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PrisonCheck
What this actually means
Families hear a date early and treat it as fixed. It is not. Offence type, SDS40 eligibility, HDC and behaviour all move it.
Use a calculator to get oriented. Then treat the prison’s figure as the only operational date.
The useful work before release is practical: ID, an address, a phone, a bank account. The date is the last thing, not the first.
Official
How release dates are set
- For many standard determinate sentences, automatic release is at the halfway point — then licence until the end of the sentence.
- Some sentences now release at 40% (SDS40). Some serious offences release at two-thirds.
- Time spent on remand usually counts towards the sentence.
- Home Detention Curfew (tag) can bring some people out earlier. It is not automatic.
- Only the prison / offender manager can confirm the actual date. Calculators are estimates.
Source: HMPPS / GOV.UK · Last checked: September 2026
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