Mail & Photos to York County Jail. The 2023 Policy Change

The December 2023 Policy Change

This is the most important thing on this page. York County Jail’s own website posted a notice announcing that, effective December 18, 2023, personal mail would no longer be accepted at the jail. Instead, families can send mail to be scanned and viewed by inmates on kiosks or tablets inside the facility. This is a real, confirmed policy shift, not a rumor, and it means a physical letter mailed directly to the jail’s street address is likely to be rejected or won’t reach the intended person the way it used to.

This kind of switch to electronic mail scanning has become common at jails nationally in recent years, generally justified as a way to keep contraband like drugs soaked into paper from entering the facility.

What We Could Not Confirm

The Sheriff’s Office’s own notice confirms that the policy changed and that mail is now handled through kiosks or tablets, but it doesn’t spell out, in a way we could verify directly, exactly how a family member submits a letter or photo for scanning. Some third-party sources reference a Securus-run digital mail center based in Tampa, Florida. A separate legal news report describes a different company, TextBehind, being involved in a mail-scanning dispute connected to a York County facility. Because these two claims conflict and neither is confirmed on the Sheriff’s Office’s own website, we’re not naming a specific mail-scanning vendor here. Call (207) 324-1113 and ask directly which service to use and how to submit something.

What to Ask When You Call

Call (207) 324-1113 and ask:

1. What’s the current mail-scanning service, and how do I submit a letter or photo?
2. Is there a website or app I need to create an account with?
3. Is there a cost per page or per photo to submit something this way?
4. What’s prohibited in scanned mail or photos (specific photo content rules, colored ink, stickers, and similar restrictions are common elsewhere)?
5. Can I still send a card or letter by physical mail for any reason, such as legal correspondence?
6. How long does it typically take between submission and the inmate being able to view it on a kiosk or tablet?

What’s Likely Still Different: Legal Mail

Correctional facilities that move to electronic mail scanning for personal correspondence commonly still handle attorney-client privileged legal mail differently, often still accepting it as physical mail with additional handling protections, sometimes including a rule that it can only be opened in the inmate’s presence. York County Jail’s specific legal mail procedure since the December 2023 change isn’t confirmed from the Sheriff’s Office’s website. If you’re an attorney or legal representative, call (207) 324-1113 directly to confirm the correct process.

Sending Money Instead of Physical Items

Since personal mail no longer functions as a way to send cash or a money order the way some families may be used to, see the send money guide for how deposits work through the jail’s commissary vendor instead.

If Someone Was Recently Booked

If your family member was recently booked, staff may not have set up their kiosk or tablet mail account yet. Call (207) 324-1113 to confirm the person is currently in custody before trying to send anything, or check the inmate search guide for other ways to confirm.

Why the Uncertainty Here Is Worth Knowing About

Most facilities that switch to electronic mail scanning publish a clear how-to page with a specific vendor name and submission link. York County Jail’s own website confirms the policy change happened but doesn’t walk through the submission process in the same amount of detail. That’s a real gap, not something we’re choosing to leave out, so treat this page as a starting point and confirm the specifics by phone before you try to send a letter or photo for the first time under the new system.