Search Kentucky DOC Releases

Kentucky DOC Release Routes

The Kentucky Department of Corrections manages state sentences, institutions, contract county-jail placements, and community supervision. A Knox conviction does not mean a person serves time in Knox County. No adult state prison appears in Knox County on the official institution list. A state prisoner can be assigned elsewhere or remain in a county jail as a state inmate.

State release can mean discharge at sentence completion, parole, mandatory reentry supervision, shock probation, home incarceration, or another authorized status. Transfer between institutions is not release. The Kentucky Online Offender Lookup, known as KOOL, identifies location, custody, and supervision for people within DOC’s public data. The dated Daily Releases archive records state release events.

Search Kentucky DOC Records

KOOL accepts first, middle, and last name, aliases, offender type, DOC or PID number, supervision status, location, county of supervision, demographics, offense data, conviction data, institution or supervision dates, and a Projected Release Date range. A number search is the strongest match. For a name search, compare the photograph, identifiers, conviction county, and location before treating the result as the same person.

1. Open the official KOOL search.
2. Use DOC or PID number when known.
3. Otherwise search a full name and narrow carefully.
4. Read status, location, and sentence dates together.
5. Check Daily Releases for the actual dated event.

A detail can show Expected Time To Serve, Minimum Expiration of Sentence Date, Parole Eligibility Date, Maximum Expiration, supervision begin and end dates, offenses, and location. Those labels are not interchangeable. Eligibility is not release. A minimum expiration date can reflect credits and may change. A supervision end date is not complete discharge until DOC records it as such.

Knox DOC Daily Releases

The official daily PDFs list DOC number, last name, first name, middle name, type of release, released-from location, and highest felony class. Reports can name Knox County Detention Center because Kentucky sometimes houses a state-sentenced person there. That entry does not turn the report into a complete Knox County release log.

Release types can include discharge at minimum expiration, mandatory reentry supervision in state, shock probation in state, and other distinct legal events. Preserve the exact wording. A Daily Releases row provides a dated state event, while KOOL provides the broader active record. Use both when the person is still supervised after leaving physical custody.

Weekends, holidays, publication schedules, and corrections can affect which report appears. Search the relevant dated PDFs rather than assuming the newest file covers a fixed rolling window. Ordinary recognizance and local bond releases belong to the jail and court path.

Kentucky DOC Release Dates

Kentucky exposes several dates that answer different questions. Expected Time To Serve characterizes the term. Minimum Expiration of Sentence Date is labeled as the Good Time Release Date. Parole Eligibility Date marks when parole can be considered, not when it will occur. Maximum Expiration marks the sentence endpoint under the record as calculated.

Sentence credits are governed by KRS 197.045. Special restrictions for defined violent offenders appear in KRS 439.3401. These laws do not yield one universal date for every Knox County person. Court orders, credit changes, detainers, parole decisions, and other lawful events may alter the path.

The Knox County projected release date page explains those labels in detail. For an actual past event, prefer the Daily Releases report or an official DOC release document.

Kentucky DOC Supervision Status

Leaving a prison does not always end DOC authority. KOOL may show parole, probation, mandatory reentry supervision, pretrial diversion, or an absconded status with an office and begin or end dates. Kentucky’s Parole Board makes parole decisions, while DOC Probation and Parole supervises people in the community.

Knox County is served by District 10 in London. Do not assume the county of conviction matches the county of supervision. Read the individual KOOL location before calling. “ABSCONDED” means the supervision authority reports noncompliance or unknown whereabouts. It is not proof of present jail custody and does not show whether another agency later made an arrest.

Mandatory reentry supervision under KRS 439.3406 is a statutory release mechanism for qualifying people and is not the same as discretionary parole or final discharge.

Kentucky DOC Release Records

KOOL is strongest for active incarceration, state inmates in county jails, and people still under DOC supervision. No official source promises that every fully discharged former prisoner remains searchable, and KOOL does not supply a universal historic actual-release field. When the public search is silent, request the release or discharge document and movement history.

The DOC open-records page lists separate channels for public and inmate records. Include full name and date of birth or offender ID, define the date range, and request the release type, releasing institution, movement history, and supervision start or end record. DOC publishes correctionsopenrecords@ky.gov and requires a mailing address in the request.

Published contacts are Offender Information Services at 502-564-2433, public open records at 502-782-2229, and inmate-record open records at 502-782-2370. Fees and submission details can change, so verify them on the official page. Kentucky law permits exemptions and redactions; a missing public result is not proof that no state record exists.

Confirm Knox State Release

Start with KOOL, then use the dated Daily Releases archive and Kentucky VINE. VINE can report release and transfer events, but an alert should be corroborated. Kentucky DOC documented false state-custody release alerts after a vendor incident in February 2026 and directed recipients to official release data.

For a state person housed at Knox County Detention Center, compare DOC records with the jail’s departure entry. If the person was only a local detainee, use the Knox detention release record path instead. A court file can explain shock probation or another judicial order, but DOC confirms its own movement and supervision data.

Note: A state transfer ends custody at one location without ending Kentucky DOC custody.

DOC Identity And Location

A KOOL location must be read as the current state record, not as the place where the Knox case began. Record the DOC and PID numbers, the institution or supervision location, and the date checked. If the listed location is a county jail, contact that facility for day-to-day release logistics while DOC remains the sentence-record custodian.

A photograph and aliases can help separate people with similar names. Conviction county, offense, sentence length, and demographic fields provide further checks. Never rely on one matching name. When public data conflicts with a court judgment or a dated release report, ask DOC to reconcile its own record.