Certificate of Good Conduct

Once the waiting period has passed, request the application by mailing a request to:

Certificate Review Unit
New York State Division of Parole
845 Central Avenue
Albany, NY 12206
(518) 485-8953

The Certificate Review Unit will mail you an application that is about 6 pages long. Complete the form to the best of your ability, and make sure you list all the prisons and jails in which you have been incarcerated. You must have the form notarized before mailing it back to the Certificate Review Unit in Albany.

If you have worked in the last three years, you will have to provide proof that you have paid income taxes.  The Certificate Review Unit will look over your application to make sure that you are eligible to apply for a Certificate of Good Conduct and then will assign your application to a parole officer in the county where you live.  The parole officer will conduct an investigation into your rehabilitation.  He or she will want to meet with you in your home.  After the investigation, the parole officer will send a report to the Parole Board and will recommend whether or not you should be granted a Certificate.  The Board will consider the report at one of its monthly meetings and will send you notification of its decision by mail.

It takes at least 6 months to obtain a Certificate of Good Conduct.  If you need your Certificate in a hurry, you should explain why in a letter when you send the Certificate Review Unit your completed application form.  When a job or occupational license is at stake, they make every effort to speed up the application process.