Mail & Packages in Connecticut (DOC)

How to address it

Use the inmate’s full name and inmate number, then the facility name and address. Always include your return address; mail without a legible return address may be discarded.

What happens to your letter

Incoming mail goes to the facility, where it is opened and inspected for contraband (and screened for drugs), and then delivered. Unlike a growing number of states that send incoming mail to an off-site company to be scanned and copied, Connecticut still delivers the physical original. (The state explored mail-scanning in 2025; confirm the current practice on the DOC’s site, since this kind of policy can change.) Mail can be rejected for specific reasons — such as contraband, escape plans, threats, or sexually explicit material — and when that happens, the sender and inmate get a notice with 15 days to ask for review.

Photos, cards, and publications

Photos are allowed (a photo that has been manually altered after printing can be rejected). Greeting cards are allowed, and facility commissaries also sell cards. Books, magazines, and newspapers must be new and sent directly from a publisher, book club, or bookstore; used publications are accepted only for an authorized education program.

Legal and privileged mail

Mail from a court, an attorney, or certain officials is privileged when it is clearly marked as such on the outside of the envelope. Privileged mail is opened and inspected for contraband in the inmate’s presence and is never read by staff.

Money

Do not mail cash or put money in a letter. Funds go to the Inmate Trust Fund by money order or check with a remitter form — see Sending Money.

Verify Before Acting

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