How to Find Out When Someone Will Be Released From TDC in Texas

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDSJ), formerly known as the Texas Department of Corrections, manages inmates in the state's prisons, correctional facilities and jails. Through the TDSJ, the general public, the inmate’s family members and friends, and victims can find out the inmate's projected release date by using the agency’s inmate website search tool.

If an interested party does not have access to the website, they can call or email the TDCJ. When looking for an inmate in Texas, searchers need at least some information about the inmate, such as name and TDCJ number.

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice offers an inmate search service for the safety and convenience of the general public. While the TDCJ and the state of Texas believe the inmate information on the database to be current and accurate, it cannot guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of that information.

The TDCJ updates offender information on working days only. The information on its inmate search database is at least 24 hours old, so individuals picking up an inmate should call the unit before arrival. Only currently incarcerated inmates located in a TDCJ facility can be found through the offender locator. Information needed includes either the inmate's:

• Last name and at least the first letter of their first name.
• TDCJ number.
  
• SID (state identification) number.

The TDCJ’s online inmate search system is the easiest way to find information, but searchers can also retrieve it via e-mail or phone, provided they are specific in their request. This search service is free. They should include certain information in their email, including the inmate's:

• TDCJ number.
• Location in the TDCJ.
• Offense and conviction information.
• History of incarceration, including offense, county, and court of conviction in which the offender was incarcerated.
• Offense, court of conviction and county where offender is currently incarcerated.
• Projected release date.

The requestor must also include the offender’s full name. If they don’t have the inmate’s TDCJ number, they must provide the inmate’s exact date of birth, or their county of conviction and approximate age.

They must put the inmate's name in the subject line of the email. The TDCJ does not provide the public with an inmate’s photo or Social Security number.

An interested party can also call the agency’s offices during business hours from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday though Friday:

• Inmate parole review status (before vote by the Board of Pardons and Paroles for release): BPP status line at(844) 512-0461.
• Inmate parole release status (after vote by the Board of Pardons and Paroles for release): Parole Division status line 512-406-5202 (Austin). The TDCJ number, SID number or inmate’s birth date are required.
• Inmate locator and general information line: 936-295-6371 (Huntsville) or 800-535-0283.

Texas determines an offender’s projected release date by the nature of the offense and the date on which it occurred. If an offender committed an offense before September 1, 1996, they will be released on the projected release date if they are eligible for mandatory supervision and not paroled.

An inmate who commits an offense on or after that date will be released at the BPP’s discretion if they are eligible for mandatory supervision. For inmates who have not been approved for release, or for those ineligible for mandatory supervision, the projected release date is their discharge date.

If a person looking for an inmate does not find them in the TDCJ website database, the inmate may be confined in another facility. Interested parties can contact various agencies, such as Texas county jails/courts and city jails and other state law enforcement agencies. The TDSJ has links to U.S. Department of Corrections websites for other states.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons has records on federal inmates incarcerated from 1982 to present.

Under the First Step Act, inmate sentences are being recalculated and reviewed to address unresolved changes in Federal Time Credit so federal inmate release dates may not be current. Visitors to the website should check periodically check for any changes that may have have occurred.

In an effort to enhance public safety, and track and apprehend convicted sex offenders living in Texas who have absconded from their residences, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice provides the public with a database of information.

Individuals listed in the agency’s Sex Offender Absconder database have been adjudicated or convicted of a sex offense.

As with the inmate search database, the TDCJ and the state of Texas believe the inmate information to be current and accurate, it cannot guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of that information. It is only through fingerprint verification that an individual can link to a specific sex offender record.