Guidance

Release on licence

Understand your release paperwork, licence conditions and where to find help about recall.

From:
Criminal Justice Hub
Published
Last updated
Applies to
England and Wales
All sections on this page

Being released on licence means you serve part of a prison sentence in the community. You must follow the conditions in your written licence until it ends.

Your release date, licence conditions and licence end date depend on your sentence type, offence, sentencing date, time spent on remand and other legal rules. Do not calculate them from sentence length alone.

This guide provides general information, not legal advice. Your sentence calculation and release paperwork are the most important documents for your case.

Check your release paperwork

Before you leave prison, make sure you understand:

  • your release date;

  • where you must live, if your licence has an address condition;

  • your first probation appointment;

  • every licence condition you must follow;

  • who to contact if you cannot comply; and

  • when your licence is due to end.

Ask your prison offender manager or probation practitioner to explain anything you do not understand. Keep a copy of your licence and release paperwork.

Your first day after prison

Your release paperwork should say when, where and how to report to probation. Your first appointment may be on the day you leave prison or the next working day.

Follow the written instructions you are given. If you cannot attend or have a problem travelling to the appointment, contact probation immediately using the details on your licence or release paperwork.

For meetings and home visits, read contact with your probation practitioner.

Licence conditions

Licence conditions are legal requirements. They are used to manage risk, protect the public and support resettlement.

Your written licence is the only reliable list of the conditions that apply to you. Conditions may include:

  • reporting to probation and attending appointments;

  • allowing visits where required;

  • living at an approved address;

  • telling probation about changes to your address or contact details;

  • getting permission before staying away overnight, leaving the UK or starting certain work;

  • a curfew or electronic monitoring;

  • drug or alcohol testing or treatment;

  • restrictions on places you can go; or

  • restrictions on contact with named people.

Some conditions apply routinely to particular licence types. Others are added because of the individual circumstances and assessed risks. Conditions should be necessary and proportionate.

The licence condition framework is being updated with changes scheduled from 01/10/2026. Check your written licence and current advice rather than relying on an old standard conditions list. See HMPPS: Licence Conditions Policy Framework.

If you cannot comply with a condition

Contact your probation practitioner immediately. Explain the problem and ask what you must do. Do not wait until you have already missed an appointment, changed address or breached a condition.

Tell probation early if disability, illness, homelessness, caring responsibilities, transport problems, work, faith, language or another issue affects your ability to comply. Ask what adjustment or support may be available.

Your conditions remain binding unless they are formally changed.

Can licence conditions change?

Yes. A condition may be added, removed or changed if this is necessary and proportionate. The legal process depends on the type of sentence and how release was authorised.

Do not assume an informal agreement changes a condition. Ask for written confirmation and keep a copy.

A one off permission, for example permission for a particular journey or contact, may be different from a permanent change to the licence. Ask your probation practitioner which applies.

Recall to prison

If you breach a licence condition, go out of contact, or your risk increases so that you cannot safely be managed in the community, you may be recalled to prison. Recall is different from receiving a new sentence for a further offence.

If you are recalled, you should be told the reasons and about your right to make written representations. Get legal advice quickly.

The type of recall, how long you remain in custody and how re release is decided depend on the sentence and recall category. The public guidance says that recall representations should usually be made within two weeks of being told the reasons.

See GOV.UK: being taken back to prison, GOV.UK: ask to be released again on probation, and Criminal Justice Act 2003, section 254.

When will I be released?

Some people are released automatically at a set point in their sentence. Others can be released only if the Parole Board directs release.

The rules depend on the type of sentence, offence, sentencing date and other factors. For example, life sentences, IPP sentences, extended determinate sentences and some older sentence types have different release arrangements.

Rules for some determinate sentences are scheduled to change from 01/10/2026. Do not rely on general information about release at one third, 40%, halfway or two thirds of a sentence. Check your individual release calculation.

See Sentencing Council: determinate prison sentences and GOV.UK: when someone can leave prison.

Automatic release and Parole Board release

The Parole Board decides release only for certain types of sentence. It assesses whether continued detention is necessary to protect the public.

If your case is eligible for parole, HMPPS will normally refer it to the Parole Board. You can check the case papers, submit evidence and written representations, and may have an oral hearing.

If the Parole Board does not direct release, the next review depends on the sentence and the decision. Get legal advice if you want to challenge a Parole Board decision.

See GOV.UK: parole overview and GOV.UK: challenging a Parole Board decision.

Post sentence supervision

Some people have or have had a further period of supervision after their licence ends. The rules are changing and depend on the sentence, sentencing date and release date.

Adult post sentence supervision is scheduled to be repealed from 01/10/2026, subject to transitional arrangements. Separate rules apply to some youth sentences.

Check your supervision notice or ask your probation practitioner what applies to you. Do not rely on a general short sentence rule.

Housing, benefits, healthcare and resettlement

Before release, ask your prison offender manager or resettlement team about:

  • where you will live and any approved address condition;

  • your first probation appointment;

  • benefits, bank account, identification and travel;

  • healthcare, medication and substance use support;

  • work, training and education; and

  • family contact and caring responsibilities.

Accommodation can be important for meeting licence conditions. Do not assume that probation can provide somewhere to live. Eligibility, risk assessment, local capacity and your individual circumstances matter.

See GOV.UK: help before leaving prison.

Information for victims

Eligible victims of specified serious violent or sexual offences may be offered the Victim Contact Scheme. A Victim Liaison Officer can provide information about sentence changes, parole and release, and pass on requests for conditions such as no contact or exclusion zones.

Victims can make representations, but they do not have an automatic right to decide release or licence conditions.

See GOV.UK: Victim Contact Scheme information.

If you are unhappy with a probation service, raise the issue with your probation practitioner, their manager or the local probation office first. If it is not resolved, use the Probation Service complaints procedure.

A complaint about service is different from challenging a licence condition, recall decision, release calculation or Parole Board decision. Get legal advice quickly for those issues because time limits can apply.

See GOV.UK: Probation Service complaints procedure.

Key points to remember

  • A sentence length alone does not tell you your release date.

  • Your release paperwork and written licence are the most important documents for your case.

  • Licence conditions are binding until they are formally changed or expire.

  • Contact probation immediately if you cannot meet a condition or attend an appointment.

  • A condition may be changed, but an informal agreement is not enough.

  • Recall is separate from receiving a new sentence for a further offence.

  • Make recall representations quickly and get legal advice.

  • When your licence ends, other legal requirements or court orders may still apply.

Official sources

This guide provides general information, not legal advice. Get advice from a qualified criminal or prison law solicitor about your sentence calculation, release date, licence, recall or Parole Board case.

About this information

Last updated:

Updates to this page

  1. This guide now explains that release dates and Parole Board involvement depend on sentence type, offence and sentencing date, not sentence length alone. It adds clearer information about licence conditions, changing conditions, recall, written representations, post sentence supervision, resettlement support and victim contact. It also flags major release rule changes scheduled from 01/10/2026.