Mail & Packages in North Carolina (NCDAC)

How personal mail works now

Incoming personal mail to a North Carolina state prison does not go to the prison. NCDAC routes personal letters, cards, and photos to an off-site vendor, TextBehind, which opens and scans each item and delivers a digital copy to the incarcerated person’s tablet. The original letters, cards, and any enclosed packages are returned to the sender; the physical mail is not forwarded to the facility.

Address personal mail with the person’s full committed name, their OPUS number (the seven-digit NCDAC ID), and the full, unabbreviated prison name:

[Full name] [OPUS number]
[Full prison name — do not abbreviate]
P.O. Box 247
Phoenix, MD 21131

The return address must include the sender’s full first and last name.

Legal and privileged mail

Legal mail does not use TextBehind. Mail from courts, attorneys, and other privileged correspondents goes directly to the facility where the person is housed, not to the Maryland scanning center. Attorneys confirm the facility’s current handling instructions with the prison.

Books, magazines, and publications

Books and publications must come from a publisher or an online retailer — not from family or friends. Unlike personal mail, these are shipped to the prison’s street address, not the TextBehind P.O. box. Look up the current street address for the specific facility on the NCDAC site, since each prison’s address differs.

Packages

Packages are handled through the facility, not through the TextBehind scanning center. A package mailed to the Maryland address with personal mail is returned to the sender. Confirm the facility’s package rules with the prison, since they differ by location and custody level.

Verify Before Acting

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