CDCR Form 22 Inmate/Parolee Request: Filing, Copies, and Deadlines

CDCR Form 22, the Inmate/Parolee Request for Interview, Item or Service, is the standard written request slip used inside California state prisons: you fill in your name, CDC number, housing, and a specific description of what you need, then hand it to the appropriate staff member or drop it in institutional mail and keep the carbon copy as your receipt. The regulation that used to govern the form, California Code of Regulations Title 15, Section 3086, was repealed in late 2021, but the form itself still circulates and remains one of the best ways to document a request before escalating to a formal grievance.¹

Does the Form Still Count After the Regulation Was Repealed

Yes. When CDCR eliminated Section 3086, it did not replace Form 22 with anything else. The department stated that incarcerated and supervised people “may correspond verbally or in writing with any staff at any time” and that “written communication may now be achieved with a simple note, written letter, or use of any other forms provided by the department.”² You do not have to use a Form 22 specifically. But the form gives you structured fields, dated signatures, carbon copies, and a supervisor-review section that a plain note does not, and many housing units and libraries still stock it.

A formal grievance on Form 602-1 will not be rejected just because you skipped Form 22 first. CDCR confirmed that during rulemaking.² Using Form 22 first still helps, because the 602-1 asks you to describe your attempts at informal resolution, and a completed Form 22 answers that question with a signed, dated record.

What Goes in Each Field

The top of the form is routing information. You fill in:

Name — last name, first name.
CDC number.
Housing/bed number.
Current work or program assignment.
Hours you are available (from/to).
Topic — a checkbox section for the general category, such as mail, conditions of confinement, property, or medical.
Method of delivery — check whether you sent the form through institutional mail or handed it directly to staff.

Below those fields is the open “Request” section. State exactly what you want, and include the relevant dates and facts. A meeting with your counselor. A replacement mattress. Access to a specific program. Vague requests get vague answers, or no answer. Skip emotional language; staff are more likely to act on a straightforward factual description and a concrete ask.

The form also has a Section C labeled “Request for Supervisor Review.” Leave that blank on initial submission. It only comes into play if you disagree with the staff response.

Where to Find a Blank Form

Under the repealed regulation, CDCR had to make Form 22 available in all housing units, all institutional libraries, any facility where incarcerated people stay more than 24 hours, and all parole field offices.³ Since the repeal, availability varies. Ask your housing unit officer, check the forms rack, or go to the law library. If nothing is available, a handwritten request on lined paper with the same identifying information (name, CDC number, housing assignment, date, and a clear description of what you want) serves the same purpose.

How to Submit It and Get a Receipt

You have two delivery options. Hand the form directly to the staff member who handles your type of request, or drop it in institutional mail addressed to that person.³ If you are on parole, the form goes to your parole agent by U.S. mail or in person. Send it to whoever can actually address the issue: medical requests go to healthcare staff, property issues to the housing sergeant. Your housing officer or counselor can point you to the right person if you are unsure.

When staff receive the form, the built-in procedure has them accept it, date and sign it, and hand you the bottom carbon copy as your receipt.³ That receipt is your proof of when the request went in. Keep it. If a staff member refuses to sign, which the Inspector General flagged as a recurring problem even when Section 3086 was still in force, note the date, time, and the staff member’s name on your own copy.⁴

The Four Copies

Form 22 is a four-part carbon form:

Original (white): returned to you after staff complete their response.
Goldenrod copy: your first copy, typically handed over at submission as a receipt.
Canary copy: your second copy.
Pink copy: kept by the staff member for departmental records.

Hold on to every copy you receive. If you later file a formal grievance or pursue legal action, these copies are evidence that you raised the issue and when. Losing them does not bar you from filing a grievance, but it makes it harder to show you tried to resolve the problem informally.

How Long Staff Have to Respond

When Section 3086 was active, the responding staff member had three working days after receiving the form to note a decision or action on it, sign and date it, keep one copy, and return the original and remaining copy to you.³ Weekends and holidays did not count. If the wrong staff member received the form, they had 24 hours to forward it to the right person by hand delivery or institutional mail.

Since the repeal, there is no enforceable regulatory deadline. Some requests get answered quickly; others sit. If you do not hear back within a week or so of working days, follow up in writing and keep a copy of that follow-up too. A pattern of documented, unanswered requests strengthens your position if you have to escalate.

Asking a Supervisor to Take a Second Look

If you disagree with the staff response, Section C of the form lets you request supervisor review. Under the old regulation you filled out that section explaining why you disagreed and submitted the form to the responding staff member’s direct supervisor.³ Keep a copy for yourself before handing it over. Only if that supervisor was unavailable could you submit it to a different supervisor in the same unit.

The supervisor then had seven calendar days to review the matter, indicate a decision on the form, sign and date it, ensure a copy was filed in facility records, and return the original to you.³ That timeline is no longer backed by an enforceable regulation, but the form’s structure still supports the two-tier process. Getting a supervisor’s written response documents that you pushed the issue through two levels before turning to the grievance system.

When to File a Formal Grievance Instead

If Form 22 does not resolve your issue, or you prefer to skip it, the next step is a formal grievance on CDCR Form 602-1. You are not required to complete a Form 22 first, but the 602-1 asks you to describe “any attempts to informally resolve the issue,”⁵ and the current regulation requires you to describe any informal attempt, including dates, staff names, and outcomes.⁶ Writing “see attached Form 22 dated [date]” is far more persuasive than “I talked to someone about it.”

Watch the deadline. Under Section 3481, you generally have 60 calendar days from the date of the incident to submit a grievance. Attempting informal resolution through Form 22 does not pause or extend that clock.² Three weeks of back-and-forth on a Form 22 eats into your 60 days. If there is any real chance the deadline could pass, file informally and formally in parallel.

Medical Complaints Go on a Different Form

Healthcare issues follow a separate track. Complaints about medical treatment, nursing, dental care, or mental health are filed on CDCR Form 602 HC, not Form 22 or Form 602-1. You can still use Form 22 to request a medical appointment or ask a logistical question about healthcare access, but any complaint about the quality or denial of medical care belongs on the healthcare-specific form.

Why the Paper Trail Matters

Federal law makes this paperwork more than an internal formality. Under the Prison Litigation Reform Act, no lawsuit about prison conditions can proceed in federal court “until such administrative remedies as are available are exhausted.”⁷ Skip CDCR’s internal grievance process and go straight to court, and your case will almost certainly be dismissed. By the time it is, the 60-day window for filing a grievance may have already closed.

The formal grievance and appeal process is what courts look at for exhaustion, not Form 22 itself. But Form 22 is the foundation: it documents that you raised the issue, when, and what response you got. Courts reviewing exhaustion disputes look for evidence of good-faith effort, and a trail of dated, signed Form 22 requests and responses makes that case better than your word alone.

Practical Tips

Keep copies of everything. If the carbon copies are illegible, hand-copy the key details (date submitted, staff member’s name, response received) onto a separate sheet immediately.
One issue per form. Mixing multiple complaints on a single Form 22 gives staff an excuse to address only the easiest one or return the form for being unclear.
Be specific. “I need to see medical about my shoulder” beats “my rights are being violated.” Name what you want, who you need it from, and why.
Track your deadlines. The 60-day grievance window runs regardless of whether you are waiting for a Form 22 response. Mark it and file a 602-1 before it passes if informal resolution stalls.
Use institutional mail strategically. If a staff member is avoiding you or refusing to accept forms in person, mailing through institutional mail creates a delivery record independent of that person’s cooperation.
Do not rely on verbal promises. If a staff member says the problem is handled, ask for it in writing or note the conversation on your copy. Verbal resolutions evaporate when shifts change.

1
Legal Information Institute. California Code of Regulations Title 15 Section 3086 – Inmate/Parolee Request for Interview, Item or Service (Repealed)
2
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Notice of Approval of Certificate of Compliance – Grievance and Appeals Regulations
3
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Appeals Emergency Regulations – Section 3086
4
Office of the Inspector General. Special Report on CDCR’s Revised Inmate Appeal Process Leaves Key Problems Unaddressed
5
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. CDCR Form 602-1/1824 Grievance and Reasonable Accommodation Request
6
Legal Information Institute. California Code of Regulations Title 15 Section 3482 – Preparation and Submittal of a Grievance
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 1997e – Suits by Prisoners