Florida: pen pal rules and how to send mail
Florida bans incarcerated people from placing ads for pen pals, including ads placed for them by someone else, and can discipline them for it. They can still write to pen pals they already know. You can still list someone here: you confirm you understand before paying and again by email before the profile goes up.
Personal letters to people in Florida prisons go to a department-wide mail center, not to the prison. They are scanned, and the person receives a printed copy or a copy on their tablet.
Checked against the department's own pages . How we check, and corrections
Pen pal listings
“Inmates shall not use correspondence privileges to solicit or otherwise commercially advertise for money, goods, or services. For the purposes of this rule, this includes the placing of ads soliciting pen-pals. Inmates who post ads or have ads posted with the assistance of another person shall be subject to disciplinary action.”
Source: Fla. Admin. Code R. 33-210.101(12) (Routine Mail), read 2026-10-07.
You can still list someone here if they understand the risk and want to go ahead. We ask you to initial that you understand before you pay, and to confirm once more by email after. The profile goes up as soon as you confirm. If you change your mind before then, you get a full refund.
Sending mail to someone in Florida
Personal letters to people in Florida prisons go to a department-wide mail center, not to the prison. They are scanned, and the person receives a printed copy or a copy on their tablet.
The department gives this address format for personal mail (each prison's page below fills in its own name):
Inmate’s last name, first name, DC# PO Box 23608 Tampa, FL 33623“FDC has transitioned to electronic mail delivery format. All routine inmate mail must be addressed to the central processing facility (see below) for scanning and electronic distribution.” Department source
“No packaging other than standard envelopes shall be accepted.”
Electronic messages: On Securus eMessaging, you make an account, add the person by name and ID number, and pay per message. On JPay, you make an account, add the person by name and ID number, and pay per message. Step by step for each app. Department page.
Source: Florida mail page, read 2026-10-07. Rules change; the department's page is the final word.
See also: prison mail rules and your first letter.
Prisons in Florida (105)
How to write to someone at each one: the mailing format, mail rules and messaging, from the department's own pages.
Find someone in Florida
Official Florida inmate locator
We check every profile's name and ID number against this locator within a day of it going live.