Inmate's Full Name & ID or S Number
Smart Communications-Santa Cruz County Jail-CA
P.O. Box 9143
Seminole, FL 33775-9143
All mail sent to an inmate at the Santa Cruz County Main Jail must include the sender's name and mailing address in the top left corner of your mail.
Failure to include your return address will most likely result in your mail NOT being delivered and your letter destroyed.
Main Phone: 831-454-7800
The information below provides complete instructions regarding:
Santa Cruz County Main Jail Inmate Mail Policies,
Mail Instructions,
What type of mail is NOT allowed,
Rules for Mailing Letters and Photos and Postcards,
Emailing an inmate,
Policies for Sending Magazines, Newspapers, Books and Packages to Santa Cruz County Main Jail in Santa Cruz, California.
Follow these instructions exactly to help ensure that your inmate receives his/her mail and not have it thrown away.
The Santa Cruz County Main Jail has a zero-tolerance policy regarding mail violations.
Emailing Messages & Photos
Facility_name_1} with GettingOut, the same services that handle its Inmate Phone System and Video Visitation, for sending secure messages and photos between you and your inmate.
If you are not already registered, do so here, or Log in.
Then use the Facility Finder to:
1. Select this facility,
2. Add your inmate to your list of contacts,
3. Add a credit or debit card to cover your costs.
How Messaging Works
Watch this video on how to send a message.
1. Messages can be up to 500 characters long, including punctuation. At the bottom of your message there is a 'character countdown' feature.
2. After you click the “CONTINUE” button, you can review the cost to send your message to your inmate. You can also attach credits for your inmate to reply to your message. Be sure to accept the Terms and Conditions and click the “SEND” button for your message to be successfully delivered to your inmate.
How Uploading Photos Works
Watch this video on how to upload a photo.
1. Select the Photos Tab.
2. Select “Take New Photo” or “Upload New Photo”.
3. Take a new photo with your webcam, or select "Choose File" to upload a photo from your computer.
4. Give your photo a Title or add it to the "Gallery" of your choice.
5. Select the "Share" button.
6. Select your inmate(s) and then select "Share".
7. Once the photo is approved, it will be shared with your inmate(s).
Customer Service Questions
'Online' Contact Form, or
Call 866-516-0115
TYPE OF MAIL ALLOWED FOR Santa Cruz County Main Jail
Postcards
The Santa Cruz 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 Santa Cruz County Main Jail also allows regular postcards and envelopes to be mailed to inmates as well.
Personal postcards and envelopes MUST be mailed to the following address:
Inmate's Full Name & ID or S Number
Smart Communications-Santa Cruz County Jail-CA
P.O. Box 9143
Seminole, FL 33775-9143
Legal Mail
Legal Mail is mail from Attorneys, law enforcement, the courts, bail companies, etc.
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
The Santa Cruz County Main Jail allows books to be mailed directly to the jail from a reputable source such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble or Books-A-Million. 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 Santa Cruz County Main Jail standards will be disposed of. No more than three books may be shipped at any one time.
Hard cover books will not be accepted by the jail due to their potential to be used as a weapon.
All legal mail, newspapers, magazines and books are to be shipped to:
Inmate's Full Name & ID or S Number
Santa Cruz County Jail
259 Water Street
Santa Cruz, CA. 95060
By law, every inmate is entitled to receive mail delivered through the United State Postal Service. While for years, this mail was always delivered in the form of a letter or a postcard from friends and loved ones directly to the inmate, the definition of inmate mail has changed a bit.
Inmate mail can be:
• A letter in an envelope,
• A postcard,
• A greeting card, or
• A digital letter
Because of security and contraband concerns, mainly the paper and envelope that a letter is written on or enclosed in, being soaked in a liquid form of drugs, many jails are increasingly limiting the type of mail inmates can get.
Some still allow regular mail in an envelope with a stamp, but many now have the letter sent to a third-party that opens the letter, scans it and the envelope into a computer, emails the letter to the jail where they print it out, giving the photocopies to the inmate, or they send it to a computer kiosk or tablet digitally that the inmate can access.
Others only allow postcards, specifically the white, pre-stamped postcards that you can purchase from the post office.
When greeting cards are allowed, they can’t be cards with glitter, music or other do-dads. They can only be plain paper cards.
Some jails, in fact most, require that mail be written or typed with only black or blue ink. Some allow black pencils to be used.
None allow crayons, markers, lipstick prints, etc.
All require white envelopes, white paper or lined paper such as from a pad. Very few allow paper that is card stock. It must be plain white, 20-lb. printer paper.
To see the inmate mail policies for Santa Cruz County Main Jail check out the inmate mail details above or call the jail at 831-454-7800 for specific information.
There are five different types of addresses for every jail:
1. The physical address of the jail
2. The mailing address for an inmate’s personal mail
3. The mailing address for the inmate’s legal mail
4. The mailing address for the jail’s administrative staff
5. The mailing address for sending money to the inmate’s trust or commissary fund
Visit the Inmate Money page for this information
In general, the only three addresses that friends and family of inmates need to be concerned about are:
• The inmate address for personal mail.
• The address for sending money orders to the inmate’s commissary account.
Visit the Inmate Money page for this information.
• The physical address of the jail.
Because this section is about mailing an inmate, the address for mailing an inmate is:
Inmate's Full Name & ID or S Number
Smart Communications-Santa Cruz County Jail-CA
P.O. Box 9143
Seminole, FL 33775-9143
or
Inmate's Full Name
Inmate ID#
Santa Cruz County Main Jail
259 Water Street
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
If the red address is visible, then use that address, as that is the new address the jail is using for an inmate's personal mail to combat contraband entering the facility.
To mail a letter to an inmate in the Santa Cruz County Main Jail, first completely read all the mail policies and guidelines that are on this page. Also read any updated mail guidelines that are on the official page for facility. If you still have questions, then call the jail at 831-454-7800 and ask specifics.
It is important to understand that if even one thing is done incorrectly when sending a letter to the jail, even if everything else is done correctly, then your letter will not be delivered to the inmate. In fact, even though the jail claims they will mail your letter back to you so that you will know it was not delivered, there is always the chance it will be disposed of.
So here you are at home, wondering why your inmate is not responding to your letter, when in fact, they may not have even received it.
All mail to the inmate must be addressed as follows:
A full return address, which includes your full name and full address. Without this the mail will not be delivered to the inmate.
A complete address to the inmate, including:
Full Name (name that they were booked under)
Inmate ID# (booking #, SO #, etc.)
Inmate’s Housing location (if you know it)
Santa Cruz County Main Jail
Mailing Address
City, State, Zip code
Inmate's Full Name & ID or S Number
Smart Communications-Santa Cruz County Jail-CA
P.O. Box 9143
Seminole, FL 33775-9143
A letter that is not addressed completely may not get delivered. Keep in mind that often there is more than one inmate in a jail with the same name. You certainly don’t want the wrong inmate getting your private mail, do you?
Sometimes. There are some jails that will deliver you a notification that a letter which was intended for you was returned because it was either improperly addressed, did not have return address, contained contraband of some sort, had things written in it that were against mail and jail policies, or were sent by someone you were not allowed contact with such as co-defendant or someone the court had forbidden contact with such as a spouse in a domestic violence case.
Most of the time though, the letter is either returned or destroyed, and if there are illegal substances in the letter, it will be turned over to the Santa Cruz County Sheriff or District Attorney for possible criminal investigation and/or indictment.
Generally nothing but a letter, printouts from a computer printer or photographs can be sent to an inmate in the mail. If there is anything else enclosed, the entire letter and the contents will be returned to you or destroyed.
There are a few exceptions to this, such as several county jails in New York, including the infamous Riker’s Island. Riker’s allows all kinds of things to be mailed to an inmate, including a box of items every month.
Every jail has their own policy regarding allowing inmates to receive photographs in the mail, if at all. For Santa Cruz County Main Jail’s policy, review the information on this page.
In general, most jails allow an inmate to have anywhere from four to six photographs in their possession at any one time. These cannot be polaroids, and the photos cannot be construed as even mildly sexual (such as a woman or child in a bathing suit), gang related, drug related or violent.
Some jails allow only photocopied photos.
Some jails only allow photos that are sent digitally and must remain digital.
There are only a few jails that do not allow any photos of any kind.
If you are still uncertain as the policy regarding photographs at this facility, call them at 831-454-7800.
Most jails allow newspapers, magazines and books to be sent to an inmate, if they come directly from the publisher, such as directly from the newspaper or magazine themselves, or from the specific book publisher or trusted mail order source such as Amazon or Barnes and Noble.
There is often a limit of the quantity of books and magazines an inmate can either receive at one time, receive each month, or have in their possession at any one time.
Hardcover books, or books with wire spiral binders are never allowed.
Any publications that portray or discuss violence, sex, gang activity, drugs, jail escapes or anything else against jail policies are not allowed and will be returned.
The policy of the Santa Cruz County Main Jail should be detailed on this page. However, if it is not, then call the jail at 831-454-7800 and ask.
Keep in mind that the address the publications should be mailed to is not always the mailing address of where the inmate gets their regular mail, the mail that is scanned and forwarded digitally to them.
The mailing address for publications is:
Inmate's Full Name & ID or S Number
Santa Cruz County Jail
259 Water Street
Santa Cruz, CA. 95060
or
Inmate's Full Name
Inmate ID#
Santa Cruz County Main Jail
259 Water Street
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
Use the address in red if it is visible to you.
NOTE: There are a few New York jails that allow publications to be sent directly to them as opposed to having it sent through the publisher. One of the most notable exceptions is Riker’s Island in New York City.
There is no limit to how often you can send letters or cards to an inmate. You are only limited to the types of letters and cards that you can send, considering Santa Cruz County Main Jail’s policies, which are outlined on this page.
An inmate can mail letters as often as they like. There is no limit to the number of letters that an inmate can write and send. They are only limited by the number of stamps they can afford to purchase through commissary, and the amount of commissary spend that the Santa Cruz County Main Jail allows.
Contraband is defined as anything that the jail does not allow to be mailed to an inmate, which is just about everything. The list would fill ten sets of encyclopedias.
It easier to say what is allowed to be sent through the mail:
• When allowed, a certain number of photographs.
• When allowed, newspapers, magazines and books, if they are sent from a publisher.
• When allowed, a care package of snacks, hygiene products or clothing from a commissary company that has contracted with the jail.
Some jails allow printouts of photographs and information to be sent to an inmate through the mail. Refer to the mail policy on this page or by calling the jail directly at 831-454-7800.
Many jails contract with companies that send food, hygiene products and/or clothing to inmates. These can be purchased and sent by friends and family on a weekly or monthly basis.
You can only send items from the one that your jail has a contract with.
Check this page, the Money Page or the Commissary Page for further information, or call the jail at 831-454-7800 to see which one that the Santa Cruz County Main Jail works with.
Here are the commissary package companies, in alphabetical order, that provide this service to jails in the United States:
Access Securepak
Care A Cell
Commissary order
Correct Pay
Express Account
icare
Inmate Canteen
Jail ATM
Jail Pack Store (McDaniel Supply)
My Care Pack
Oasis (jailcanteen)
Prodigy Solutions
Tiger
Union Supply Direct
The only gifts you can send an inmate must come from one of the stores above, and Santa Cruz County Main Jail must contract with them.
If the item that you send an inmate is illegal, then you and/or your inmate can get in trouble, otherwise if it is not illegal, it will just be destroyed or in some cases, returned to you.
Note that if you continue to send items that are considered contraband, some of your communication privileges with your inmate, such as visitation or phone calls, may be suspended.
No, you cannot send postage stamps. Stamps must be purchased by the inmate through commissary. You can send them the money for stamps, but not the stamps.
Stamps can be purchased in the jail commissary be the inmate.
Yes. If an inmate is indigent, the jail will provide them 2-3 stamps, and an equal amount of envelopes and stationery each week.
Yes. If you send the inmate drugs, a weapon or anything illegal, it will be turned over to the Santa Cruz County Sheriff or District Attorney and it is most likely that you will be prosecuted.
Emailing and Photo Sharing with your Inmate
Then use the Facility Finder to:
1. Select Santa Cruz County Main Jail,
2. Add your inmate to your list of contacts,
3. Add a credit or debit card to cover your costs.
How Messaging Works
Watch this video on how to send a message.
1. Messages can be up to 500 characters long, including punctuation. At the bottom of your message there is a 'character countdown' feature.
2. After you click the “CONTINUE” button, you can review the cost to send your message to your inmate. You can also attach credits for your inmate to reply to your message. Be sure to accept the Terms and Conditions and click the “SEND” button for your message to be successfully delivered to your inmate.
How Uploading Photos Works
Watch this video on how to upload a photo.
1. Select the Photos Tab.
2. Select “Take New Photo” or “Upload New Photo”.
3. Take a new photo with your webcam, or select "Choose File" to upload a photo from your computer.
4. Give your photo a Title or add it to the "Gallery" of your choice.
5. Select the "Share" button.
6. Select your inmate(s) and then select "Share".
7. Once the photo is approved, it will be shared with your inmate(s).
Customer Service Questions
'Online' Contact Form, or
Call 866-516-0115
How to address your Inmate's Postcard or Envelope
Inmate's Full Name & ID or S Number
Smart Communications-Santa Cruz County Jail-CA
P.O. Box 9143
Seminole, FL 33775-9143
All mail sent to an inmate at the Santa Cruz 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.
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 and stickers.
Greeting cards with layers.
Greeting cards with plastic.
Musical greeting cards.
Altered mail such as perfumed or lipstick covered.
Paper with any type of stains such as grease.
News clippings.
Crayon, felt tip or hand painted drawings.
Call 831-454-7800 or click here for a complete list of prohibited items.
POLICIES REGARDING MAILING PHOTOS TO Santa Cruz County Main Jail
Photos should not exceed 4 inches high x 6 inches wide.
Send no more than 10 photos at one time.
Polaroid Photos are prohibited.
Photos of weapons are prohibited.
Photos of drugs, the consuming of drugs or alcohol is prohibited.
Photos of lewd behavior or people exhibiting too much skin is prohibited.
Call 831-454-7800 or check the most recent policies regarding inmate photos on the jail's website by going here.
Important Mail Tips
Inmates may not write to inmates in other facilities without first obtaining permission to do so from the Facility Commander.
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.
Click here to view contact information for the Santa Cruz County Main Jail.
Because Santa Cruz County and California can change their bail bond procedures, it is always best to call either the Santa Cruz County Main Jail at 831-454-7800, or the court in the jurisdiction (i.e. Municipal Court, District Court, etc.) where the offender was charged, and do this right after an arrestee has been booked.
Ask the staff at the Santa Cruz County Main Jail or the Santa Cruz County Court Clerk these specific questions:
If you feel the bail is too high and you wish to get it reduced, contact a lawyer or the defendant's public defender and get them to look into what they can do to get a bail reduction. The sooner you get working on this the quicker you will get your loved one released.
This entire process will go smoother and faster with a criminal attorney or bail agent handling it for you.
Whatever cash the inmate has on their person when booked into the facility will automatically deposited and credited to their account. When released any money left in the account will be returned to them in the form of a check from the Sheriff's Department or the Santa Cruz County Main Jail Trust Account. There may be circumstances where the inmate can give permission to have his money released to a family member or friend.
Option 1 - Dropping Money at the Jail
Bring money to the jail in person.
Use the self-serve kiosk in the lobby that accepts cash, debit or credit cards.
Santa Cruz County Jail
259 Water Street
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
Option 2 - Mail the Inmate Deposit to the Jail
Mailing a deposit takes more time to process than the other methods but can be done if you live too far away to bring it in person.
Never send cash. Always send a Money Order from the US Post Office, a reputable bank or Western Union.
Make the Money Order out to the inmate and put their Inmate ID# in memo section of the Money Order.
Mail to:
Santa Cruz County Jail
259 Water Street
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
For complete information on depositing money at the Santa Cruz County Main Jail, including limits, where to drop or mail them and anything else, check out our Inmate Money page.
To find out how to get access to a tablet for inmate read the following:
1. First, Register or Sign In to GettingOut/GTL
2. Purchase the services you want for your Santa Cruz County Main Jail inmate.
3. All inmates have free access to the tablets to read their letters from family & friends, but there are many other services available to keep your inmate busy while incarcerated... such as Games, Books, Music and Movies. These other services come with fees that you can pay for when you pay for phone service.
To learn more about Tablet Rentals for inmates, including the cost, all the services available and everything else you need to know, check out our Tablet Rental Page.
Postcards
The Santa Cruz 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 Santa Cruz County Main Jail also allows regular postcards and envelopes to be mailed to inmates as well.
Personal postcards and envelopes MUST be mailed to the following address:
Inmate's Full Name & ID or S Number
Smart Communications-Santa Cruz County Jail-CA
P.O. Box 9143
Seminole, FL 33775-9143
Legal Mail
Legal Mail is mail from Attorneys, law enforcement, the courts, bail companies, etc.
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
The Santa Cruz County Main Jail allows books to be mailed directly to the jail from a reputable source such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble or Books-A-Million. 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 Santa Cruz County Main Jail standards will be disposed of. No more than three books may be shipped at any one time.
Hard cover books will not be accepted by the jail due to their potential to be used as a weapon.
All legal mail, newspapers, magazines and books are to be shipped to:
Inmate's Full Name & ID or S Number
Santa Cruz County Jail
259 Water Street
Santa Cruz, CA. 95060
How to Make a Deposit for Phone, Email or Visitation using GettingOut.com
Santa Cruz County Main Jail uses GettingOut for some or all of its communication services with an inmate.
If you want to deposit money using this company for your use or your inmate's account, there are four ways to do it:
For all the information you need to know, including tips, guidelines and warnings about depositing money in a Santa Cruz County Main Jail inmate's account for communication services, check out our Send Money page.
To mail or email an inmate in Santa Cruz County follow these steps:
When mailing a letter or postcard to an inmate, please follow these instructions:
Emailing Messages & Photos
Facility_name_1} contracts with GTL GettingOut, the same service that handles iInmate Phone Systems and Video Visitation, for sending secure messages and photos between you and your inmate.
If you are not already registered, do so here, or Log in.
Then use the Facility Finder to:
1. Select Santa Cruz County Main Jail,
2. Add your inmate to your list of contacts,
3. Add a credit or debit card to cover your costs.
Customer Service Questions
'Online' Contact Form, or
Call 866-516-0115
Go here to this FAQ to get answers to how the transition to ViaPath from GTL and gettingout will affect your account.
All the information you need to understand mail and email policies for Santa Cruz County can be found on our Inmate Mail Page and our Text/Email an Inmate Page.
To visit an inmate in Santa Cruz County, whether by video or in person 'at the jail', follow these steps:
Other than 'at the jail' visits between you and your inmate, which is explained and outlined in detail on our Visit Inmate Page, Santa Cruz County remote video inmate visitation can be done using the services of GettingOut.
There are three ways to remotely visit your inmate in Santa Cruz County Main Jail:
1. Using the GettingOut Kiosk at the jail.
2. Using your computer from home.
3. Using your phone on the GettingOut apps.
To remotely visit an inmate in Santa Cruz County follow these steps:
1. Start by confirming that Santa Cruz County Main Jail's Video Visitation is working correctly by looking up Santa Cruz County here.
2. The next step is to create an account here for GettingOut.
3. Then add funds to your account.
4. Last, select Santa Cruz County Main Jail, and then the inmate you wish to communicate with.
Other Santa Cruz County Services provided by GettingOut:
- Phone Calls & Voicemail
- Email, Photo & Video Sharing
- Inmate Tablet Rental
- Deposits
Customer Service
If you have any questions about the Santa Cruz County Main Jail Visitation Services you can call them at 866-516-0115.
Frequently Asked Questions
* All the information you need to have complete knowledge about inmate visitation; policies, rules, fees, schedules, tips, dress codes, and children, lawyers and clergy visitation in Santa Cruz County, can be found on our Visit Inmate Page.
Santa Cruz County Main Jail Phone: 831-454-7800
To send a commissary carepack (food, snacks and goods) directly to an inmate in Santa Cruz County Main Jail follow these steps:
For all information, tips and available items for shipping Commissary packages to an inmate in Santa Cruz County Main Jail check out our Commissary Instructions Page for Santa Cruz County.
To send commissary money to an inmate in Santa Cruz County Main Jail follow these steps:
For all information on how to Send Money to an inmate's account check out our full money and commissary guide for Santa Cruz County Main Jail.
To receive phone calls from inmates in Santa Cruz County, or to assist them in making phone calls to other people, follow these steps:
Note: All your calls with an inmate are recorded, stored and shared with law enforcement if the conversation deals with your case or any criminal activity. Anything communicated can be used against you or your inmate in court.
For all the information regarding phone calls with Santa Cruz County inmates; rules, policies, phone calling times, limits and more visit our Inmate Phone Page.
