Mail & Packages in Arkansas (ADC)

How to address personal mail

Since September 15, 2025, non-legal personal mail (letters, cards, photos, drawings) goes to ADC’s off-site scanning vendor, not the unit:

[Inmate’s Name and ADC Number] ARDOC P.O. Box 25918 Tampa, FL 33622

Look up the ADC number on the ADC Inmate Population Information Search. The mail is scanned and delivered to the person electronically — to a tablet, or, for someone without tablet access, printed at the unit and handed over. Because mail routes through Florida first, delivery takes longer than it once did.

Restrictions on personal mail

Photos and drawings are accepted only if they are no larger than 8.5 by 11 inches, and non-paper items are not scanned. ADC does not publish a per-letter page limit or a specific greeting-card policy, so confirm anything unusual before sending. ADC’s materials also do not say what happens to the paper original after scanning — do not assume it is returned or kept.

What does not go to Tampa

Several things are rejected if sent to the Tampa address and must go directly to the unit instead:

• Legal and privileged mail (from attorneys, courts, and officials).
• Books, magazines, newspapers, and other subscriptions.

For these, use the unit’s own mailing address, and check with the unit about where publications should be sent and any publisher-only rule (ADC does not post these limits centrally). Packages, certified mail, checks, and money orders sent to Tampa are returned to the sender.

Legal mail

Legal mail goes directly to the unit, not the scanning center. It is inspected for contraband and, when marked privileged, generally opened in the inmate’s presence and not read.

Packages

No food or care packages may be mailed to an inmate. Approved items are bought through the commissary and vendor programs instead. See Sending Money for funding an account.

Verify Before Acting

For the general, nationwide overview of this topic, see the national guide: Staying in Touch.