BOP Rule Changes When Federal Prisoners Can Earn FSA Credits

The Bureau of Prisons will change when eligible federal prisoners can begin earning First Step Act time credits under an interim final rule taking effect September 30, 2026. The same date is also the deadline for post-promulgation public comments.

The rule removes language that tied the start of credit earning to arrival or voluntary surrender at a designated BOP facility. Under the revised standard, an eligible inmate begins earning credits after the term of imprisonment commences. That can include time in U.S. Marshals Service custody while the person is awaiting transportation, but only if qualifying programming or productive activity is available and the other requirements are met.

What the rule changes

The First Step Act allows eligible federal prisoners to earn credits through successful participation in assigned evidence-based recidivism-reduction programs and productive activities. Credits may be used for earlier placement in prerelease custody, such as home confinement or a residential reentry center, or in some cases toward supervised release.

The revised regulation replaces the prior designated-facility language with a sentence-commencement standard. The Federal Register explains that a federal sentence generally begins when the defendant is received into custody to await transportation to the facility where the sentence will be served, or when the defendant voluntarily surrenders there.

The change does not make credits automatic. A person must be eligible under the statute and regulations, must be assigned qualifying programs or activities based on assessed needs, and must successfully participate. BOP must still calculate and apply the credits.

The rule also clarifies the treatment of people serving foreign-country sentences in BOP custody. They may be eligible when the U.S. Parole Commission has determined that an equivalent U.S. Code sentence exists under 18 U.S.C. 4106A, along with the other statutory and regulatory requirements.

How the credits work

Eligible participants generally earn 10 or 15 days of credit for every 30 days of successful participation. The higher rate applies to people assessed at minimum or low risk who maintain or reduce that risk level over two consecutive assessments. Others generally earn 10 days for each 30-day period, subject to the governing requirements.

Credits can affect the timing of prerelease custody or supervised release, but they do not guarantee a particular release date. Eligibility, participation, risk assessments, available placements and BOP’s calculations all matter.

Potential effect on time in custody

BOP’s regulatory analysis estimated an average 66.06-day period between sentencing and arrival at a designated facility for newly committed inmates whose sentences began from 2023 through 2025. Individual timelines can vary based on distance, transportation capacity and other factors.

Using that average, BOP projected that affected participants could receive an average of 23.81 additional credit days. The agency also projected total annual savings of $54,130,928, or about $54.1 million, based on assumptions about affected inmates, participation, placement and incarceration costs. That is a projection, not money already saved.

Why implementation will be watched

A January 2026 Government Accountability Office review found that BOP did not maintain accurate data on participation in some programs and could not reliably determine whether programming was sufficient to meet incarcerated people’s needs. GAO also found that BOP generally applied time credits toward supervised release but not toward prerelease custody in the records it reviewed.

GAO identified open recommendations involving programming data, release-status records and consistent bureau-wide implementation of First Step Act policies. BOP has reported steps such as dashboard improvements, standardized coding work and new oversight and training efforts, but GAO said additional action is needed.

Those findings do not establish that every individual credit calculation is wrong. They do mean that accurate records and consistent procedures will be important as BOP applies the revised rule and reviews qualifying participation before arrival at a designated facility.

What prisoners, families and attorneys should know

People in federal custody and their attorneys may want to review whether the sentence commenced before arrival at a designated BOP facility and whether qualifying programming or productive activities were assigned and successfully completed during that period. Families and advocates should understand that the rule may shorten the time before a qualifying placement for some people, but it does not guarantee immediate credits or release.

Written comments must be postmarked, or submitted electronically, on or before September 30, 2026. The electronic docket will not accept comments after midnight Eastern Time on that date. Comments become public, so people submitting them should avoid including personal or confidential information they do not want disclosed.

The September 30 effective date and the September 30 comment deadline are separate parts of the rule. The rule is already published, but BOP will still have to implement the revised standard, calculate qualifying credits and apply them under the governing requirements.

Sources

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