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

A BP-9 (form BP-229) is the formal administrative remedy request to the warden, and under 28 C.F.R. § 542.14 it must be filed within 20 calendar days of the event being challenged. Before filing it, the person must normally attempt informal resolution on a BP-8 with unit staff (§ 542.13). The warden has 20 days to respond (one 20-day extension allowed); denial — or silence past the deadline — can be appealed on a BP-10.

Reviewed against 28 C.F.R. §§ 542.13–542.18 and BOP Program Statement 1330.18. Last updated .

Step by step

  1. 1 —

    Attempt informal resolution (BP-8)

    Ask the correctional counselor for a BP-8 (informal resolution form). State the issue in two or three sentences and the specific fix requested. Keep a copy and note the date — the BP-9 clock is already running from the event itself.

  2. 2 —

    Get the BP-9 form from unit staff

    Staff must provide form BP-229(13) on request (28 C.F.R. § 542.14(c)). If the BP-8 response is still pending as the 20-day deadline nears, file the BP-9 anyway and note the pending BP-8.

  3. 3 —

    State one issue, the facts, and the exact relief

    Identify the single decision or computation being challenged, the dates, and precisely what should change — e.g. recompute Good Conduct Time at 54 days per sentence-year under 18 U.S.C. § 3624(b). Attach the supporting math or documents; continuation pages are permitted.

  4. 4 —

    File with the institution's remedy clerk within 20 calendar days

    Submit through the unit team or the institution's designated remedy channel. The filing is logged with a remedy ID number — record it; it tracks the case through every appeal level.

  5. 5 —

    Calendar the response deadline

    The warden has 20 calendar days to respond, extendable once by 20 more with written notice (28 C.F.R. § 542.18). No response by the deadline is treated as a denial and unlocks the BP-10.

  6. 6 —

    Appeal to the region (BP-10) if denied

    File form BP-230 with the Regional Director within 20 calendar days of the warden's response (or non-response deadline), attaching copies of the BP-9 and its response (28 C.F.R. § 542.15).

What should the BP-9 actually say for a sentence-computation issue?

The strongest computation BP-9s read like an audit finding, not a complaint. A workable skeleton:

  1. The computation being challenged — date of the sentence computation or FSA Time Credit Assessment, and the specific line (projected release date, credit balance, eligibility flag).
  2. The correct number and the authority — the statute or regulation, and the arithmetic: sentence, custody date, jail credit days, credits earned by month.
  3. The specific relief — recompute and issue a corrected computation reflecting X by date Y.
  4. Attachments — the day-by-day ledger and any documents (judgment, program completion certificates) the math relies on.
OutDate Pro generates this package — the ledger, the citations, and the BP-8/BP-9 drafts — from a saved case, and tracks each level's response deadline. The forms themselves must be obtained from and filed by the incarcerated person.

Common BP-9 rejections and how to avoid them

  • Untimely — the 20-day deadline was missed with no valid reason. File early; ask for the § 542.14(b) extension in writing when a transfer or staff delay caused it.
  • No informal resolution attempted — the BP-8 step was skipped. Do the BP-8 first unless the issue qualifies as sensitive (§ 542.14(d)).
  • Multiple issues on one form — split them into separate filings.
  • Raised at the wrong level — a handful of issues (e.g., DHO appeals) start at the region instead of the institution; check § 542.14(d).

Free calculator

Run the numbers for your person

The free OutDate calculator applies these rules to a real sentence — Good Conduct Time, First Step Act credits, halfway house and RDAP dates — with every assumption listed next to the answer. No account needed; nothing is stored.

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Frequently asked questions

How long does the whole BP-8 to BP-11 process take?

If every level uses its full response time plus extensions, roughly five to seven months end to end (20+20 days at the institution, 20+30+30 at the region, 30+40+20 at central office). Silence at any level counts as denial at the deadline, so the chain never stalls indefinitely.

Does filing a BP-9 cause retaliation?

Retaliation for using the remedy program is prohibited, and the process is heavily used — hundreds of thousands of filings a year system-wide. A precise, respectful, math-based filing about a computation is routine business for a records office.

Where does the BP-9 deadline start for an ongoing computation error?

The safest reading is 20 days from when the person learned of the disputed computation — typically the date on the computation sheet or FSA assessment. Courts and BOP have sometimes treated standing errors as continuing violations, but never plan on it.

Primary sources

Everything on this page is drawn from the statutes, regulations, and BOP program statements below — read them directly:

Keep reading

Estimates, not promises

This page describes federal law and Bureau of Prisons policy in general terms for education. It is not legal advice, it doesn't account for the facts of any individual case, and no attorney–client relationship is created by reading it. The BOP makes all final release-date determinations. Have an attorney review anything before you file it. Built by OutDate, the federal release date calculator.

How to file a BP-9 — step-by-step with deadlines · OutDate