Sacramento County Main Jail Inmate Mail
When mailing a letter or postcard to an inmate, please address your mail as follows:
Inmate's First and Last Name
Inmate’s name, X-ref #, housing location
Sacramento County Main Jail
651 "I" Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
All mail sent to an inmate at the Sacramento County Main Jail must include the sender's name and mailing address in the top left corner of the envelope or postcard.
Failure to include your return address will most likely result in your mail NOT being delivered and your letter destroyed.
Main Phone: 916-874-6752
The information below provides complete instructions regarding:
Follow these instructions exactly to help ensure that your inmate receives his/her mail and not have it thrown away.
The Sacramento County Main Jail has a zero-tolerance policy regarding mail violations.
Type of Mail Allowed for Sacramento County Main Jail
All mail must have your complete return name and address in the upper left hand corner and be addressed as follows:
Inmate’s name, X-Reference number, Housing Location
Sacramento County Main Jail
651 “I” Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
Postcards
The Sacramento County Main Jail
allows inmates to receive pre-metered postcards like the type purchased
from the post office. They may also allow certain photo postcards as
long as they have not been tampered with or contain images that may be
considered to be obscene or violent in nature.
Envelopes
The Sacramento County Main Jail
may also allow regular postcards and envelopes to be mailed to inmates
as well, however more and more jails are no longer allowing envelopes
due to concern about paper being dipped into liquefied drugs like
methamphetamines and cocaine and then mailed into secure facilities.
To confirm that the Sacramento County Main Jail still allows letters in envelopes call 916-874-6752 or view the Inmate Mail Instructions by going here.
Newspapers
Local or national newspapers may also be mailed to the inmate as long as they are mailed directly from the newspaper publisher.
Magazines
News, special interest or sports magazines may also be mailed to an
inmate as long as they are shipped directly from the publisher. Any
magazines that contain profanity, weapons, pornography or other content
that is adult in nature will be confiscated by the jail staff and will
NOT be delivered to the inmate.
Books
Most jails allow books to be mailed directly to the jail from a
reputable source such as amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com. You can order
them directly from your computer and have them shipped to the inmate at
the address above.
Books must NOT contain images or content
that are considered excessively violent, pornographic or obscene. Any
book that does not meet the Sacramento County Main Jail standards will be disposed of.
Hard cover books will not be accepted by the jail due to their potential to be used as a weapon.
No CD, DVD or tapes are allowed.
No stationary, metal, staples or plastic binding.
No books, magazines or newspapers containing suggestive sexual material or photographs, gangs, gang tattoos or hand gestures.
All material must be from the publisher, no book stores. Acceptable publishers are Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, etc.
To confirm that the Sacramento County Main Jail continues to allow books to be mailed by a third party publisher or bookseller, call 916-874-6752.
Care packages
Care packages are pre-chosen items packaged together and sent to the
inmate from a third-party vendor. They can include clothing, snacks and
seasonal items.
When a jail allows the inmate to receive Care
Packages they must come directly from an approved company that
specializes in serving the inmates of jails.
Sacramento County Main Jail offers care Packages through iCare and may be purchased online.
Call 916-874-6752 or click here or here to see if the Sacramento County Main Jail participates in a Care Package program and if so, how to purchase one.
Emailing an Inmate
A growing number of jails now offer email services to inmates and
their families. This can save you time by letting you view your email
from your Smart Phone, computer or tablet whenever you wish.
In addition, you don't have to deal with envelopes, stamps or the post office.
Inmates like it because the emails typically eliminate delayed mail
runs so they can get your correspondence much more quickly and send
responses immediately.
Jail staff likes it as it eliminates
concerns about contraband entering the facility in envelopes and on
paper. It also allows the jail to have an electronic record that can be
called upon at any time.
Anything you or your inmate writes in
an email service is put through a filter program that looks for certain
words related to criminal and/or gang activities.
There have
been multiple cases in which emails between inmates and their friends or
loved ones has been used as evidence in criminal court cases to convict
them or to file new charges.
Currently Sacramento County Mail Jail does not offer emailing services.
Call 916-874-6752 or click here to see if email services are being offered at this jail and if so, how to sign up you and your inmate.
How to address your Inmate's Postcard or Envelope
Inmate's First and Last Name
Inmate’s name, X-ref #, housing location
Sacramento County Main Jail
651 "I" Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
All mail sent to an inmate at the Sacramento County Main Jail must include the senders name and mailing address in the top left corner of the envelope or postcard.
Failure to include your return address will most likely result in your mail NOT being delivered and discarded.
To confirm the mailing address and/or any new policies regarding inmate mail call 916-874-6752 or check the most recent updates on the jail's website by going here.
Mailed Items NOT Allowed
If your inmate is mailed anything other than a letter, postcard or greeting card it won't get through.
However as stated above, because of the increased smuggling of drugs,
more and more jails are only allowing pre-stamped or metered, solid
color or white postcards to be received by inmates.
Examples of prohibited items include:
Stamps, stationary, envelopes, post-its and stickers.
Musical greeting cards.
Altered mail such as perfumed or lipstick covered.
Paper with any type of stains such as grease.
News clippings.
Staples, paperclips, metal, plastic, laminations, jewelry or string.
Cash, checks,ID cards, or phone cards.
Padded envelopes, mail containing bubble wrap or plastic.
Crayon, felt tip or hand painted drawings.
Do not draw on the envelope, clearly, neatly print all information. Mail with no return address or incomplete return address including nick names will be considered ‘dead mail’ and will not be delivered to your inmate.
Call 916-874-6752 or click here for a complete list of prohibited items.
POLICIES REGARDING MAILING PHOTOS TO Sacramento County Main Jail
Photos should not exceed 4 inches high x 6 inches wide.Important Mail Tips
Mail is always scanned and inspected for contraband, obscenity and other rule infractions.
Assume that everything you write will be read by jail staff and can and will be used against you or your inmate in court.
Never write anything about the inmate's court case you wouldn't want read aloud in court.
Mail is considered by the jail to be a privilege. Any violations of the
mail policies can result in the inmate's mail privileges being
suspended.
The introduction of contraband by you into the jail
through the mail could result in criminal charges being filed against
both you and the inmate.
Do not draw on the envelope, clearly, neatly print all information. Mail with no return address or incomplete return address including nick names will be considered ‘dead mail’ and will not be delivered to your inmate.
All mail must have your complete return name and address in the upper left hand corner and be addressed as follows:
Inmate’s name, X-Reference number, Housing Location
Sacramento County Main Jail
651 “I” Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
Click here to view contact information for the Sacramento County Main Jail.
