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Category A is the highest security, for prisoners whose escape would be highly dangerous. Category B holds those who don't need maximum security but for whom escape must be very difficult. Category C is the largest group training prisons for those not considered an escape risk. Category D is open conditions trusted prisoners in the final stages of their sentence. The category system applies to adult male prisoners in England and Wales. Women, young offenders, and prisoners in Scotland and Northern Ireland use separate systems.
The prison category system in England and Wales is a risk-based classification framework used by His Majesty's Prison and Probation Service to decide where a prisoner should be held and under what conditions. It was formally established under the Prison Rules 1999 and is governed in practice by HMPPS's Security Categorisation Policy Framework, most recently updated in April 2025.
The underlying principle is simple: every prisoner should be held in the lowest level of security that is consistent with managing the risks they present. This serves two purposes simultaneously. It protects the public by ensuring genuinely dangerous prisoners are held in genuinely secure conditions. And it enables rehabilitation by placing prisoners who are not a significant risk in environments where education, work, and resettlement programmes can operate effectively.
There are approximately 88,000 prisoners in England and Wales at any given time. They are spread across around 120 establishments, with roughly 12% in Category A conditions, around 25% in Category B, around 45% in Category C, and around 10% in Category D open conditions. The remaining prisoners are in specialist establishments including women's prisons, young offender institutions, and immigration removal centres.
Category A is the highest security classification in the adult male estate. It applies to prisoners whose escape would be highly dangerous to the public, the police, or national security. This is not simply about offence type, it is a risk-based assessment that considers the specific danger an individual prisoner would pose if at large. In practice, Category A prisoners are typically those convicted of terrorism, murder, serious organised crime, rape, or offences against national security, though the category is determined by risk rather than automatically by offence.
Category A prisoners are held in the High Security Estate, a network of seven specialist establishments that are part of a distinct operational structure within HMPPS. These prisons are subject to more rigorous physical security, more intensive monitoring, and stricter controls on all communications and visits than any other part of the prison system.
Within Category A, there are three sub-classifications that reflect different levels of risk:
Standard Category A
Applies to prisoners who meet the Category A threshold but are considered manageable within normal high-security conditions. This is the most common sub-classification.
High Category A
Applies to prisoners who present a greater risk than standard Category A and for whom escape must be made even more difficult. The physical security and monitoring applied to this group is enhanced beyond standard Category A conditions.
Exceptional Risk
Is the rarest and most restrictive sub-classification, applied to a very small number of prisoners whose escape would present a catastrophic risk. An exceptional risk prisoner may be subject to conditions not seen anywhere else in the estate. This classification has been applied to only a handful of prisoners in the history of the system.
The High Security Estate
The seven prisons that make up the High Security Estate are HMP Belmarsh in London, HMP Frankland in County Durham, HMP Full Sutton in East Yorkshire, HMP Long Lartin in Worcestershire, HMP Manchester (Strangeways) in Greater Manchester, HMP Wakefield in West Yorkshire, and HMP Whitemoor in Cambridgeshire. Each specialises to some degree — Wakefield holds a large proportion of sex offenders, Belmarsh serves the London courts and holds terrorism suspects, and Full Sutton has a particular focus on life-sentenced prisoners.
The Close Supervision Centre
Within the Category A estate sits an even more restrictive unit, the Close Supervision Centre. CSCs exist at HMP Wakefield and HMP Woodhill and hold a small number of prisoners who cannot safely be managed even on a standard Category A wing. The CSC is effectively a prison within a prison: limited interaction with other prisoners, restricted activities, and heavily constrained communication. A prisoner held in the CSC is subject to some of the most restricted conditions in the UK penal system.
What Category A means for families
Visiting a Category A prisoner involves more rigorous security checks than at any other category. All visitors must be on the prisoner's approved visitor list and undergo a security vetting process. At some high-security establishments this vetting can take several weeks. Approved visitors are subject to enhanced searching including, at some prisons, biometric registration on the first visit. Phones are usually available but the vetting process for new approved numbers can take significantly longer than at lower-category prisons, allow up to two weeks at a Category A establishment, particularly if the prisoner has recently arrived.
Category B prisoners do not require the maximum security conditions of Category A, but their escape must still be made very difficult. The category covers a wide range of prisoners, from those who are one step below the Category A threshold, to remand prisoners awaiting trial at local prisons, to convicted prisoners who are early in longer sentences and whose risk has not yet been reduced through engagement with programmes.
Category B prisons fall into two broad types. Local prisons serve the courts in their area, receiving newly arrested remand prisoners and newly sentenced convicts before they are moved to a category-appropriate establishment. They tend to be older Victorian-era buildings in city centres, places like HMP Leeds (Armley), HMP Liverpool, HMP Manchester (Strangeways), HMP Pentonville in London, and HMP Winchester. Local prisons are often crowded and have fewer facilities than training prisons. They are typically a short-term destination rather than a place where long sentences are served.
Category B training prisons are larger establishments where medium and longer sentenced prisoners are held once initial categorisation is complete. They offer more extensive education and work programmes than local prisons. Examples include HMP Stocken in Rutland and HMP Swinfen Hall in Staffordshire.
What Category B means for families
Visiting arrangements at Category B prisons vary considerably depending on whether the establishment is a busy local prison or a training prison. Local prisons in particular can be difficult to visit, often located in dense urban areas with limited parking, older visiting facilities, and high volumes of prisoners being processed simultaneously. The visiting experience at a modern Category B training prison is usually considerably better. Phone access at Category B local prisons typically relies on communal wing phones during association periods, which means calls are constrained to specific windows during the day. PIN list approval usually takes a few days, though the security vetting is less intensive than at Category A.
Category C is the largest classification in the adult male estate, covering approximately 45% of all prisoners. It applies to prisoners who cannot be trusted in open conditions but who are not considered a significant escape risk. Most men serving sentences of more than a year or two will spend the bulk of their time in a Category C establishment.Category C prisons are often referred to as training prisons because their primary function is rehabilitation, equipping prisoners with the skills, qualifications, and support they need to rebuild their lives after release. Work programmes in Category C prisons range from manufacturing, construction, and engineering to catering, IT, and customer service. Education provision typically includes basic literacy and numeracy through to vocational qualifications and, in some establishments, degree-level study. Offending behaviour programmes addressing drug misuse, violence, or sexual offending are also delivered at Category C level.
Many of the newest prisons in England and Wales, HMP Five Wells, HMP Fosse Way, and HMP Millsike, are Category C resettlement prisons, specifically designed for prisoners in the final stages of their sentence who are focused on preparing for release in the local area. These prisons place particular emphasis on employment, housing, and community connections.Category C and the Release on Temporary Licence schemeRelease on Temporary Licence allows Category C prisoners who have been assessed as low risk to work, study, or carry out community service outside the prison during the day, returning each evening. ROTL is an important part of the resettlement process, building employment history and community connections before full release. Not all Category C prisoners are eligible for ROTL, it requires a risk assessment and a specific licence application, but it is most commonly available at Category C level rather than at higher categories.
What Category C means for families
Category C prisons generally offer the best communication experience in the closed estate. Modern Category C prisons, particularly those opened in the last decade, often have in-cell phone systems that allow calls at any time within a wide daily window, rather than restricting calls to association periods. Visiting facilities at newer Category C establishments tend to be more comfortable, with family-friendly environments, on-site support services, and in some cases extended visiting hours including evening sessions. The security vetting process for new phone contacts typically takes two to five days — faster than at Category A or B prisons.
Category D is the lowest security classification. Open prisons hold prisoners who can be reasonably trusted not to attempt escape, those who, by definition, present a low enough risk that they do not need to be held behind a perimeter wall. Most Category D prisoners are in the final months of their sentence, and the open prison environment is designed specifically to support their transition back into the community.
Life in an open prison is deliberately more similar to life on the outside than in any other part of the prison system. Prisoners typically sleep in dormitories rather than locked cells. They may have personal clothing rather than prison-issue clothing. Many are allowed to leave the prison for work, education, or community service during the day, returning in the evening. Some open prisons allow weekend home leave for eligible prisoners in the final weeks before release, enabling family relationships to be rebuilt in a normal environment before the sentence ends.
There are approximately 12 to 14 open prisons in England and Wales, including HMP Ford in West Sussex, HMP Leyhill in Gloucestershire, and HMP Sudbury in Derbyshire. Northallerton and Kirkham are among others. Women's open prisons include HMP East Sutton Park in Kent.
Who gets to Category D?
Movement to open conditions is not automatic. A prisoner must be assessed as suitable for Category D through a formal recategorisation process, taking into account the nature of the offence, the risk to the public, the prisoner's behaviour and engagement with programmes, and the Parole Board's view where relevant. For life-sentenced prisoners, Parole Board approval is typically required before a move to open conditions. For determinate-sentence prisoners, the decision is made by a categorisation board within the prison system, though subject to clear HMPPS criteria.
What Category D means for families
Communication with someone in an open prison is typically the most straightforward in the entire system. Phone access is generally more flexible, visiting conditions are less institutionalised, and the security requirements for visits are less onerous. For many families, the move to open conditions is a significant milestone, not just because it signals proximity to release, but because the quality of contact improves meaningfully.
Understanding how a prisoner arrives at their category, and how it changes, is useful for families who want to understand the process their loved one is going through.
Arrival at a local prison
After sentencing, almost all prisoners first go to a local Category B prison serving the court where they were sentenced. This is the initial reception point regardless of what category they will ultimately be placed in. The local prison carries out an induction, collects information, and begins the categorisation process.
Initial categorisation
A categorisation board at the local prison reviews the nature of the offence, the length of the sentence, any previous convictions, available security intelligence, and the risk assessment. The board makes an initial categorisation decision based on HMPPS's Security Categorisation Policy Framework. The prisoner is told their category and given the opportunity to make representations if they disagree.
Transfer to a category-appropriate prison
Once the initial category is confirmed, the prisoner is allocated to a prison appropriate for that category. This may be the same establishment or may require a transfer. Transfers can take days to weeks depending on bed availability and the specific needs of the prisoner.
Annual and triggered reviews
Category reviews happen at intervals set by HMPPS. Category A prisoners are reviewed annually by a specialist national team. Category B and C prisoners are reviewed at least once a year, with the possibility of earlier reviews if circumstances change significantly. A prisoner who engages consistently with education, work, and offending behaviour programmes will generally move through the categories more quickly than one who does not.
Recategorisation (up or down)
Recategorisation can go in either direction. A move to a lower category (known as a re-cat down or downgrade) reflects reduced risk and is generally a positive development. A move to a higher category (re-cat up) can be triggered by a serious incident, new intelligence, or a significant change in assessed risk. The prisoner is informed and has the right to make representations.
A recategorisation almost always means a transfer to a different prison. This triggers a new PIN list submission process, which means a gap in phone contact while the new establishment carries out its security checks. If your loved one is transferred, pass them a Prison Call virtual landline number to add to the new list — the saving starts from the first approved call at the new prison.
The A to D category system described above applies only to adult male prisoners in England and Wales. The women's estate uses a different classification system that reflects the different risk profile of female prisoners and the different approach to their management.
Women's prisons are classified as either Closed or Open. Closed women's prisons hold those who require a secure environment, while open women's prisons, like HMP Askham Grange in North Yorkshire and HMP East Sutton Park in Kent, provide conditions equivalent to Category D for men. There are no Category A designated women's prisons in the same sense as the male High Security Estate, though individual women who present Category A-level risk may be held in specific secure units within a closed establishment.
The women's estate in England and Wales holds around 3,800 prisoners across approximately 12 establishments. The significantly smaller size of the women's estate compared to the male estate means women are often held further from their homes and families a well-documented problem that makes maintaining family contact more difficult and expensive.
Prisoners aged 18 to 20 are held in Young Offender Institutions rather than adult prisons, under the Young Offender Institution Rules 2000. YOIs have their own internal regime requirements, with a greater emphasis on education and training than adult prisons. Some YOIs operate alongside adult establishments on the same site. Young people aged under 18 are the responsibility of the Youth Custody Service, part of HMPPS, and are held in Secure Children's Homes, Secure Training Centres, or Young Offender Institutions designated for under-18s.
YOIs do not use the same A to D category system as adult male prisons in the same way, though security levels within them vary. The experience of families of young people in YOIs is often quite different from that of families of adult prisoners, with different visiting arrangements, different communication systems, and different support services.
The prison category system described in this guide applies to England and Wales. Scotland has a separate system run by the Scottish Prison Service, which uses its own security classification framework. Scottish prisons are not labelled A to D in the same way. Northern Ireland similarly operates its own distinct system through the Northern Ireland Prison Service, with three establishments managed independently of HMPPS.
For families of prisoners in Scotland, one important practical difference is the phone call arrangement: the Scottish Prison Service provides prisoners with 200 free call minutes per month, after which calls cost 5p per minute for all UK numbers. This is considerably more generous than the HMPPS tariff in England and Wales, where calls cost 5.50p per minute to mobiles on weekdays with no free allowance.
Category directly affects the communication experience for families in several practical ways, beyond simply the security level of the establishment. Understanding these differences helps families set realistic expectations and plan their communication strategy.
PIN list approval times by category
At a Category A prison, security vetting of new contact numbers can take up to two weeks, particularly if the prisoner has recently arrived or transferred from another establishment. At a Category B local prison, approval typically takes three to seven days. At Category C prisons, the process usually takes two to five days. Category D open prisons typically operate the fastest checks, often completing within one to three days. These are general ranges — the specific timescales vary by prison and can extend during busy periods.
Phone infrastructure by category
The most significant practical difference in phone access between categories is not the category itself but the age of the prison. Older prisons, which tend to be Category A and B local establishments built in the Victorian era, are more likely to rely on communal wing phones that are only accessible during association periods. Modern Category C resettlement prisons like HMP Five Wells, HMP Fosse Way, and HMP Millsike have in-cell terminal systems that give prisoners access to phones at any permitted hour throughout the day. The rollout of in-cell telephony is continuing across the estate but remains uneven.
Saving money on calls regardless of category
The per-minute call rates are identical across all prison categories, they are set nationally by the HMPPS contract with BT. A call from HMP Belmarsh costs exactly the same per minute as a call from HMP Sudbury. The 2026 weekday rate is 5.50p per minute to a mobile and 2.48p per minute to a UK landline. A Prison Call virtual landline ensures your loved one always calls at the cheaper landline rate regardless of which category prison they are in, saving over 55% on every call. If your loved one is transferred to a higher-security category prison, the number works there too and they simply re-add it to the new PIN list.
UK prisons for adult men in England and Wales are classified from Category A (highest security) to Category D (open prisons). Category A holds prisoners whose escape would be highly dangerous to the public. Category B holds those who don't need maximum security but for whom escape must be made very difficult. Category C is the largest group, training prisons. Category D holds trusted prisoners in open conditions.
A categorisation board at the initial reception prison considers the nature of the offence, sentence length, risk of escape, risk to the public, and available security intelligence. The process is governed by HMPPS's Security Categorisation Policy Framework. Categorisation must be fair, objective, and non-discriminatory.
Yes. A prisoner can be moved to a higher category if new intelligence emerges, if they are involved in serious violence, or if a significant risk factor changes. They are informed and have the right to make representations against the decision.
Category A prisoners are reviewed annually by a specialist national team. Category B and C prisoners are reviewed at least annually. Reviews can be triggered earlier by significant changes. Category D prisoners are reviewed as part of parole and release planning.
An open prison is a Category D establishment with no perimeter wall. Prisoners there are trusted not to attempt escape and many leave the prison for work or education during the day, returning each evening. Open prisons are part of the resettlement process, typically holding prisoners in the final months of their sentence.
No. The A to D system applies only to adult male prisoners in England and Wales. Women's prisons use a Closed/Open classification. Young offender institutions have their own separate regime. Scotland and Northern Ireland use entirely separate systems.
The Close Supervision Centre holds the most dangerous and disruptive prisoners — those who cannot be managed even on a standard Category A wing. CSCs exist at HMP Wakefield and HMP Woodhill. Communication and movement conditions in the CSC are the most restricted in the estate.
Higher category prisons have longer PIN list vetting times, more active call monitoring, and tighter visiting conditions. Category D open prisons have the most relaxed communication arrangements. However, the presence of in-cell phones depends on the specific prison's infrastructure rather than the category alone.
A transfer always requires the PIN list to be resubmitted at the new prison. This creates a gap in phone contact while security vetting is completed. Pass your loved one a Prison Call virtual landline number to add to the new list — the saving continues from the first approved call at the new establishment.
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