I just got out of prison — what do I sort out first?

One page in this library answers this, After prison, get your ID sorted and find out what a background check will show. It covers the United States and the UK, and it is for someone who is leaving prison, is already out, or is helping someone who is. The first weeks are mostly paperwork: a benefits claim, a bank account, an address where letters reach you, a job application. Each asks for ID. Each is also harder when you are tired, ashamed or frightened, and you may be all three.

The safety lines first, from the page. If you or someone else is in danger now, call 911 in the US or 999 in the UK. If you used drugs before prison, the amount you used to take may now cause an overdose. The US National Institute on Drug Abuse says that after release people may go back to the amounts they used before, “not realizing their bodies can no longer tolerate the same doses, increasing their risk of overdose and death.” Before you leave, or as soon as you are out, ask the prison healthcare team or a drug service about naloxone, a medicine that reverses an opioid overdose. In the US, the SAMHSA National Helpline is 1-800-662-4357. In England, the NHS page on drug problems says “A GP may be a good place to start”, and gives the Frank helpline as 0300 123 6600. If you are thinking about ending your life, call or text 988 in the US, or call Samaritans on 116 123 in the UK. Both are open at any hour. If you have nowhere to sleep tonight, ask for housing help today. In the US, call 211. In England and Scotland, call Shelter on 0808 800 4444 and ask the council’s homelessness team. In Wales, call Shelter Cymru on 08000 495 495 and ask the council. Shelter’s lines open on weekdays in the daytime. In Northern Ireland, nidirect says the Housing Executive will discuss your housing options when you present as homeless; its Homelessness Line is 03448 920 908, with an emergency out-of-hours service.

In the first weeks after prison, get your ID and your benefits claim moving first, and find out what a background check will show before you apply for jobs. Your release conditions, whether probation, parole or licence, come before anything here. If a step on this page seems to clash with them, ask your supervising officer or your lawyer first.

Documents, money and a place to live

In the US, the Bureau of Prisons says its policy directs staff to give people “reasonable assistance in obtaining a social security card, a driver’s license or other official photo identification, and a birth certificate”. That is for federal prisons. A state prison or a county jail follows its own state’s or county’s rules, so ask the staff who plan releases which documents are in your file and which are missing, and ask early. If your Social Security card is missing, the Social Security Administration says: “You can request a free replacement card.” It says the card arrives by mail 5 to 10 business days after your request is complete, and its number is 1-800-772-1213. If you were getting Social Security or SSI before prison, SSA’s reentry page says to visit a local Social Security office to restart payments and to bring your official prison release papers; it says release does not automatically make you eligible. 211 can point to local help with rent, food and bills, and LawHelp.org points to nonprofit legal aid in each state.

On housing, HUD’s own answer, from January 2022, says HUD “does not have a blanket policy that prohibits persons with felonies” from public housing or the voucher program. It names two bans: making methamphetamine on the premises of federally assisted housing, and a lifetime sex-offender registration requirement. Otherwise, it says, housing authorities “have broad discretion to set their own policies”. It also says a housing authority may not refuse an applicant solely because of an arrest record, although the conduct behind an arrest may count. That answer covers those two HUD programs, not private landlords, and some states add their own limits. A HUD-approved housing counselor can talk it through, on 1-800-569-4287.

In England, Scotland and Wales, GOV.UK says you can make a new Universal Credit claim when you leave prison, and that “you will be offered an appointment with the prison work coach 12 weeks before your release.” Its guide for people who support prison leavers says a claim cannot be made before release, that proof of identity is needed, and that a bank account is not needed to make the claim but is needed before a payment can be made. The resettlement worker can help open an account and gather evidence of identity. An advance payment has to be repaid. Citizens Advice gives advice on benefits, debt and housing: England 0800 144 8848, Wales 0800 702 2020, Scotland 0800 028 1456. In Northern Ireland, Advice NI (0800 915 4604) gives advice on benefits, tax credits and debt. Civil Legal Advice (0345 345 4345) takes calls from people in England and Wales who are eligible for legal aid.

Before you apply for work

In the US, the Federal Trade Commission says an employer that uses a background reporting company must tell you in writing, in a standalone document, and get your written permission first. Before it decides against you because of the report, it must give you a copy and a “Summary of Rights”. The FTC adds that laws in your city or state might change when employers can ask about criminal records, and they differ a great deal. For a job with a federal agency, the rules under the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act say agencies may not ask about criminal history before a conditional offer, except for listed positions. CareerOneStop, a US Department of Labor site, says reentry programs help with job search, housing and other needs; its helpline is 1-877-872-5627. Nothing on the page suggests leaving out something a form or an interviewer asks for. If you are unsure what your state requires you to say, ask legal aid before you apply.

In England and Wales, GOV.UK says whether you need to tell an organisation about a criminal record depends on whether they ask, when you got it, what type of sentence you got, and the type of record check they might request. The Ministry of Justice says a conviction is “spent” after a rehabilitation period, and that for a custodial sentence the period is the sentence plus a buffer period counted from its end, including the licence period. For adults the buffer is 12 months for a sentence under 1 year, 4 years for 1 to 4 years, and 7 years for more than 4 years, excluding serious violent, sexual or terrorist offences. Some sentences cannot become spent, and for some roles, such as work with children, health and social care, law enforcement and high-level finance, spent convictions may still have to be declared. GOV.UK has a tool to check whether a conviction or caution is spent. It says a basic DBS check, which costs £20, “will only show convictions that are not ‘spent’”. Unlock (01634 247350) says it gives support and advice to people in England and Wales about their own or someone else’s criminal record, and Nacro’s Criminal Record Support Service (0300 123 1999) helps people understand the rules and their rights when disclosing a record. In Scotland and Northern Ireland the rules differ, and Citizens Advice Scotland and Advice NI can say where to ask.

If you are turned down because of a background report in the US, the FTC says the employer must tell you the reporting company’s name, address and phone number, and that the company did not make the decision. You have the right to dispute anything inaccurate or incomplete: contact the company, explain the mistake, include any supporting documents, and ask it to send the corrected report to the employer. Whether a rejection was lawful depends on your state, so a legal aid office is the place to ask. Before you pay for training in a licensed field, ask the licensing board how it treats a conviction.

What people who rebuilt after prison say

Some people say learning a trade rather than a four-year degree helped, partly because of debt and partly because a record can count against you when you are hired. Others say going back to school works, and one person warns that a felony can close some schools or careers, so find out which your conviction does. Some say staying away from old associates was necessary, some began with their health, and some say sobriety had to come first. Some people describe the first stretch out as hard on the mind, and recommend counselling. The page adds one caution: the longest account behind it is one person’s story of rebuilding, and in the same discussion one reader argued that help that person had, such as family money, may not be there for others. Take the ideas, and do not read your own timeline off theirs.

Who this is not for

This answer does not cover appeals or whether a conviction was right: a lawyer or a legal aid office does that. It cannot tell you whether your conviction is spent, whether a record can be sealed or cleared, or what you must tell an employer or landlord where you live; only legal aid, a legal adviser or the office that decides can. The rules, amounts and limits differ by US state and UK nation. If you were released a while ago, the work part may be the one that still matters to you. The people who write about getting through this write when it went well, so the people it did not go well for are missing from the page, and the page cannot say how common either outcome is. Outside the United States and the UK, the offices named here do not apply.