An Address Worth Double-Checking
This is the most important thing on this page: the Washington County Sheriff’s Office’s current website lists its address as 85 Court Street, Machias, ME 04654. The jail building itself, listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1988, gives its address as 83 Court Street, Machias, Maine, describing a three-story brick building built in 1858 that shares the block with the Washington County Courthouse next door.
An 1858 building and a website with a slightly different number for what’s likely the same address complex isn’t unusual for older municipal buildings, where a shared block, an added wing, or a separate mailing entrance can create small numbering differences over the decades. Rather than pick one number and risk your mail getting delayed or returned, call (207) 255-3434 before you mail anything and ask for the exact current mailing address, including whether personal mail should be addressed to the jail directly or to a different intake address.
What We Could Not Confirm
The Sheriff’s Office’s own website doesn’t include a page describing:
- Whether personal letters and photos are accepted directly at the jail
- Whether Washington County Jail has switched to an offsite mail-scanning system, as a number of other facilities nationwide have done in recent years
- What’s prohibited (types of photos, stickers, glitter, colored ink, and similar common restrictions elsewhere)
- Whether packages or books are accepted, and if so, from which approved vendors
- How long mail takes to process and reach an inmate
Because none of this is published, don’t assume any rule based on what other Maine jails do. Call and ask before you send anything.
What to Ask When You Call
Call (207) 255-3434 and ask:
- What’s the correct current mailing address for personal letters?
- Are personal letters and photos accepted directly, or handled through an outside scanning service?
- Is there anything specifically prohibited in mail or photos?
- Can I send a package, and if so, does it need to come from an approved vendor?
- How should I address an envelope, including the inmate’s full legal name and any booking or ID number?
- Is there a separate address for legal mail from an attorney?
Once you’ve confirmed the correct address and any inmate ID or booking number requirement by phone, use a clear, consistent format on the envelope:
[Full Legal Name, Inmate Booking Number if provided]
Washington County Jail
[Confirmed Street Address]
Machias, ME 04654
Write clearly and double-check the spelling of the full legal name, since jails commonly reject mail with an unclear or mismatched name.
Legal Mail
Attorney-client privileged mail is generally handled with additional protections at correctional facilities, sometimes including a rule that it can only be opened in the inmate’s presence. Washington County Jail’s specific legal mail procedure isn’t published on the Sheriff’s Office’s site. If you’re an attorney or legal representative, call (207) 255-3434 directly to confirm the correct process.
If Someone Was Recently Booked
If your family member was recently booked, staff may not have set up their mail-related information yet. Call (207) 255-3434 to confirm the person is currently in custody before mailing anything, or check the inmate search guide for other ways to confirm.
All information on this page comes directly from official government and facility sources.
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Last verified July 21, 2026.