The law behind the release date, in plain language.

How is a federal prison release date calculated?

The five steps BOP uses to turn a judge's sentence into a release date: commencement, jail credit, Good Conduct Time, First Step Act credits, and prerelease custody — with the statute behind each one.

• Jail credit: how time served before sentencing counts
• How to get and read a BOP sentence computation sheet
• Why did the release date change?
• Concurrent vs. consecutive federal sentences
• Federal vs. state prison time: why the percentages differ
• Supervised release: what happens after the prison term
• Send us the paperwork: how concierge setup works

How do First Step Act time credits work?

Plain-language guide to First Step Act earned time credits: who's eligible, the 10- and 15-day earning rates, the 365-day cap, and how credits move a federal release date. With statute citations.

• Which offenses are excluded from First Step Act credits?
• FSA credits not applied? What to do when BOP's release date looks wrong
• Deportation detainers and First Step Act credits: what actually disqualifies?
• The FSA 365-day cap: what happens to credits beyond a year
• Qualifying for FSA prerelease custody: the § 3624(g) gates
• Which programs earn FSA time credits?
• BOP's new 2026 rule: FSA credits now start at sentencing, not arrival

How is Good Conduct Time calculated?

Good Conduct Time under 18 U.S.C. § 3624(b), explained: 54 days per year of the sentence imposed, how the First Step Act fixed the old 47-day math, proration for partial years, and what can take GCT away.

• The federal 85 percent rule: where it comes from and what it misses
• How much time a disciplinary incident really costs

What is the Second Chance Act 12 months of halfway house?

The Second Chance Act amended 18 U.S.C. § 3624(c) to let BOP place people in a halfway house for up to 12 months and home confinement for up to 6 months at the end of a sentence. How the window works and how it interacts with FSA credits.

• Federal halfway house eligibility: who goes, when, and what blocks it
• Federal home confinement: the 10% rule and the FSA route

RDAP: how the program works and who gets the year off

The Residential Drug Abuse Program (RDAP): documented-need eligibility, the 500-hour residential phase, and early release of up to 12 months under 18 U.S.C. § 3621(e) — with the offense exclusions in 28 C.F.R. § 550.55.

• How much time off do you get for RDAP?
• RDAP eligibility: getting in vs. getting the year off

What is a PATTERN score?

PATTERN is the risk-assessment tool behind First Step Act credits: what goes into the score, the minimum/low/medium/high levels, how often it's reassessed, and how to challenge a wrong scoresheet.

• How to lower a PATTERN score — what actually moves the number

The BOP administrative remedy process: BP-8 to BP-11, explained

How the federal prison grievance process works under 28 C.F.R. part 542: informal resolution (BP-8), the warden-level BP-9, regional BP-10, central office BP-11 — deadlines, response times, and why exhaustion matters.

• How to file a BP-9 (and the BP-8 that must come first)

How to find someone in federal prison — and read the locator right

Step-by-step guide to the BOP inmate locator: searching by name or register number, what the listed release date actually includes, why it changes, and what to do when someone isn't listed.

Glossary: the vocabulary of a sentence computation

20 terms — GCT, PATTERN, RRC, BP-9 and the rest — each defined in two sentences with its statute.