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Corresponding with Inmates

Legal Mail - i.e. correspondences between the inmate and lawyer or court - should be addressed to 811 E. City Hall Ave. Norfolk, VA 23510 so that ios7 email outlinethey may be delivered directly to the inmate.

Correspondence between inmates and their friends and relatives are desirable, constructive, and highly encouraged. In 2021 the Norfolk City Jail moved to an electronic mail delivery system. All mail will be sent to a facility in Maryland to be scanned, and then will be delivered to the recipient via tablet. The mailing address is:

Norfolk City Jail
Inmate Name, Inmate Booking # (which you can find using our “Inmate Lookup” )
P.O. Box 247
Phoenix, MD   21131

Subscriptions for inmates should be addressed to 811 E. City Hall Ave. Norfolk, VA 23510.

  • Inmates may have in their possession a total of five pieces of reading material only (i.e. book, magazines, crossword puzzle books, bibles, dictionaries, pamphlets). 

Inmate Mail Guidelines:

Outgoing mail from inmates:

    • There is no limit to the number of letters inmates may send at their own expense.
    • Inmates are prohibited from corresponding with another inmate incarcerated at the Norfolk City Jail, or other local, state, or federal institutions, unless it is otherwise determined that such correspondence is in the best interest of both the inmates and the institutions. Only immediate family requests are considered, and these requests are forwarded to the Officer in Charge of Corrections for consideration and approval. If the correspondence involves two institutions, both must approve.

All incoming mail regardless of what address is used is opened and examined for contraband.

    • The Norfolk Sheriff’s Office does not accept packages or large envelopes through the mail or over the counter, and only flat mail is accepted. All other mail is returned
    • Any correspondence items in question require delivery approval from the Officer in Charge of Corrections
    • Unacceptable items are returned at the expense of the inmate or sender.
    • If the cost of returning the unacceptable items is not paid by either the inmate or the sender, the contraband will be contributed to a non-profit organization or destroyed.