Mail & Packages in Kentucky (KY DOC)

Key info

Personal mail goes directly to the facility. Kentucky does not route incoming personal mail through an off-site scanning vendor. Send letters, cards, and photos to the prison where the person is housed.

Address mail to the person by committed name and Kentucky DOC number, followed by the facility’s mailing address.

Mail is inspected before delivery. Under Kentucky DOC policy, correspondence is opened and checked for contraband, then delivered to the person within 48 hours of receipt on normal workdays.

Legal mail, books, and packages have their own rules. Privileged mail is opened only in the person’s presence; books and magazines must come new from a publisher or approved retailer; packages are limited to approved-vendor care packages.

If the person is in a county jail, that jail’s rules apply instead. A large share of Kentucky’s state-sentenced people are held in county jails, which set their own mail rules. Check the locator first.

How personal mail works

Incoming personal mail goes directly to the institution where the person is housed, addressed to them by their committed name and Kentucky DOC inmate number, followed by the facility’s mailing address. Kentucky does not use an off-site scanning vendor for state prisons: under Kentucky Corrections Policy and Procedure 16.2, mail is opened and inspected for contraband at the institution before delivery, and correspondence is delivered to the person within 48 hours of receipt on normal workdays.

Address personal mail with the inmate’s full committed name, their Kentucky DOC number, and the facility’s mailing address:

[Full committed name] [DOC number]
[Facility name]
[Facility mailing address]

Look up the exact mailing address for the specific facility on the Kentucky DOC Adult Institutions page, since each prison’s address differs.

If the person is held in a county jail

A person sentenced to “state time” in Kentucky is not always held in a Kentucky DOC prison. A large share of state-sentenced people serve their sentences in county jails instead of state prisons. A county jail runs its own mail rules — addressing, what is allowed, and how books and packages are handled — and those rules are set by the jail, not by the Kentucky DOC.

Check the Kentucky Offender Online Lookup (KOOL) first to confirm whether the person is in a state institution or a county jail, and where. If they are in a county jail, contact that jail directly for its current mail rules before sending anything.

Legal and privileged mail

Privileged mail is handled separately from general correspondence. Mail from a licensed attorney, a court, a government official, the Department of Public Advocacy, or Corrections officials is opened only in the person’s presence and should be clearly marked as legal or privileged mail. It goes to the facility where the person is housed. Attorneys confirm the facility’s current handling instructions with the prison.

Books, magazines, and publications

Books and magazines must be shipped new, directly from a publisher or an approved retailer, not from family or friends; items sent by individuals are refused. Publications go to the facility where the person is housed. Look up the current address for the specific facility on the Kentucky DOC Adult Institutions page, since each prison’s address differs.

Packages

Personal packages from family or friends are not accepted. Packages are limited to approved-vendor care packages arranged through the facility. Confirm the current vendor and the facility’s package rules with the prison, since they differ by location and custody level.

Verify Before Acting

Sources

This page is compiled from the following publicly available sources. Policies change without notice — confirm current details with the facility before relying on them.