# Oklahoma

Oklahoma has no single body that certifies corrections staff. The Department of Corrections (DOC) trains and designates its own correctional officers, CLEET certifies DOC probation and parole officers as peace officers, and the State Department of Health sets and inspects county jail standards. Since 2023 the State has written the jail standards into statute as the Oklahoma Jail Standards Act, let sheriffs contract out hospital guard posts, required DOC facilities to designate restrooms and sleeping quarters by sex, and, from January 1, 2026, placed jail contraband crimes in its new felony classes.

Source: https://uscli.org/corrections-tracker/oklahoma

## At a glance

- **Certifying body:** No single corrections certifying body. DOC trains its correctional officers and designates them “correctional peace officers” after a DOC basic course ([57 O.S. 510(A)(3), (4)](https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os57.pdf)), and these DOC designees are outside the CLEET peace officer certification requirement (70 O.S. 3311(E)). The Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training (CLEET) certifies peace officers, including DOC probation and parole officers (57 O.S. 515); CLEET is covered on the [Oklahoma Officer Ledger page](https://uscli.org/officer-certification-tracker/oklahoma). County jail civilian employees need not complete CLEET peace officer training; they need the training the sheriff deems necessary, plus the minimums in the Oklahoma Jail Standards Act (57 O.S. 54; 74 O.S. 192.3(A)(7) to (9)).
- **Statute:** Oklahoma Corrections Act of 1967 (57 O.S. 501 et seq., including 510 on DOC officer qualifications and training and 515 on probation and parole officers); county jail provisions (57 O.S. 41 to 64); CLEET statute (70 O.S. 3311 et seq.); Oklahoma Jail Standards Act ([74 O.S. 192 to 194](https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os74.pdf), restructured in 2025). Jail rules: OAC 310:670.
- **Minimum standards:** DOC correctional officers hired after November 1, 1995 must be at least 20 (the Director may set a maximum entry age), hold 30 college semester hours or a high school diploma or GED, pass Merit System testing or a professional evaluation, and pass a physical each year (57 O.S. 510(A)(2)). Probation and parole officers need good character, a bachelor’s degree with at least 24 credit hours in listed fields such as psychology, sociology, criminology, or criminal justice, and the CLEET peace officer qualifications (57 O.S. 515). Under the Jail Standards Act, a “detention officer” is a person whose training, education, or experience qualifies the person for the job description, or who holds CLEET certification (74 O.S. 192.1(9)).
- **Basic training:** DOC correctional officers: a Board-approved basic course of at least 200 hours of core curriculum plus a firearms program of at least 20 hours; the Director may waive hours for prior training or experience, but not the firearms program (57 O.S. 510(A)(4)). Probation and parole officers: the CLEET basic course; for full-time officers the academy is at least 600 hours, subject to funding (70 O.S. 3311). County jail staff whose primary duties include supervising inmates: at least 24 hours of training in the first year, covering security, supervision, report writing, inmate rules, grievance and discipline, inmate rights, emergency procedures, and first aid and CPR (74 O.S. 192.3(A)(8)). The Health Department rule OAC 310:670-5-10 is reported to contain a parallel requirement; its text could not be read, because the State’s rules site refused access.
- **In-service training:** DOC correctional officers: at least 40 hours a year, plus annual firearms requalification at the CLEET score (57 O.S. 510(A)(5)). CLEET-certified officers, including probation and parole officers: 25 hours of continuing law enforcement training a year, including 2 mandatory hours on mental health issues; reserve officers need 8 hours, including 1 hour on mental health ([70 O.S. 3311.4](https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os70.pdf)). Jail staff in direct contact with inmates: after the first year, at least 4 hours of review of Health Department material and up to 8 hours of detention officer training a year, plus first aid and CPR renewal (74 O.S. 192.3(A)(9)).
- **Decertification:** For probation and parole officers and other peace officers, CLEET may deny, suspend, or revoke certification or accept a surrender, and must revoke for listed convictions (70 O.S. 3311(J)); see the [Officer Ledger page](https://uscli.org/officer-certification-tracker/oklahoma). There is no separate state decertification for DOC or jail officers. A DOC correctional peace officer who does not remain qualified loses the designation and identification card (57 O.S. 510(A)(3), (6)).
- **Jail standards:** State Department of Health. It writes the jail standards rules (OAC 310:670), must inspect every detention facility at least once a year, reports deficiencies, and may seek closure through the Attorney General or district attorney if deficiencies are not corrected within 60 days (74 O.S. 192 to 194). Facilities must notify the Department by the next working day of escapes, deaths, serious injuries, serious suicide attempts, and extensive damage (74 O.S. 192.5(B)). The Department’s [jail inspection page](https://oklahoma.gov/health/services/licensing-inspections/health-resources-development-service/jails.html) posts the Act and proposed rules.
- **Probation and parole officers:** DOC probation and parole officers are peace officers who must meet CLEET peace officer training and qualifications and hold a bachelor’s degree with 24 relevant credit hours (57 O.S. 515). CLEET certification, continuing education, and discipline therefore apply to them. On reasonable grounds to believe a parolee violated parole, the officer notifies DOC; if DOC determines the facts justify revocation action, it “shall issue a warrant for the arrest of the parolee” (57 O.S. 516(A)).
- **Restrictive housing:** No statutory time limit on solitary confinement or restrictive housing was found in Titles 57 or 74. An inmate in nondisciplinary administrative segregation may be placed in earned-credit Class 2 (57 O.S. 138). For jails, 74 O.S. 192.7 (2025) requires written classification and segregation policies: inmates considered a threat are housed separately based on criminal history, charges, behavior, and other reasons, and classification may not be based solely on race, color, creed, or national origin.
- **Corrections use of force:** Pregnant inmates in prisons, detention centers, and county jails: restraints are presumed not to be used during transport in labor, labor, delivery, and postpartum recovery unless the physician directs or there is an immediate and serious threat or a substantial flight risk. Before labor, only the least restrictive restraints, with medical consultation and written approval of the warden, director, or sheriff. Abdominal restraints, four-point or face-down restraint, leg and ankle restraints that increase the risk of falling, and chaining to another inmate are prohibited. A correctional or county detention officer who uses prohibited restraints commits a misdemeanor punishable by up to 1 year, a $1,000 fine, or both (57 O.S. 4.2). Detention facilities must have written policies on the use of physical force and instruments of restraint (74 O.S. 192.5(A)(5)).

## Changes, 2023 to 2026

- Jan 1, 2026 — **Jail contraband and paid-favor crimes placed in the new felony classes** — Laws 2025, c. 486, §§ 95 and 527, amending 57 O.S. 21 and 22; classes created by the Oklahoma Sentencing Modernization Act of 2024 (Laws 2024, c. 366, 21 O.S. 20A) · Effective January 1, 2026, per the history notes in the Legislature’s Title 57 and Title 21 compilations — Oklahoma’s Sentencing Modernization Act sorts all felonies into classes, from Class Y to Class D3, from January 1, 2026. Chapter 486 of 2025 amended the corrections contraband statutes to fit. Under 57 O.S. 21 as now in force, bringing a weapon, a controlled dangerous substance, alcohol, or another person’s money or financial documents into a jail or penal institution without authority is a Class B3 felony (1 to 5 years, a fine of $100 to $1,000, or both). An inmate found with such an item commits a Class D1 felony, and knowingly bringing a cell phone or other electronic communication device into a secure area is a Class D1 felony with a fine of up to $2,500. Under 57 O.S. 22, a detention officer, deputy sheriff, or other jail operations staff member who takes pay from anyone other than the sheriff or jail administrator for providing goods, tobacco products, or services to an inmate commits a misdemeanor below $500 and a Class D1 felony at $500 or more. The bill number of chapter 486 was not identified, so whether it changed the punishment ranges, and not only the class labels, was not confirmed. — **For corrections staff:** Taking $500 or more from anyone but the sheriff or jail administrator to bring an inmate goods or services is a Class D1 felony. — [57 O.S. 21, 22 (Title 57 compilation)](https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os57.pdf)[21 O.S. 20A (Title 21 compilation)](https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os21.pdf)
- Nov 1, 2025 — **DOC facilities must designate restrooms, changing rooms, and sleeping quarters by sex** — SB 418 (2025), Laws 2025, c. 158, enacting 57 O.S. 509.7 · Approved May 13, 2025; effective November 1, 2025 (sec. 2) — Every multi-occupancy restroom, changing room, and sleeping quarters in a facility operated by or contracted with DOC “shall” be designated “for the exclusive use of either females or males,” and only members of that sex may use it. Exceptions cover custodial or maintenance work, medical or law enforcement assistance, and emergencies or serious threats to order and safety. A person who encounters someone of the opposite sex in such a space, or is required to share sleeping quarters with one, may sue the facility for declaratory and injunctive relief within 2 years and recover fees. DOC must adopt rules. — **For corrections staff:** Housing and restroom assignments must follow the sex designation; staff may still enter opposite-sex spaces for custodial, medical, law enforcement, or emergency duties. — [SB 418 enrolled](https://www.oklegislature.gov/cf_pdf/2025-26%20ENR/SB/SB418%20ENR.PDF)[SB 418 bill history](https://www.oklegislature.gov/BillInfo.aspx?Bill=SB418&Session=2600)
- Apr 28, 2025 — **Oklahoma Jail Standards Act written into statute, with 24 hours of first-year staff training** — SB 595 (2025), Laws 2025, c. 11, amending 74 O.S. 192 and 193, 57 O.S. 37, 47, 52, 53, 55, and 57, 63 O.S. 472, and 69 O.S. 617, and enacting 74 O.S. 192.1 to 192.9 · Approved April 28, 2025; effective on approval (emergency clause, sec. 20) — The act names the “Oklahoma Jail Standards Act” and moves the jail standards out of a single list in 74 O.S. 192 into new sections on definitions (including “detention officer”), policy format, facility standards, written policies for lockups and detention facilities, supervision and movement, classification and segregation, medical care, and juveniles. The statute now requires all employees whose primary responsibilities include supervising inmates, including the administrator and supervisors, to receive “at least twenty-four (24) hours of training during the first year of their employment” in eight listed subjects. Before the act, the statute set only the 4-hour review and up-to-8-hour training each year after the first year. Facilities must have written policies on force and restraints and must notify the Department by the next working day of escapes, deaths, serious injuries, and serious suicide attempts. Lockups must make hourly irregular visual checks. The research behind this entry reports that Health Department rule OAC 310:670-5-10 already required 24 hours of first-year training; that rule text could not be read to confirm it. — **For corrections staff:** If you supervise jail inmates, the 24-hour first-year training, the yearly refresher, and next-day incident reporting are now required by statute. — [SB 595 enrolled](https://www.oklegislature.gov/cf_pdf/2025-26%20ENR/SB/SB595%20ENR.PDF)[SB 595 bill history](https://www.oklegislature.gov/BillInfo.aspx?Bill=SB595&Session=2500)[Health Department compilation of 74 O.S. 192 to 194](https://oklahoma.gov/content/dam/ok/en/health/health2/aem-documents/protective-health/jails/74%20OS%20192-194%20Oklahoma%20Jail%20Standards%20Act.pdf)
- Nov 1, 2024 — **Sheriffs may contract private security to guard jail inmates at outside hospitals** — SB 1668 (2024), Laws 2024, c. 325, amending 19 O.S. 547 · Effective November 1, 2024, per the 19 O.S. 547 history note — New 19 O.S. 547(H) lets a sheriff contract with a licensed private security firm to guard a detainee or prisoner temporarily housed for treatment in an outside medical facility. “No private security firm may transport a prisoner to or from an outside medical facility”; only the sheriff or a deputy sheriff may transport. — **For corrections staff:** Hospital guard posts may be contracted out, but prisoner transport stays with the sheriff and deputies. — [SB 1668 enrolled](https://www.oklegislature.gov/cf_pdf/2023-24%20ENR/SB/SB1668%20ENR.PDF)[19 O.S. 547 (Title 19 compilation)](https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os19.pdf)
- Nov 1, 2023 — **“Barrack-style” jail housing defined (city and county jails)** — SB 247 (2023), Laws 2023, c. 35, amending 57 O.S. 57 and 74 O.S. 192 · Effective November 1, 2023, per the 57 O.S. 57 history note — The act defines “barrack-style” housing as “a single designated space within a city or county jail facility for the purpose of housing three or more inmates,” in both 57 O.S. 57(F) and 74 O.S. 192(A)(5), and updates wording. SB 595 of 2025 later moved the Title 74 definition to 74 O.S. 192.1(2), which now reads “a single designated space within a detention facility.” The sheriff’s duty to report changes in jail prisoner capacity to DOC within 30 days predates the act (it dates from 2003); its current wording comes from SB 595 of 2025. — **For corrections staff:** Barrack-style units now have a statutory definition. — [SB 247 enrolled](https://www.oklegislature.gov/cf_pdf/2023-24%20ENR/SB/SB247%20ENR.PDF)[57 O.S. 57 (Title 57 compilation)](https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os57.pdf)

## Enacted, not yet in force, pending, and bills that did not pass

- **Jail standards rules:** the State Department of Health has posted proposed Jail Standard Rules (OAC 310:670) to follow the 2025 Act, with a feedback survey. No adoption was found as of October 20, 2026. [Health Department jails page](https://oklahoma.gov/health/services/licensing-inspections/health-resources-development-service/jails.html)

These bills were not enacted: HB 1240 and HB 3198 (2025 to 2026; elected state officials entering DOC facilities without prior notice; no governor action shown) and SB 1167 (2024; required DOC spending of certain funds; vetoed June 14, 2024). A full search for failed corrections bills was not made.

OSCN, the usual statute host, returned a bot challenge, so statute text was read from the Legislature’s complete-title compilations. Those compilations show no 2026 history notes, so 2026 acts were checked from enrolled bills.

## Checked and unchanged

- Not counted: 57 O.S. 516 (parole violators) was amended by Laws 2025, c. 81, effective November 1, 2025. The current text lets DOC place a parolee who violated parole in an intermediate sanctions facility in lieu of revocation, but the bill and the words it changed were not identified.
- Not counted: 57 O.S. 509 (list of penal institutions) was amended by Laws 2023, c. 22 and Laws 2025, c. 467, which also created the Prison Acquisition Revolving Fund (57 O.S. 509A); these concern facilities and funding, not staff duties.
- Not counted: 2026 acts on Legislature-commissioned peace officers (SB 171), inmate delivery to Mabel Bassett (HB 2951), and State Board of Corrections powers (HB 3086), judged outside corrections staff duties. The powers HB 3086 added could not be isolated.
- Not verified: amendments to 70 O.S. 3311 by Laws 2023, c. 272 and Laws 2024, c. 65 (see the [Officer Ledger page](https://uscli.org/officer-certification-tracker/oklahoma)), and the 2023 amendment to 57 O.S. 4.1 by Laws 2023, c. 311 (opioid antagonists for inmates on release), which was not tied to a bill number.