Onondaga copies incoming mail in its own building within one business day instead of shipping it to a scanning contractor in another state, so the envelope you address to South State Street goes to South State Street. Send letters and photos in minutes.
Send letters and photos in minutes
Most large New York jails now send incoming letters to a private company in another state to be scanned. Onondaga does not. The county photocopies mail in its own building, within one business day, and passes the copy on. That makes the address on this page the real destination rather than a waypoint.
[Full Legal Name, Inmate Control Number]
[Cell Location]
Onondaga County Justice Center
555 South State Street
Syracuse, NY 13201-2104
The control number and the cell location both come from the county lookup. They sit in the second and fourth columns of any search result.
This is the rule that catches people out, and it is not a soft one.
A letter that arrives without the full name and the cell number on it is returned to the sender. Not held, not delivered late, returned. Cell locations change when people are moved between units, so a cell number you wrote down three weeks ago may no longer be right.
Check it against the lookup each time before you post.
Within one business day, the contents and the envelope of all incoming non-privileged correspondence are photocopied and passed to the person it is addressed to.
Two things follow from that:
Privileged mail, meaning legal correspondence, is handled separately.
Photos are allowed, with limits:
That last point is worth sitting with, because it changes what a photograph is for here. A colour print you post becomes a black and white or colour copy on office paper. It still gets there. It does not arrive as a photograph.
What we do. Pigeonly lets you pick photos on your phone and we print and post them to the jail under its own rules, so you do not need a printer, photo paper or stamps. What we do not do is get around the photocopy rule. A photo we post is copied at the mail room the same as any other, and anyone telling you different about this jail is wrong.
Stamps and envelopes have to be bought from the commissary instead, which is why money on the account matters more here than at a jail where you can post writing supplies in.
If you have sent packages to this jail before, the rule you knew is gone.
Since 3 April 2026 the county accepts only money as a drop-off. Its own words: walk-in packages will no longer be accepted.
Packages now arrive only direct from vendors, by US Postal Service, FedEx, UPS or a similar carrier, and everything has to be new and in its original commercial packaging.
Books and magazines are caught by this too. They are no longer accepted at the front desk, so a book has to be ordered and shipped in rather than carried up.
The clothing that can be ordered in is specific:
| Item | Limit |
|---|---|
| High visibility green socks | 4 pairs |
| High visibility green t-shirts | 4 |
| Thermal underpants, white, beige or light grey | 2 |
| Thermal undershirts, white, beige or light grey | 2 |
| Underwear, black for men or white for women | 4 |
A money order of 100 dollars or less can be mailed in. Personal cheques are not accepted at all.
For anything larger, or anything you want to arrive the same day, the lobby kiosk and the online route are covered on the deposits guide.
The outgoing mail box is emptied at 10:00 PM each night. A letter posted internally after that goes the following day.
Onondaga County has a second jail, the Onondaga County Correctional Facility at 6660 East Seneca Turnpike in Jamesville, and people who are sentenced usually move there. It has its own address and its own mail room.
Mail sent to the Justice Center for someone who has moved to Jamesville is not forwarded between the two. Before you post, confirm which building they are in, and remember that the Justice Center lookup will not show anyone held in Jamesville.
6 of 8 questions
555 South State Street, Syracuse, NY 13201-2104, with the person's full legal name, their Inmate Control Number and their cell location on the envelope. That is the address in the county's March 2026 handbook.
Mail & PhotosNo. Onondaga photocopies incoming mail in its own building, contents and envelope both, within one business day. Most large New York jails now route letters to a private contractor in another state, so this is unusual. The address on this page is the real destination.
Mail & PhotosAlmost certainly a missing or wrong cell number. A letter that arrives without the full name and the cell number is returned to the sender rather than held. Cell locations change when people move units, so check the current one in the county lookup each time before you post.
Mail & PhotosYes, nothing larger than 8 by 10 inches, and anything with graphic nudity may be censored. They are photocopied like everything else, so what arrives is a copy on paper rather than the print itself. You can also send photos through Pigeonly from your phone, with no printer or stamps needed, though they go through the same photocopy process at the jail.
Mail & PhotosNo. Stamps, loose or attached to a pre-stamped envelope, and blank envelopes are all refused. They have to be bought from the commissary instead, which is one reason keeping a little money on the account matters more at this jail than at some others.
Mail & PhotosNo. Since 3 April 2026 the only thing the county accepts as a drop-off is money. Packages now come direct from vendors only, arriving by US Postal Service, FedEx, UPS or a similar carrier, and everything has to be new and in its original commercial packaging. Books and magazines are included in that change and are no longer taken at the front desk.
Mail & PhotosA money order of 100 dollars or less, yes. Personal cheques are refused. For a larger amount, or for money that needs to land the same day, the lobby kiosk and the online deposit route are both faster and are covered on the deposits guide.
Send MoneyThen mail addressed to the Justice Center will not reach them, because the two jails do not forward between each other. Onondaga County's second facility is at 6660 East Seneca Turnpike in Jamesville, on 315-435-5581, and it has its own mail room. The Justice Center lookup will not show anyone held there, so an empty search is a reason to check Jamesville rather than to assume a release.
Mail & PhotosWhere the control number and cell location come from.
View ArticleFaster than a money order, and it funds commissary stamps.
View ArticleThe same cell number decides when you can visit.
View ArticleSearch for your loved one and start sending photos, letters, and messages today.
Search for Your Loved OneFree Inmate Search
All information on this page comes directly from official government and facility sources. How we verify information › Last verified September 18, 2026. Official source: sheriff.onondaga.gov/custody/money-property-drop-off ›