MDOC Release and Discharge Paths
The Mississippi Department of Corrections operates the state prison system. A person committed after sentencing in Forrest County may be confined at any MDOC institution, including a community work center when eligible. The county of conviction field links the state record to Forrest County. It does not mean the person is housed in the county. The location and unit fields identify the reported state placement.
An institutional departure may lead to another MDOC unit, parole, earned release supervision, another community placement, a transfer to a different authority, or discharge. These terms describe different legal states. Parole depends on the Mississippi State Parole Board and continues under supervision. ERS is an eligible state release path with MDOC supervision. Discharge documents completion of the applicable sentence or supervision. A transfer closes one placement but continues custody.
For county-only bookings, use the Forrest County Adult Detention Center record instead. A person who posted bond before any MDOC commitment may have no MDOC record for that event. The state search is appropriate when a sentence placed the person in MDOC custody or the county release entry says the person was remanded to the state.
Confirm a Mississippi DOC Release
Start at the official MDOC Inmate Search. An MDOC number gives the cleanest match. If only a name is known, compare the date of birth, physical description, photograph, sentence, offense, and county of conviction. Names alone are not enough because the search can return more than one person.
- Enter the MDOC number or the person's name in the state search.
- Open the matching detail and verify identity before reading status.
- Compare county of conviction, sentence date, offense, and total sentence length.
- Read location, unit, and location-change date without calling the change a release.
- Preserve the exact wording of any parole, ERS, release, or discharge status.
- Request a discharge certificate or time sheet when the public page does not prove completion.
A public record can remain searchable after institutional release, so it can help trace a Forrest County state prisoner after the county jail roster changes. Still, the page is not a substitute for a final agency document. The Forrest County release search shows how to connect a county booking record and court judgment to the later MDOC record.
“Tentative Release Date” is a computed MDOC field, not proof that release or discharge occurred.
Forrest County MDOC Search Fields
The MDOC detail observed during research presents identity, placement, sentence, and date information in one record. Read related fields together. A county of conviction connects the state sentence to Forrest County, while current location may be far from Hattiesburg. A photograph can support identity matching, but it does not establish current custody on its own.
| Field group | Use and limit |
|---|---|
| MDOC ID and name | Identify the state record and support a precise records request. |
| Birth and physical fields | Help distinguish namesakes when used with sentence data. |
| Entry date | Shows entry into the MDOC record, not a county booking date. |
| Location and unit | Identify the reported placement within the statewide system. |
| Location-change date | Dates a placement change, which may only be a transfer. |
| Sentence and offense | Show conviction county, sentence date, length, and offense details. |
| Tentative Release Date | Reports a current calculation that may change. |
The exact tentative-date label must remain intact. MDOC also calculates ERS and maximum dates. Each has a separate role. An actual release, parole placement, or discharge should be recorded separately when the system supplies it. If the result does not say enough, the Records Department can confirm which public document is available.
MDOC Records and Contact
State release proof comes from MDOC, not the Forrest County Sheriff. Ask for a defined document, such as a discharge certificate, sentence or time sheet, or public status and release history. Provide the full name and MDOC number. Request electronic delivery when available, ask for an estimate first, and ask the custodian to identify any legal basis for a redaction.
MDOC Records Department
P.O. Box 24388
Jackson, MS 39225
601-933-2889
MDOCRecordsDepartment@mdoc.state.ms.us
The published administrative schedule states a $2 minimum, $0.25 per letter-size page, $0.35 per legal-size page, $10 per staff hour, and postage. An estimate may be prepaid by cashier's check or money order. Costs and procedures can change, so verify the estimate before payment. MDOC rules describe active and inactive offender master files as public subject to exemptions, including files for people discharged by sentence expiration or after completing supervision.
The Mississippi Public Records Act supports requests for nonexempt records. Protected medical, victim, security, and personal information can be removed. Ask for separable public portions rather than assuming that one protected field closes the entire file.
How MDOC Release Dates Work
MDOC computes sentence dates from the judgment, eligible jail credit, and state law. The department says ERS, tentative release, and maximum release dates are calculated at sentencing. Those figures may change because of corrected jail credit, another sentence, a court order, statutory eligibility, classification, discipline, loss or restoration of credits, a revocation, or a detainer.
Mississippi Code section 47-5-138 governs earned time and must be read with section 47-5-139, which addresses ineligible categories. The common 85 percent shorthand is not a release promise. It reflects a statutory floor in relevant cases, while the sentence date, offense, amendments, credits, and holds still matter. MDOC performs the calculation.
A pretrial detainee at Forrest County Adult Detention Center generally has no MDOC tentative date. Bond, court orders, case resolution, and local holds control that custody. Applying the state-prison formula to a local pretrial booking produces the wrong answer. Note: The sentencing court supplies the judgment, but MDOC computes the state term and documents discharge.
MDOC Supervision After Release
A person can live outside an institution while remaining under MDOC Community Corrections. The state unit supervises parole, probation, ERS, and other community placements. First identify the label. Probation is generally imposed by a court. Parole follows confinement and requires a Parole Board decision. ERS is a distinct state pathway. Calling every community status “parole” can send a request to the wrong office.
The supervising office follows the approved residence and case assignment, not always the Forrest County conviction. MDOC publishes a Forrest Probation and Parole Office, but a person can be assigned elsewhere after residence approval or transfer. Ask MDOC Community Corrections to identify the proper office only after matching the offender record.
- Parole
- Conditional release approved by the State Parole Board with continued supervision.
- Probation
- Court-ordered community supervision that can replace or follow confinement.
- ERS
- An MDOC earned release supervision path for eligible people.
- Discharge
- Documented completion of the sentence or the applicable supervision term.
A missing public result does not prove supervision ended. Obtain a discharge document or court entry when completion matters.
County Jail and MDOC Overlap
Forrest County's correctional landscape includes the county Adult Detention Center and the state Community Work Center. Both are in the Hattiesburg area, but the custody systems do not merge. Sheriff records cover the county booking. MDOC records cover a state commitment and later state status. A single case can move through both systems, with the county release record naming MDOC as the receiving agency.
Follow identifiers across the handoff. The booking number and local case number support the county request. The MDOC number supports the state search. A court judgment explains why the person was committed, while the MDOC record shows placement and calculated dates. If a person leaves JailTracker but then appears in MDOC, the county event was a transfer, not a street release.
The Forrest County Community Work Center adds another local source of confusion. A move away from the center can be an internal MDOC reassignment. Use the statewide search even though the facility is local, and seek discharge proof when the final status is not plain.
MDOC Federal and ICE Transfers
A completed MDOC event does not necessarily end all custody. Another state, federal authority, or ICE may have a detainer. If a state record or release document names USMS, use the federal court and U.S. Marshals channels. The Marshals Service manages federal prisoners from arrest through court and transfer to a designated prison. The BOP locator applies after a person enters federal prison custody.
If ICE is named, search the Online Detainee Locator System and use ICE detention-information contacts. The state record establishes when MDOC relinquished custody. The federal or immigration record addresses the next status. Neither record alone describes the full chain.
No federal prison or verified ICE detention site was identified in Forrest County. These are receiving systems, not local MDOC institutions. The receiving-agency field is still essential because it prevents an agency transfer from being mislabeled as community release.
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