South Carolina: pen pal rules and how to send mail
South Carolina bans incarcerated people from placing ads soliciting pen pals, including ads posted with someone else's help, and can discipline them. They may still write to pen pals. You can still list someone here: you confirm you understand before paying and again by email before the profile goes up.
Personal letters go to the person at their prison's mailing address, with their full name and ID number. They are opened and inspected; the letter itself is delivered, and the person receives your original letter.
Checked against the department's own pages . How we check, and corrections
Pen pal listings
“inmates are not prohibited from corresponding with pen pals, but shall not place 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: SCDC Policy PS-10.08, Inmate Correspondence Privileges (issued 9/6/2022), Section 20.1, Web Site Pen Pal Solicitations, 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 South Carolina
Personal letters go to the person at their prison's mailing address, with their full name and ID number. They are opened and inspected; the letter itself is delivered, and the person receives your original letter.
“All incoming inmate mail must be clearly marked with the inmate’s legal name, SCDC number, living unit, full name of the institution, street address, city, state, and zip code with a complete return address in the upper left-hand corner.” Department source
“Inmates are not allowed to receive cash, stamps, any writing materials, anything to eat, drink, or smoke.”
Electronic messages: On GettingOut, either side can send the contact request, and both have to accept it. Step by step for each app. Department page.
Source: South Carolina 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 South Carolina (23)
How to write to someone at each one: the mailing format, mail rules and messaging, from the department's own pages.
Find someone in South Carolina
Official South Carolina inmate locator
We check every profile's name and ID number against this locator within a day of it going live.