Getting out # Getting out Everyone spends their sentence thinking about the release date. Almost nobody plans for what happens after it, and the after is longer and in some ways harder than the inside. This covers the halfway house (the halfway house before release), home confinement (finishing a sentence at home under monitoring), supervised release (post-prison supervision; not parole), and the practical work of rebuilding — documents, banking, housing, employment, health, and the part nobody warns you about, which is what a year or more of not making decisions does to your ability to make them. Twelve parts, written to be read in order. The rest of this page is the front matter: when to start, what this does not cover, and the four things that matter most. Timing ## Start planning at eighteen months out, not at six The single most common mistake is treating release as a finish line rather than a project with dependencies. Housing depends on approval. Approval depends on having an address. Employment depends on documents. Documents depend on other documents. Each step takes weeks, and several of them cannot start until a prior one finishes. People who begin this work while they are still inside land considerably better than people who begin it in the parking lot. The frame ## A note on scope Supervised release conditions (the rules you live under after release) vary by district, by judge, and by offense. Nothing here overrides what your judgment actually says or what your probation officer (who supervises you after release) actually tells you. When those conflict with this document, they win. Start here ## The four things that matter most If you read nothing else: Cheat sheet - **Start eighteen months out.** The steps have dependencies and several of them cannot begin until a prior one finishes. - **Documents first.** No bank account, no lease, no job, and no benefits until you have them. - **Never be caught in a small lie by your PO.** The underlying conduct is usually trivial. The dishonesty is what gets acted on. - **Do not coast the last sixty days.** Violations cluster at the end, and a violation there can send you back. The guide ## The twelve parts ### [The halfway house and home confinement](/going-in/getting-out/halfway-house-and-home-confinement) Passes, curfews, mandatory employment, and a quarter of your gross taken as subsistence. Then the ankle monitor, and what it costs everyone you live with. ### [Supervised release](/going-in/getting-out/supervised-release) Your probation officer, the conditions you are expected to comply with whether or not you read them, travel, early termination, and what a violation actually costs. ### [Documents come first](/going-in/getting-out/documents) Birth certificate, Social Security card, state ID, and your release paperwork. The order matters, because each one unblocks the next. ### [Banking and credit](/going-in/getting-out/banking-and-credit) Why the account gets denied, which is usually an old overdraft rather than the conviction. Second-chance checking, credit reports, and identity theft. ### [Housing](/going-in/getting-out/housing) The approval problem, the screening problem, and the deposit problem. What actually works, including the unglamorous thing most people actually do. ### [Work](/going-in/getting-out/work) Disclose early and to a human. Target companies under fifty people. How background checks actually run, and the one thing to internalize about employers who hesitate. ### [Your digital life](/going-in/getting-out/your-digital-life) Two-factor on a phone that no longer exists, accounts closed for inactivity, and support processes with no category for your situation. ### [Money and restitution](/going-in/getting-out/money-and-restitution) Payments continue after release, interest may accrue, and refunds can be intercepted. Know the balance and the schedule in writing. ### [Health](/going-in/getting-out/health) You leave with a limited supply and no provider. Release is a qualifying event for coverage, and the enrollment window is limited. ### [The part nobody prepares you for](/going-in/getting-out/the-part-nobody-prepares-you-for) Decision fatigue, hypervigilance, the gap in everyone else's life, the reunion, substance risk, and the difference between desperate and humbled. ### [Rights and status](/going-in/getting-out/rights-and-status) Firearms, voting, professional licenses, and international travel. What is federal and absolute, and what depends entirely on your state. ### [The first thirty days](/going-in/getting-out/the-first-thirty-days) Ten things, in rough order. The time passes either way. What varies is what you have built by the end of it. Before this ## Where this guide starts This one picks up at the door on the way out. What happens on the way in is [Before you go in](/going-in/before-you-go), what happens between the two is [While you're in](/going-in/while-youre-in), and the version written for the person on the outside is [For families](/for-families/guide). If you are still inside, most of part 3 onward is work someone can start on your behalf now. That is the point of starting at eighteen months. **Need help with this? Just ask.** These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. **Answers are free** , and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer. [josh@federalprisondude.com](mailto:josh@federalprisondude.com?subject=Getting%20out%20question) I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out.