After prison, get your ID sorted and find out what a background check will show

The first weeks after prison are mostly paperwork: a benefits claim, a bank account, an address where letters reach you, a job application. Each of these asks for ID. Each is also harder when you are tired, ashamed or frightened, and you may be all three.

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.

This page covers the US and the UK. It is for someone who is leaving prison, is already out, or is helping someone who is. If you were released a while ago, the work section further down is the part that may still matter to you. It does not cover appeals or whether a conviction was right; a lawyer or a legal aid office does that. Your release conditions (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. If you have nowhere to sleep tonight, or you are thinking of ending your life, the numbers at the top of the page come before everything else.

Documents, money and a place to live

In the United States, 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. The Social Security Administration (SSA) 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 as proof, and it says release does not automatically make you eligible. 211 can point you to local help with rent, food and bills, and LawHelp.org points to nonprofit legal aid providers in each state.

On housing, HUD’s own answer (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. It says housing authorities otherwise “have broad discretion to set their own policies”, and that 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 (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.” GOV.UK’s guide for people who support prison leavers says a claim cannot be made before release, that proof of identity is needed, that a bank account is not needed to make the claim but is needed before a payment can be made, that the resettlement worker can help open an account and gather evidence of identity, and that an advance payment has to be repaid. GOV.UK’s leaving-prison page also lists Jobseeker’s Allowance, help from your local council, the Scottish Welfare Fund in Scotland and the Discretionary Assistance Fund in Wales. Citizens Advice gives advice on benefits, debt and housing (England 0800 144 8848, Wales 0800 702 2020, Scotland 0800 028 1456), and Shelter gives housing advice (England and Scotland 0808 800 4444, Wales 08000 495 495). 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: what a check will show

In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC, August 2025) says an employer that uses a background reporting company must tell you in writing, in a standalone document, and get your written permission first, and that before deciding 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 impact if or when employers can ask” about criminal records, and they differ a great deal. The Collateral Consequences Resource Center, a legal-research nonprofit, says Alaska “has no general law regulating consideration of criminal record in employment or occupational licensing”, while in Arizona “an executive order prohibits most public employers from asking individuals about their criminal history on an initial job application.” For a job with a federal agency, the Office of Personnel Management’s 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, such as those needing access to classified information, sensitive positions and federal law enforcement. CareerOneStop, a US Department of Labor site, says “reentry programs help with job search, housing, and other needs” and has a local search; its helpline is 1-877-872-5627. LawHelp.org points to legal aid in your state. Nothing here 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 “if they ask, for example in an interview or on an application form”, “when you got it”, “what type of punishment or sentence you got”, and “the type of criminal record check they might request”. The Ministry of Justice (guidance updated 28 October 2023) 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. The Ministry of Justice says some sentences cannot become spent. 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, and the Ministry of Justice says an employer should be able to say whether that applies. GOV.UK has a tool to check whether a conviction or caution is spent. A basic DBS check “will only show convictions that are not ‘spent’”. Unlock (01634 247350, Monday to Friday 8.45am to 4.45pm) 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, Monday to Thursday 9am to 5pm, Friday 1pm to 5pm) helps people understand the rules and their rights when disclosing a record.

In Scotland and Northern Ireland, the rules differ. GOV.UK says there are different rules in Scotland and in Northern Ireland, and the Ministry of Justice points to guidance on gov.scot for Scotland and to the Rehabilitation of Offenders (Northern Ireland) Order 1978 for Northern Ireland. Citizens Advice Scotland (0800 028 1456) and Advice NI (0800 915 4604) can say where to ask.

This page does not cover how to seal or clear a record. That depends on the state or country, and a legal aid office can say whether it is possible for you, and in England and Wales so can Unlock or Nacro.

What people who rebuilt after prison say

Many people who answered someone in their late twenties or early thirties after prison said that is still early to start over. One person said progress is better measured against your own past than against people who never went through it, and one said some people only find their stride in their forties or fifties. If you are older than that, those answers were written to someone younger, and this page cannot say what the same people would tell you.

Some people suggested learning a trade or a technical skill rather than a four-year degree, partly because of debt and partly because a record can count against you when you are hired. Others said going back to school works, and that people do start degrees in their thirties. What decides it is partly your record: one person warned that a felony can close some schools or careers, so find out which your conviction is. Before you pay for training in a licensed field, ask the licensing board how it treats a conviction. The Collateral Consequences Resource Center says federal law disqualifies people with certain convictions from jobs in the banking and transportation sector, and from “a wide variety of state-licensed jobs in healthcare and education”.

Some people said fields where a record weighs less, such as landscaping, were a way to start, and that an interview is where you can show who you are now. Some people said staying away from old associates was necessary for them. One person suggested joining a group that meets every week, such as softball or pool, because familiarity builds from repeated contact. Some people said writing things down, during and after prison, helped them cope and see their own progress.

Some people said looking after their physical and mental health was where they began. Some people described the first stretch out as hard on the mind: staying on guard, treating ordinary contact in public as a threat, and pulling away from others, and recommended counselling. Some people said sobriety had to come first, and one person said the pull back to old habits can return even after years of stability. If you used drugs before prison, 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.” It names naloxone, a medicine that reverses an opioid overdose, among the help to give at release. Before you leave, or as soon as you are out, ask the prison healthcare team or a drug service about naloxone. Any of this is worth taking to a doctor or counsellor. In the US, the SAMHSA National Helpline (1-800-662-4357) connects people to treatment and support near them. 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.

One caution about the stories. The longest account behind this page is one person’s story of rebuilding. 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.

If the days after release feel like too much, 988 in the US and Samaritans on 116 123 in the UK are open at any hour.