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Paroling to Another State from Texas

Many people who live in another state are arrested in Texas while passing through. This can cause problems when it comes time for parole since parole usually requires a home address that can be visited and evaluated when it comes time for parole.

However, the rules in Texas allow for a potential parolee to ask to be paroled to another state and supervised there. This is due to an agreement between the states known as the Interstate Compact for Adult Offender Supervision.

All 50 states, Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, and the US Virgin Islands are all members of the compact so transfer to any of these locations is possible. 

At the discretion of the supervising (parole) officer, offenders who meet the following criteria are eligible for transfer:

(a) The offender has more than 90 days or an indefinite period of supervision remaining at the time the sending state transmits the transfer request; and

(b) has a valid plan of supervision; and

(c) is in substantial compliance with the terms of supervision in the sending state; and

(d) is a resident of the receiving state; or

(e) has family that is a resident of in the receiving state and who have indicated their willingness and ability to assist as specified in the plan of supervision; and

(f)  the offender can obtain employment in the receiving state or has means of support.

Pursuant to the terms of the compact the receiving state is required to complete investigation of the proposed plan of supervision and respond to a sending state’s request for an offender’s transfer of supervision no later than the 45th calendar day following receipt of a completed transfer request in the receiving state’s compact office. Generally, offenders eligible to transfer under the compact are not permitted to travel or relocate to the receiving state until the reporting instructions have been approved or until they have been accepted by the receiving state.

There are exceptions such as offenders living in the receiving state at sentencing and expedited request due to emergencies. The offender has no absolute right to transfer to another state, it is discretionary on the part of the transferring state as well as the receiving state as to whether or not it will be granted.

A receiving state shall supervise the offender transferred under the interstate compact in a manner determined by the receiving state and consistent with the supervision of other similar offenders sentenced in the receiving state. The offender must comply with any and all special conditions imposed by both the sending and receiving states.

Realistically, these requirements are not always met in time for the person to make parole and be transferred to the new state so it is important for the offender to make the request as early as possible, even before their time for parole has arrived. This can be done by letters to the main parole board in Austin as well as the one which will actually consider the offender's parole (the address for these is contained in our book How to Prepare a Texas Parole Packet as well as on the TDCJ website). In addition, duplicate letters should also be sent to the TDCJ Interstate Compact Office. Their address appears at the end of this article.

Since the procedure doesn't always proceed as quickly as it should, occasionally an offender asking for a transfer will arrive at their parole date without the transfer having been either approved or denied. If that happens then it is necessary for the offender to be paroled to a halfway house or another address while they wait for the transfer to be approved.

The transfer pursuant to the compact are overseen in Texas by the TDCJ Interstate Compact Office. Their contact information is:

TDCJ Interstate Compact Office

8712 Shoal Creek Blvd., Suite 290

Austin, Texas 78757

Telephone: (512) 406-5990

Fax Number: (512) 452-0469

Director and Deputy Compact Administrator: Regina Grimes

Deputy Compact Administrator for Probation and Parole of Offenders (by last name):

A-G, Sylvia Mokarzel

H-P, Jocelyn Angton

Q-Z, Henry Mitchell

Interstate Compact Commissioner: Steve Robinson

Interstate Compact Administrator: Stuart Jenkins

E-mail: texas.interstate@tdcj.state.tx.us






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