Eligibility is not release
Boards decide whether to grant parole. They can deny it or set another review. For example, in Texas, being eligible does not mean the Board will grant parole.[1]
How each state handles parole
| State | What the official source says |
|---|---|
| Alabama | Incentive time reduces the term served for eligible people. Parole is decided separately by the Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles. |
| Alaska | Good time shortens time in custody. People released on good time may be placed on mandatory parole for the deducted time. We have not yet confirmed those terms in statute text, so ask the Alaska Board of Parole about a specific case. |
| Arizona | Earned release credits "shall not reduce the term of imprisonment imposed by the court." [A.R.S. §41-1604.07] At the earned release date (or sentence expiration date), the person is released to the community supervision term ordered by the court, or to probation if the court waived community supervision. [A.R.S. §41-1604.07] |
| Arkansas | Good time moves up parole or transfer eligibility only. Discharge stays at the full sentence. [12 CAR §60-113] Transfer eligibility percentages come from statute and 12 CAR §60-110. |
| California | Credits move up the release date on determinate sentences. Prop 57 also created parole consideration for eligible people with nonviolent convictions, after they serve the full term for their primary offense. [CDCR: In-Prison Credit-Earning Opportunities] Indeterminate (life) sentences are decided by the Board of Parole Hearings. |
| Colorado | Earned time is deducted from the sentence, which moves up parole eligibility and mandatory release. The Parole Board decides discretionary parole. |
| Connecticut | RREC reduces the sentence. Under CGS §18-98e it also affects parole eligibility for some offenses. We could not load the statute text during this check. |
| Delaware | Good time reduces the sentence and is applied to the consolidated time for multiple sentences. [11 Del. C. §4381] |
| District of Columbia | Sentences under §24-403.01 are determinate, followed by supervised release. Older D.C. sentences may still be parole-eligible before the U.S. Parole Commission. |
| Florida | Gain-time moves the tentative release date earlier, down to the 85% floor. It does not create parole eligibility. We did not find a single official statement of which current sentences are parole-eligible, so we are not making a claim about parole here. Check with the Florida Commission on Offender Review. |
| Georgia | Parole eligibility and TPMs come from the Board. Without parole, people serve to the sentence's end. You can look up a TPM on the Board's website. [Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles: FAQ] |
| Hawaii | Judges impose the maximum term. The Hawai'i Paroling Authority sets the minimum term and decides parole. [Hawai'i HCR 23 Task Force memo] |
| Idaho | Parole or discharge can be considered at any time during the indeterminate part, at the Commission of Pardons and Parole's discretion. [Idaho Code §19-2513] |
| Illinois | Illinois abolished discretionary parole for most offenses. Sentence credit moves up the release date to mandatory supervised release. |
| Indiana | Credit time moves up release from a fixed term. Release is usually to parole or probation as provided in IC 35-50-6-1. [Indiana Code 35-50-6] Indiana courts also offer an official credit time calculator. |
| Iowa | Earned time reduces the sentence and moves up the discharge date. Parole is decided separately by the Iowa Board of Parole. |
| Kansas | Kansas sentencing-guidelines sentences have a prison part followed by postrelease supervision. Good time shortens the prison part, within the caps above. [K.S.A. 21-6821] |
| Kentucky | Credits come off the sentence, which moves up the release date. Parole eligibility is set separately and decided by the Kentucky Parole Board. |
| Louisiana | People released early on good time are supervised as if on parole until the full term ends (R.S. 15:571.5). [La. R.S. 15:571.3.1] |
| Maine | Maine abolished parole for crimes committed after May 1976. Deductions move up the release date at the end of the prison term. |
| Maryland | Diminution credits move up the mandatory supervision release date. Parole eligibility is set separately and decided by the Maryland Parole Commission. See our Maryland page for the Second Look Act. |
| Massachusetts | Discharge: deductions come off the maximum term, and a certificate of discharge is issued on the new date. [Mass. Gen. Laws c.127 §129D] |
| Michigan | Michigan uses indeterminate sentences. People become parole-eligible at the minimum and can be held to the maximum. Disciplinary time is considered by the parole board but does not automatically extend the minimum. [MCL 800.34] |
| Minnesota | There is no discretionary parole for these sentences. Release to supervised release comes at the two-thirds point, unless extended for discipline. [Minn. Stat. §244.101] The court must explain the prison and supervised release portions at sentencing. [Minn. Stat. §244.101] |
| Mississippi | People released early are on earned-release supervision until the term ends. It works like parole supervision. [Miss. Code §47-5-138] |
| Missouri | Parole eligibility depends on Missouri's minimum prison term rules (such as §558.019) and the Parole Board. Those rules are complex and we have not summarized them here. |
| Montana | Parole eligibility: one-fourth of the full term for time sentences, and 30 years for life. [MCA §46-23-201] |
| Nebraska | Total reductions are subtracted from the maximum term to set the date when discharge becomes mandatory. [Neb. Rev. Stat. §83-1,107] Parole eligibility on the minimum term is set by other sections and decided by the Board of Parole. |
| Nevada | Discharge: credits come off the maximum term. [NRS 209.4465] |
| New Hampshire | Because credits cut the minimum, they move up parole eligibility. Because they cut the maximum, they move up final discharge. [RSA 651-A:22-a] |
| New Jersey | The "book" parole eligibility date uses jail credit plus commutation credit, then earned work and minimum credits. [NJ State Parole Board: Parole Eligibility Basic Calculations] The Parole Board decides release. |
| New Mexico | EMD shortens the prison term, which moves up release to parole. The Parole Board sets conditions. |
| New York | Indeterminate: parole eligibility at the minimum (or the merit date). The Board of Parole decides. Conditional release at two-thirds of the maximum is not discretionary. [NYS DOCCS: Serving a Sentence] |
| North Carolina | Structured sentencing has no discretionary parole. Release falls somewhere between the minimum and the maximum, depending on earned time. Felony sentences are followed by post-release supervision. [N.C. Gen. Stat. §15A-1340.13] |
| North Dakota | Good time shortens the sentence. Parole is decided separately by the Parole Board. |
| Ohio | Earned credit counts toward satisfying the stated prison term, so it moves up release. [Ohio Rev. Code §2967.194] Indefinite (Reagan Tokes) sentences and parole-eligible life sentences follow other rules that we have not summarized here. |
| Oklahoma | Earned credits are deducted from the maximum term, which moves up discharge. Parole eligibility is set separately. [SB 1213 enrolled] |
| Oregon | Earned time shortens the term of incarceration, which moves up release to post-prison supervision. [ORS 421.121] |
| Pennsylvania | PA sentences have a minimum and a maximum. Parole eligibility is at the minimum (or the RRRI minimum), and the Parole Board decides release. People not paroled serve to the maximum. |
| Rhode Island | Deductions come off the term of sentence, so they move up the release date. Parole is decided separately by the Parole Board. [R.I. Gen. Laws §42-56-24] |
| South Carolina | 85% rule: people convicted of a no parole offense are not eligible for early release, discharge or community supervision until they serve 85% of the actual term, counted without work, education or good conduct credits. [S.C. Code ch. 24-13] |
| South Dakota | The grid sets the initial parole eligibility date. Release depends on compliance and the Board of Pardons and Paroles process. [SDCL §24-15A-32] |
| Tennessee | Credits reduce the time served. In some cases (such as certain life sentences) they also move up release eligibility. Parole is decided by the Board of Parole. |
| Texas | Parole eligibility: for most other people, eligibility comes when calendar time served plus good conduct time equals one-fourth of the sentence or 15 years, whichever is less. [Tex. Gov't Code ch. 508] Being eligible does not mean the Board will grant parole. |
| Utah | By statute, people serve the maximum unless the Board grants earlier release. The Board considers harm to the victim, prison behavior, treatment or education progress, and criminal history. [Utah Board of Pardons and Parole: Offenders and Family] |
| Vermont | Earned time reduces both the minimum (which affects parole and furlough eligibility) and the maximum (which affects discharge). [28 V.S.A. §818] |
| Virginia | Virginia abolished discretionary parole for felonies on or after Jan 1, 1995. Earned sentence credits are how release dates move. See our Virginia page for HB 361 (pretrial time counts toward credit from July 1, 2028). |
| Washington | Washington's determinate sentences end in community custody, not parole. Earned release time moves up the transfer to community custody or release. [RCW 9.94A.729] |
| West Virginia | Good time sets the minimum discharge date (the maximum term minus good time). Each person gets a statement with their sentence and minimum discharge date. [W. Va. Code §15A-4-17] Parole eligibility on indeterminate sentences is decided separately by the Parole Board. |
| Wisconsin | There is no parole for bifurcated sentences. Release to extended supervision comes when the confinement term ends. [Wis. Stat. §973.01] Older (pre-2000) sentences may still be parole-eligible. |
| Wyoming | Good time can move up parole eligibility (if taken off the minimum) and discharge (if taken off the maximum), depending on the rules. [Wyo. Stat. §7-13-420] |
51 jurisdictions listed. Each row quotes our state page, which cites the statute or agency page. A summary is not legal advice.