Mail & Packages in Pennsylvania (PADOC)

Key info

Incoming personal mail does not go to the prison. Letters, cards, and photos go to an off-site vendor, Smart Communications (“MailGuard”), which opens and scans them. The facility then prints a photocopy and delivers it — the person receives a copy, not the original.

Address personal mail to Florida, with the person’s name and inmate number, the SCI name, and the MailGuard PO box: Smart Communications / PA DOC, [name and inmate number], [SCI name], PO Box 33028, St. Petersburg, FL 33733.

Photos are limited to 25 per mailing and may not contain nudity or obscenity. Originals are kept about 45 days and then destroyed.

Legal mail does not go to Florida. It goes directly to the institution and is opened and inspected in the incarcerated person’s presence.

Books and publications come from a publisher, bookstore, or approved distributor and ship to the PADOC Security Processing Center (SPC) in Bellefonte for screening.

How to address personal mail

Incoming personal mail and photos do not go to the prison. They are routed to an off-site vendor, Smart Communications, under its “MailGuard” program, which opens and scans them. The facility then prints a photocopy and delivers it to the incarcerated person, who receives a copy rather than the original.

Address personal mail with the person’s name and inmate number to:

Smart Communications / PA DOC [Incarcerated person’s name and inmate number] [SCI name] PO Box 33028 St. Petersburg, FL 33733

Photos are limited to 25 per mailing and may not contain nudity or obscenity. Original mail and photos are retained for about 45 days and then destroyed.

Legal mail

Legal mail does not go to Florida. It goes directly to the institution and is opened and inspected in the incarcerated person’s presence. Attorneys and courts use a PADOC-issued control number.

Books and publications

Books and publications must come from a publisher, bookstore, or approved distributor. They ship to the PADOC Security Processing Center (SPC) in Bellefonte for screening before delivery. Used or personally mailed books are not accepted.

eBooks are also available on the ViaPath tablet.

Verify Before Acting

Confirm the current address and format on PADOC’s site before sending, since personal mail routes out of state. Send personal mail and photos to Smart Communications / PA DOC, [name and inmate number], [SCI name], PO Box 33028, St. Petersburg, FL 33733 — those items are opened, scanned, and delivered as a photocopy, with photos limited to 25 per mailing and originals destroyed after about 45 days. Send legal mail directly to the institution (not to Florida), where it is opened in the person’s presence using a PADOC-issued control number — and confirm the current legal-mail procedure with the prison, since it has been revised. Order books and publications from a publisher, bookstore, or approved distributor; they ship to the Security Processing Center in Bellefonte, and used or personally mailed books are not accepted.

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.