Quick facts

System

Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC)

Inmate ID

TDOC identification number (TDOC ID #)

General mail goes to

Centralized scanning facility — P.O. Box 247, Phoenix, MD 21131

Recipient receives

Digital scan on a TDOC-issued tablet (not your original pages)

Effective date

All TDOC facilities — November 3, 2025

Page limit

No published page-count cap for personal correspondence

Address must include

Facility name + committed name + TDOC ID # + return address

WTRC addressing

Mail for Women’s Therapeutic Residential Center → West Tennessee State Penitentiary

Where to send mail

Personal mail from family and friends (including printed PDFs)

Use FOIL Inmate Search for the TDOC ID number and facility name. Include the facility name on the envelope even though mail is processed off-site. Aliases may be included when legally changed through the court. Every envelope must show a return name and address. Personal mail sent directly to a TDOC prison after November 3, 2025 is returned to sender.

[Facility Name]
[Inmate First and Last Name]
TDOC ID # [Number]
P.O. Box 247
Phoenix, MD 21131

Send to the facility instead

• Privileged / legal mail → The facility where the person is incarcerated

  Correspondence from attorneys, court clerks, legal aid clinics, governmental officials, and agencies is not processed like personal mail at the scanning address. Privileged mail sent to the scanning facility by mistake is forwarded to the facility.

• Books, magazines, and other publications → Facility mailing address (publisher or recognized distributor)

  TDOC’s offender-mail page directs readers to Policy 507.02 for content rules. Historical 507.02 text and facility practice treat bound publications differently from personal letters — order from the publisher or a recognized distributor and ship to the prison, not the Phoenix MD PO Box. Confirm current rules with the facility before sending.

Format & content rules

• Since November 3, 2025, non-privileged personal mail for all TDOC facilities is scanned at an off-site centralized facility and delivered digitally on the person’s TDOC-issued tablet.
• Compliant mail is scanned and displayed on the tablet as written. Drawings and other permitted personalization are included in the digital format.
• Letters are delivered to the incarcerated person at no cost, and they retain access for the duration of their incarceration.
• Senders can track mail status and receive notification if a letter is rejected (per TDOC’s digitized-mail announcements).
• Always include the facility name, the person’s committed first and last name, and TDOC ID # on the envelope, plus a complete return address.
• Mail for inmates at the Women’s Therapeutic Residential Center must list West Tennessee State Penitentiary as the facility name.
• Content must comply with Policy 507.02 — Inmate Mail. TDOC may reject mail that threatens security, contains prohibited imagery, or otherwise violates policy.
• Do not send cash, checks, or other funds in personal mail. Use TDOC’s approved deposit channels instead.

Document mailing checklist

1. Confirm the person is in TDOC custody and look up their TDOC ID number and facility via FOIL Inmate Search.
2. If the person is at WTRC, use West Tennessee State Penitentiary as the facility name on the envelope.
3. Address personal correspondence to P.O. Box 247, Phoenix, MD 21131 — not the prison street address.
4. Include facility name, committed name, TDOC ID #, and your return address; mail as ordinary personal correspondence.

Look up a TDOC ID number →

Send with PrisonPDF

• Upload a multi-page PDF or DOCX and we print and mail it for you.
• When you select Tennessee, we use the centralized scanning address and collect the facility name.
• We do not review PDFs — TDOC may still reject or withhold mail that violates Policy 507.02.

Official sources

• TDOC — Inmate Mail
• TDOC — Digitized inmate mail news release (pilot details)
• TDOC — Policy 507.02 Inmate Mail (PDF)
• TDOC — Policies and Procedures index
• TDOC — FOIL Inmate Search