Getting out

# The first thirty days

In rough order. None of it is complicated, all of it takes longer than it should, and the sequencing is what decides how the month goes.

The list

## In rough order

1. Report to your probation officer (who supervises you after release) as instructed, on the day instructed.
2. Get a phone number.
3. Assemble [identity documents](/going-in/getting-out/documents), in the order that unblocks the next one.
4. Recover your primary email, then everything downstream of it.
5. Open a bank account, or [find out why you cannot](/going-in/getting-out/banking-and-credit) and fix it.
6. Enroll in [health coverage](/going-in/getting-out/health) while the window is open, and refill any medication.
7. Confirm your [restitution balance](/going-in/getting-out/money-and-restitution) and payment schedule in writing.
8. Get your [job search](/going-in/getting-out/work) moving, or your approved employment documented if you already have it.
9. Pull all three credit reports.
10. Read your [supervised release conditions](/going-in/getting-out/supervised-release) in full, and ask your PO about anything ambiguous before it matters.

The point

## Sequencing is the whole thing

None of this is complicated. All of it takes longer than it should, and the sequencing is what determines whether the first month is manageable or miserable.

The time passes either way. What varies is what you have built by the end of it.

That's the guide

## The time passes either way

What varies is what you have built by the end of it. Start the parts that have dependencies first, ask your PO before you need to, and stop treating the release date as the finish line.

**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.