Self-Surrender Checklist: Top 10 Steps Before Federal Prison

If you’re self-surrendering to federal prison, you need to prepare. You need a self-surrender checklist that helps prepare you and helps handle all the boring stuff—money, contacts, medical, books—so you don’t create problems on day one.

This is the self-surrender checklist I’d want in my pocket before walking in.

1) Document Your Time Starting Day One

• Values / Goals • Prior to surrendering, begin with a clear definition of what success looks like. Try to identify the values by which you profess to live. Write your values out and discuss them with those in your closest circles. Let them know what’s important to you and invite them to hold you accountable for how you will use your time productively. • Establish clearly defined goals within each value category. Create timelines that determine success dates for goals you articulate. This process helps you restore confidence and a sense of self-direction through the journey. •This process shows your commitment to advance through the prison term in a deliberate, methodical manner. The process also will provide your support group with a workable plan to ensure you never sink into a depression.
  
• Pick a format: handwritten journal or email.
  
• Write your first entry before you surrender.
  
• If you want a public place to keep it organized, document it at PrisonProfessors.org.
  

2) Choose One Primary Point Of Contact (POC)

• Make sure your finance are in order and you have one primary point of contact. Finances include the resources you need at home or in prison. Individuals who have not created a finance plan prior to surrender endure incomprehensible stress inside. That stress can lead to problems because the individual may say the wrong things over the phone or through email. Individuals who do not understand the nuances of conducting business while incarcerated can find themselves facing disciplinary infractions that can result in their loss of communication privileges for an extended period of time. Those who lack financial resources will not be able to access amenities that include email or commissary. As with anywhere else in America, money makes life easier. An individual should live with a budget in mind. During my imprisonment, I spent approximately $600 per month. But I was extremely active, writing books and blogs. Accordingly, my expenditures were on the high end. The low end of expenditures would be around $100 per month. An individual who wants to maximize use of telephone time, email time, and commissary should anticipate needing an average of between $300 and $400 per month. Finally, another issue to consider prior to surrendering to prison concerns outside bank accounts. Many financial institutions may provide quite surprising notice that they no longer want to do business with a convicted felon. Banks and brokerage houses may close accounts. In anticipation of this possibility, your point of contact may need to switch banks, quickly. In some cases, it may be wise to remove your name from an account. In others, you may want to have a candid discussion with your representative at each institution. Do not underestimate the importance of preparing. Shortly after I went to prison Bank of America and Merrill Lynch froze my accounts. Had I had a point of contact with a power of attorney, I would have been in a stronger position to respond.
  

3) How to send money)

• Get your accounts organized so bills don’t become a mess.
  
• Budget commissary: $300–$500/month (depends on your situation and facility).
  
• Set up permissions:
  
  • Power of Attorney (financial and/or limited)
    
  • bill pay
    
  • passwords stored securely
    
  • a written list of recurring expenses + due dates
    

Send Money Electronically (Western Union Quick Collect)

Prisoners can receive funds at a BOP facility, deposited into commissary.

• Funds are processed 7 days/week, including holidays
  
• Funds sent 7:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m. EST often post within 2–4 hours
  
• Funds sent after 9:00 p.m. EST post at 7:00 a.m. EST the next morning
  

Steps:

1. Wait until the prisoner physically arrives at a BOP facility. Locate Prisoner Whereabouts
   
2. Gather the info you’ll need. View Details
   
3. Send funds in person, by phone, or online. View Details
   

Send Money By Mail (Post Office / Lockbox)

Only send an acceptable negotiable instrument:

• Money Order
  
• U.S. Government Check
  
• Cashier’s check / certified check / bank draft
  

Required (print legibly) — on the instrument AND on the outside of the envelope:

• Prisoner’s full committed name (no nicknames)
  
• Prisoner’s eight-digit register number
  

Holds:

• Non-U.S. postal money orders and non-government checks: 15-day hold
  
• Foreign negotiable instruments payable in U.S. dollars: 45-day hold
  

Hard rules:

• NO personal checks
  
• NO cash
  
• NO additional items (they can be disposed of)
  

Mailing format (copy this exactly):

Federal Bureau of Prisons (my personal example below; insert your information, of course)

Justin Paperny

#44499-112

Post Office Box 474701

Des Moines, Iowa 50947-0001

Questions about a specific deposit?

• Call 202-307-2712 between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. ET
  

4) Build Your Reading List The Right Way

• Create a reading list aligns with your goals.
  
• Tell your family the ordering rules (facility rules vary—follow them):
  
  • order through approved vendors
    
  • send no more than five books at a time
    
• Again, pick books that will help prepare you for life after prison:
  
  • teach a skill you can practice
    
  • sharpen how you think (not just entertainment)
    
  • give you material to write about and discuss
• Consider writing a book report about each book: why did you read it, what did you learn from the book and how will the book help you moving forward.
  

5) Plan your writing routine before you arrive

• Decide why you’re writing:
  
  • to avoid wasting days on autopilot
    
  • to send home something real besides “I’m fine”
    
  • to create material you can use later (work, school, speaking, reputation)
    
• Pick a schedule you can keep when you’re tired:
  
  • 20 minutes every morning, or
    
  • one page a day, or
    
  • one weekly recap every Sunday
    
• Keep it simple: what happened, what you did, what you learned, what you’ll do tomorrow.
  

6) Prepare Personal Belongings and Key Documents

• Research what your designated facility allows (don’t guess). Typically, you can bring some cash, release plan, contact list, medications, bible, wedding ring. Bring your ID! The probation report may list other items you can bring, like special shoes, CPAP machine and more. You may also wear a wedding ring as long as conditions apply. BOP policy holds that the item should not have a valuation of $100. That policy has been in place for longer than 20 years. Officials are not going to request a receipt to show the value, but don’t bring anything that is too flamboyant. In no case can the wedding ring or necklace have any gemstones.
• You may bring an inexpensive watch, sneakers, or sweats, but understand the staff may or may not allow you to enter the prison with those items. It depends on the institution and on the staff member who is on duty. Do not bring any checks, cellphones, credit cards, or any of the instruments that you take for granted in society.
  
• Create a documents folder for your property and family:
  
  • ID copies
    
  • diploma / certifications (copies)
    
  • key phone numbers (printed)
    
  • addresses you’ll need
    
• Pack conservatively. If you’re debating it, don’t bring it.
  

7) Handle Medical Preparations

• Bring copies (not originals) when possible:
  
  • medical summary
    
  • current prescriptions
    
  • physician contact info
    
• Write a one-page intake summary:
  
  • diagnoses
    
  • meds + dosage
    
  • allergies
    
  • surgeries
    
• Assume intake will be slow. Your preparation prevents delays and confusion.
  

8) Create a Communication Plan Your Family Can Execute

• Build your contact list now: names, phone numbers, addresses, emails. You can add up to 30 people.
  
• Set expectations:
  
  • phone access won’t be immediate
    
  • email runs through TRULINCS and takes time to set up
    
  • mail is slow and inconsistent
    
• Give your family a simple “first two weeks” plan so they know you will hit the ground running. Prison will he harder on them. Set the tone.
  

9) Write Your Quadrant Guide (decision filter)

Before you do anything inside, ask: what’s the risk if this goes wrong, and what’s the reward if this goes right?

• High risk / low reward: smuggling a phone, skipping your job, wandering into a dorm you don’t belong in.
  
• Low risk / low reward: TV every night, endless laps, endless talk about the old life—safe, but nothing to show for it.
  
• High risk / high reward: documenting your time publicly (if appropriate). Risk: staff may read it; if you quit, the gap looks bad. Upside: a visible track record.
  
• Low risk / high reward: reading with purpose—then sharing what you’re learning with your family.
  

10) Engineer Your Release Plan Now

• Start with the end in mind:
  
  • where you’ll live
    
  • where you’ll work
    
  • who will support you
    
  • what you’ll do in the first 30/60/90 days to earn trust back
    
• Build a timeline and share it with stakeholders, including your case manager.
  
  • first 30 days inside
    
  • first 90 days
    
  • first year
    
• If you can’t point to what you did last week, it’s going to be hard to persuade anyone later.
  

Self-Surrender Checklist FAQs