Prepare for life in prison
Find practical information about arrival, healthcare and daily support.
Guidance and tools
Prisons
Guidance about visiting prison, daily life, rights, prison categories, parenting and youth custody.
Read practical prison guidance or use the prison directory to find information about a specific prison.
About this information
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Arrival and daily life
Visiting and family
Prepare for a prison visit
Check booking, identification and visiting arrangements.
Being a parent in prison
Arrange children’s care and maintain permitted family contact.
Rights and categories
Get help with rights and complaints
Find the appropriate route for prison and healthcare concerns.
Understand prison categories
Check category decisions and how to question them.
Planning for release
Prepare for release
Plan accommodation, money and healthcare before and after leaving prison.
Release on temporary licence
Understand temporary release and return requirements.
Children and young people
Choose the stage relevant to you. Children do not necessarily go through every stage.
Help for children and young people
Choose guidance for police contact, court, custody or community supervision.
Disability, mental health and communication
Get extra support
Find help with communication, appropriate adults and support at each stage.
More guidance
Young people in youth custody
Learn what youth custody means, how placements are decided, and what daily life can be like for a child in a secure setting. This…
Prison tools and directories
Find a prison, explore the estate and use specialist prison reference tools.
Prison population dashboard
Explore published prison population figures and trends.
Prison directory
Search prisons and view profiles, visiting information, providers and reports.
Prisons map
Explore prisons by location using live information from the prison directory.
Sentence date calculator
Calculate calendar dates using a confirmed release fraction, for one adult standard determinate sentence without time adjustments.
Prison policies and instructions
Browse policy frameworks, Prison Service Instructions and Prison Service Orders.
Offender flows from court to prison
Explore indicative adult male and young offender routes in England and Wales using National Offender Flows 2024 data. Actual allocation can differ.