second-party check. All three are specifically listed as items the jail refuses. See the send money guide for how to fund an inmate’s account instead.