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Facility Release of Inmates

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Once you have satisfied your sentence at a Virginia Department of Corrections (VADOC) facility, you will either be discharged or leave on parole and receive a notification of release letter. The following is how the release process works.

Day of Facility Release

If you are an inmate leaving on discharge or parole, you will be released by 11:59 p.m. on the date of release, weather permitting. At the time of your release, you will read, or a facility staff member will read to you, one of the following, as applicable:

You will sign your name as typed on all documents and date the forms. A staff member will also sign and date all release documents as witness.

VADOC Staff Responsibilities

Various departments across the VADOC work closely together to ensure all efforts are made to prepare you for the day of your release.Please refer to Operating Procedure 050.3, Facility Release of Offenders, for more details.

Records Staff

Our records staff are responsible for doing the following:

  • Notify all other departments of your pending release to ensure proper completion of any pending actions, such as grievances, claims, or medical screenings.
  • Determine whether you would like to use public transportation on the day of release or have family and/or friends pick you up from the facility with proper approval.
  • Prepare a receipt of a property envelope, if applicable. Contents may include personal documents such as a birth certificate, social security card, and educational documents. This can include original certificates, diplomas, certification cards, identification cards, etc.
  • Provide you with a copy of information for Restoration of Civil Rights. Please refer to Operating Procedure 820.2, Re-entry Planning, Attachment 3, for more details.
  • Provide you with a copy of the Internal Revenue Service Form 8850. Please refer to Operating Procedure 820.2, Re-entry Planning for more details.

Business Office

Our business office is responsible for doing the following:

  • Arrange bus transportation, if needed.
  • Unless you need to meet a detainer, you will be provided all of the funds credited to your Offender Pay account when you are released. If the funds in your account do not total $25.00, sufficient money will be added to reach that amount. Any other funds in your Offender Pay account that were not posted before release will be forwarded to you within five business days after posting.

Medical Department

Our medical department is responsible for doing the following:

  • If applicable, medical staff will obtain no more than a 30-day supply of discharge medications and other necessary medical supplies for you pending release.
  • A copy of your medical records within 30 days of release so long as you request a copy of the records at least 60 days prior to your release date. Please refer to Code of Virginia §53.1-28 for more details.

Personal Property Staff

Our personal property staff is responsible for doing the following:

  • Return all of your personal property upon release from the facility.
  • Receive your state-issued inmate clothing. You are not allowed to be released in this attire, except for approved discharged clothing.
  • Possibly provide you with clothing to wear upon discharge at the facility’s expense if you do not have personal clothing to wear.

For additional and more detailed information regarding release, visit our Operating Procedures page.

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