There is no limit to the amount of mail a person in custody may send or receive. 

When sending correspondence to someone in jail, please address the envelope or package in the following manner:

Mail must contain both the person's name, booking number, facility, as well as the sender's name and return address. If you do not know a person's booking number, visit our Who's in Jail page. 

The mailing address for San Diego County Sheriff's Department Jails is as follows:

Mail Processing Center 
451 Riverview Parkway, Building C
Santee, CA 92071

As of September 1st 2022, any mail addressed or received directly at six of our detention facilities will be rejected and returned to the sender. Ensure that you use the address mentioned above for prompt processing and delivery to the person in custody.

All mail entering and leaving a jail facility is opened, inspected and searched for contraband. The writing is also scanned for safety and security reasons. Legal mail between an individual and his or her attorney is checked for contraband, but not read. 

Acceptable Items 

• General correspondence - regular mail that contains letters, money orders, checks, etc. 
• Legal correspondence - must be sent from a legal entity i.e. courts, law enforcement agency, attorney, government agency, etc.
• Books, magazines directly from a reputable vendor or publisher

Unacceptable Items 

• Food, cosmetics and other perishables 
• Homemade greeting cards and/or cardboard
• Any unknown substance or unknown odor (e.g. stains, lipstick, perfume, smoke, etc.)
• Items containing foil or metal of any type, glass, wood, hard plastic, rubber, leaves, flowers, paperclips, jewelry, staples, whiteout, colored paper, tracing paper, heavy art paper, glitter, confetti, stickers, tape, glue, paint, watercolors, tobacco products, or any items written in crayon, chalk, markers, foam cutouts or other removable items
• Audio, CDs, cassette tapes, thumb drives
• Hard cover or spiral bound books
• Polaroid photos 
• Photos, writings, items depicting 
  • gangs, weapons, nudity/partial nudity, sexually explicit and/or unlawful activity.
  • information found to be racially inflammatory or in conflict with safety and security.

To read our policies and procedures regarding mail at San Diego County Sheriff's Department Detention Facilities, click here.