West Virginia bans photographs from the post entirely, so a photo in an envelope is returned rather than delivered. Send letters and photos in minutes.
Send letters and photos in minutes
Two rules govern almost everything here. General mail does not go to the jail: it goes to a PO Box in Maryland, where it is opened, scanned, and delivered to the person’s tablet as an image. And photographs cannot be posted at all, in any envelope, to any West Virginia facility. Both rules return mail to sender when broken, and mail with no return address is destroyed rather than returned. Books, publications and legal mail follow a different route and still go to the jail’s own street address.
[Full Legal Name, WV DOC or OID Number]
South Central Regional Jail and Correctional Facility
PO Box 336
Phoenix, MD 21131
West Virginia asks for the full name of the facility with no abbreviations, and for a full return address with a complete first and last name, not initials.
Since late 2023, mail from friends and family sent to any other address, including the jail itself, is returned to sender. Mail arriving without a return address is destroyed.
The processor opens the envelope, inspects it for contraband, then scans both the contents and the front and back of the envelope and sends the images to the person’s tablet.
They receive a scan, not the paper. Nothing you send in an envelope is physically handed over.
This is the rule most families get wrong, and it is unambiguous. West Virginia policy states that incoming mail shall not include photographs, and that mail containing them will be returned to sender.
Photos go through photo sharing on the tablet system, which is a GettingOut feature attached to a Family and Friends account. That is the only route. Any guidance elsewhere telling you to post photos to a West Virginia facility is out of date, and following it costs you the letter as well as the photo.
Only handwritten or typed letters are scanned. Anything else in the envelope causes a problem:
Pigeonly lets you send letters and photos from your phone, printed and posted under each facility’s own rules, without a printer, envelopes or stamps.
Be aware of what that does and does not solve at this jail. A letter is posted to the Maryland PO Box like any other letter and is scanned there. A photograph cannot travel by post into a West Virginia facility at all, whoever sends it, so photo sharing on the tablet remains the only way to get a picture to someone here.
Send these to 1001 Centre Way, Charleston, WV 25309, not to Maryland:
Legal mail must clearly say “legal mail” on the envelope, or clearly show it is from the person’s attorney of record.
It is inspected outside the person’s presence but not opened then, and opened in their presence to check for contraband. It may not be read unless the superintendent makes a written finding of reasonable cause. If that happens, both the inmate and the sender are notified in writing, and the inmate may appeal through the grievance procedure.
One point attorneys should know: superintendents of secure facilities may copy all privileged mail in front of the inmate and destroy the originals.
There is no limit on how many people someone can correspond with, and West Virginia states that inmates may write to any person who is not incarcerated.
The facility holds mail no longer than 48 hours, and packages no longer than 72. That is the jail’s own handling window and does not include the time your letter spends travelling to Maryland and being scanned, so allow noticeably longer than a direct letter would take.
6 of 9 questions
General mail goes to the person's full legal name and WV DOC or OID number, then the full facility name with no abbreviations, then PO Box 336, Phoenix, MD 21131. Do not send letters to the jail's street address, because mail from family and friends sent anywhere other than the PO Box is returned to sender.
MailNo. West Virginia policy states that incoming mail shall not include photographs and that mail containing them is returned to sender. Photos must go through photo sharing on the tablet system, which is part of a GettingOut Family and Friends account. This is the single most common mistake families make with West Virginia mail.
MailNo. The processor opens and inspects the envelope, scans the contents along with the front and back of the envelope, and sends the images to the person's tablet. They see a scan on a screen rather than paper.
MailAlmost certainly a missing return address. West Virginia returns misdirected mail to sender but destroys mail that arrives without a return address. The state also asks for a complete first and last name in that return address rather than initials.
MailNo. Only handwritten or typed letters are scanned. Envelopes addressed to more than one recipient are returned, money orders, cash and checks are prohibited, and any other attachment or enclosure is refused.
MailTo the jail itself at 1001 Centre Way, Charleston, WV 25309, not to the Maryland PO Box. Publications, meaning books, booklets, pamphlets, magazines, periodicals, newsletters and newspapers, follow the same route as attorney mail and authorised packages.
MailIt goes to the jail's street address and must say legal mail on the envelope or clearly show it is from the attorney of record. It is opened in the person's presence to check for contraband and may not be read unless the superintendent makes a written finding of reasonable cause, in which case both the inmate and the sender are notified and the inmate may appeal.
MailLonger than a direct letter. The facility holds mail no more than 48 hours and packages no more than 72, but that window starts after your letter has travelled to Maryland and been scanned. West Virginia publishes no total delivery estimate.
MailThere is no limit. West Virginia states that inmates may correspond with any person who is not incarcerated and sets no cap on the number of correspondents. Writing to someone in another facility needs specific approval.
MailWest Virginia runs separate searches for jails and prisons.
View ArticleThursday, Saturday and Sunday. Non-contact, and requested by the person inside.
View ArticleThree separate accounts for commissary, calls and messaging.
View ArticleAll calls prepaid, none incoming, and no three-way calling.
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All information on this page comes directly from official government and facility sources. How we verify information › Last verified September 8, 2026.