Earned Time Credits Under the First Step Act

First Step Act earned time credits are a form of sentence reduction available to eligible federal inmates who participate in recidivism reduction programming under the First Step Act of 2018. Codified at 18 U.S.C. § 3632(d)(4), the program allows qualifying inmates to earn 10 to 15 days of credit for every 30 days of successful participation in approved evidence-based programs or productive activities.

Inmates can apply these credits toward early transfer to prerelease custody, such as a halfway house or home confinement, or toward early placement onto supervised release.

This differs sharply from good conduct time, which is credited automatically based on compliance with institutional rules. Earned time credits require active participation in programming that the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) recommends based on individualized risk and needs assessments. The two credit systems operate independently but can be combined, meaning eligible inmates might reduce both their time in secure custody and their period before transfer to community supervision.

Risk and needs assessment system

PATTERN

The Prisoner Assessment Tool Targeting Estimated Risk and Needs (PATTERN) is the Department of Justice's risk assessment instrument. It measures how likely an incarcerated individual is to return to crime. Released in July 2019, PATTERN calculates two separate scores for each inmate: a general recidivism risk score and a violent recidivism risk score. These place inmates into one of four categories: minimum, low, medium, or high.

The system considers both static and dynamic factors. Static ones—criminal history, age at first arrest, offense type—don't change. But dynamic factors can shift during incarceration: program completion, disciplinary infractions, educational achievement. That distinction matters. Inmates can lower their risk classification through positive conduct and program participation.

To apply earned time credits toward early release, both an inmate's general and violent risk classifications must be minimum or low. PATTERN 1.3, the current version, went into effect in May 2022 after multiple rounds of revision based on validation studies and public feedback.

SPARC-13

The Standardized Prisoner Assessment for Reduction in Criminality (SPARC-13) is a 13-area needs assessment. It identifies factors which, if addressed, may reduce an individual's recidivism risk. The thirteen areas assessed are: anger and hostility, antisocial peers, cognitions, dyslexia, education, family and parenting, finance and poverty, medical needs, mental health, recreation and leisure and fitness, substance use, trauma, and work.

BOP staff use SPARC-13 results to recommend specific evidence-based recidivism reduction programs and productive activities tailored to each inmate's needs. Inmates must participate in the programming recommended for their assessed needs to earn credits. Simply completing unrelated programs won't qualify for them.

Earning credits

Credit rates

Under 18 U.S.C. § 3632(d)(4)(A), eligible inmates earn time credits at these rates:

• Standard rate: 10 days of credit for every 30 days of successful participation in evidence-based recidivism reduction programming or productive activities
• Enhanced rate: An additional 5 days of credit (15 days total per 30-day period) for inmates classified as minimum or low risk who haven't increased their recidivism risk over two consecutive assessments

Successful participation means attending all sessions with only excused absences, completing all assigned activities, and following program rules and instructions. Inmates don't need to finish an entire program to earn credits. Credits accrue based on how long they participate.

Approved programming

The BOP breaks qualifying activities into two types:

• Evidence-Based Recidivism Reduction Programs (EBRRs) are structured activities, either group or individual, that research shows reduce recidivism or are likely to be effective. Examples include cognitive behavioral therapy programs, substance abuse treatment, vocational training, educational courses, and faith-based services.
• Productive Activities (PAs) let inmates determined to be at minimum or low risk stay productive and keep their low-risk status. They include structured programs, work assignments through Federal Prison Industries (UNICOR), recreational activities, religious services, and family interaction activities.

Some standout programs are worth mentioning. The Residential Drug Abuse Program (RDAP) runs nine months and uses cognitive-behavioral therapy. The Bureau Rehabilitation and Values Enhancement Program (BRAVE) targets young male first offenders. Various vocational training and certification programs round out the options.

Opt-in requirements

Inmates must be in "opt-in status" to earn credits. This requires completing the SPARC-13 needs assessment surveys and agreeing to participate in recommended programming. Those who decline to complete assessments or refuse recommended programs go into "opt-out status" and can't earn time credits, though the decision itself isn't treated as a disciplinary violation.

Eligibility and disqualifications

Eligible inmates

Several conditions must be met to earn and apply First Step Act time credits:

• Be serving a sentence for a federal offense (D.C. Code offenders are generally ineligible to apply credits)
• Not be convicted of any disqualifying offense listed in 18 U.S.C. § 3632(d)(4)(D)
• Not be subject to a final order of removal under immigration law (such inmates may earn credits but can't apply them toward early release)
• Be classified as minimum or low risk under PATTERN to apply credits (or get warden approval if medium or high risk)

Disqualifying offenses

Section 3632(d)(4)(D) lists approximately 68 offense categories that make an inmate ineligible to earn time credits. These generally fall into specific groups:

• Violent crimes including murder, manslaughter (except involuntary), kidnapping, and assault with intent to kill
• Terrorism-related offenses
• Espionage and related national security crimes
• Sexual offenses and human trafficking crimes
• Child exploitation offenses
• Certain firearms offenses, including use of a firearm during a crime of violence or drug trafficking offense
• High-level drug trafficking offenses where the offender served as an organizer, leader, manager, or supervisor
• Repeat felon in possession of a firearm

If an inmate's serving time on multiple counts and any count involves a disqualifying offense, the entire aggregated sentence becomes ineligible for credits. Inmates with disqualifying offenses may still participate in programming and earn other incentives. But they can't apply time credits toward earlier release.

Application of credits

Prerelease custody

An eligible inmate can apply earned time credits to transfer to prerelease custody, which includes placement in a Residential Reentry Center (halfway house) or home confinement. To make the transfer, an inmate must have earned credits equal to the time remaining on their sentence and must be classified as minimum or low risk for their final two risk assessments, or get approval from the facility warden.

Early supervised release

Credits may also be applied under 18 U.S.C. § 3624(g) to begin supervised release up to 12 months earlier than the normally scheduled release date. The maximum sentence reduction through earned time credits is capped at 365 days (one year), with additional credits potentially applied toward prerelease custody placement.

Relationship to good conduct time

The BOP calculates and applies earned time credits after good conduct time credits. First it adjusts an inmate's release date based on good conduct time, then determines how earned time credits affect eligibility for prerelease custody or early supervised release. The two systems are cumulative, so an inmate may benefit from both at the same time.

Loss and restoration of credits

Inmates can lose earned time credits for misconduct or violating program or productive activity requirements. The BOP's disciplinary process under 28 CFR Part 541 governs these procedures. Only credits earned as of the violation date get reduced; future earning potential depends on the inmate's subsequent conduct and participation status.

Lost credits may be restored on a case-by-case basis after the inmate maintains clear conduct (no disciplinary infractions) for two consecutive risk and needs assessment periods. The facility warden has authority to restore credits and can't delegate this below the Associate Warden level. Inmates may request restoration during regularly scheduled program reviews.

Implementation history

Development period (2018–2022)

The First Step Act became law in December 2018. But the earned time credits program rolled out slowly. The Department of Justice released PATTERN in July 2019, and the BOP completed initial risk and needs assessments for all inmates by January 15, 2020, as required by statute.

Three years after the Act's passage, the final rule governing time credits appeared in the Federal Register on January 19, 2022. Implementation challenges, including COVID-19's disruption of programming, delayed meaningful release of inmates under the time credits provisions.

Rollout and corrections (2022–2023)

Starting in January 2022, the BOP began manually calculating time credits for inmates approaching release. Thousands of inmates were released or transferred to community custody as credits were applied.

The BOP then implemented automated calculation software. That created problems. Some inmates saw their credit balances decrease due to incomplete needs assessments or declined programs. The BOP issued a program statement in November 2022 establishing a grace period through December 31, 2022, allowing inmates to resolve issues affecting their earning status.

Starting January 1, 2023, stricter requirements kicked in. Incomplete needs assessments or declined programs precluded credit earning until resolved.

Impact

In 2023 alone, 17,465 individuals were released from BOP custody after earning and applying First Step Act time credits, according to U.S. Sentencing Commission data. On average, these individuals earned 10.3 months of credits, which accounted for roughly 17 percent of their imposed sentences. Between 2019 and early 2023, approximately 30,000 people were released from federal prison before their original release date as a result of various First Step Act provisions.

Criticisms and challenges

The earned time credits program's rollout sparked criticism from advocacy groups and oversight bodies. The Government Accountability Office found that the BOP lacked readily available, complete, and accurate data to determine whether assessments happened within required timeframes, and that programming availability didn't meet inmate needs.

Waitlists for programs prevent individuals from earning maximum potential credits. Delays in developing automated calculation tools meant some inmates stayed incarcerated past their earned release dates. The Urban Institute also pointed out that the conversion rate of program hours to credit days produces relatively modest benefits. Even intensive programs like RDAP yield only about one month of earned credits.

PATTERN has also faced scrutiny regarding potential racial bias, though the Department of Justice conducted validation studies and modified the tool in response to public comment.

Legislative background

President Donald Trump signed the First Step Act into law on December 21, 2018. It was the most significant federal criminal justice reform legislation in decades. The law directed the Department of Justice to develop a risk and needs assessment system and required the BOP to provide evidence-based recidivism reduction programming to federal inmates.

The earned time credits provision was meant to create incentives. Inmates who invested in their rehabilitation and succeeded in programming would get earlier release opportunities. Congress designed the system so eligible inmates could earn credits for transfer to less restrictive settings or early start of supervised release. The goal: reduce recidivism while helping people reintegrate into communities.

See also

• First Step Act: Overview and Implementation
• Good conduct time
• Federal Bureau of Prisons
• Residential Drug Abuse Program