Inmate Security Designation and Custody Classification

By Elizabeth Franklin-Best, Esq., and Christopher Zoukis, JD, MBA

Program Statement 5100.08 at a glance

Field	Value
Program Statement	5100.08, CN-3
Subject	Inmate Security Designation and Custody Classification
Effective / current edition date	Change Notice 3, dated May 6, 2026, to a base Program Statement dated September 12, 2006
Change notice	CN-3 (05-06-2026, Director William K. Marshall III) · CN-2 (03-06-2025, Associate Deputy Director Kathleen Toomey) · CN-1 (09-04-2019, Director Kathleen Hawk Sawyer)
Supersedes / rescinds	No rescission stated in CN-3. Each change notice amends the September 12, 2006 base Program Statement rather than replacing it.
Governing statute	18 U.S.C. § 3621(b) (designation of place of imprisonment); 28 U.S.C. § 509 (functions vested in the Attorney General), cited in CN-3
Governing regulation (28 C.F.R.)	None. This Program Statement contains no blue regulatory text and cites no C.F.R. part. Designation rests on the statute and on the Bureau’s own scoring instrument.
Related BP forms	BP-337, Inmate Load and Security Designation Form; BP-338, Custody Classification Form; Form 409, Request for Transfer/Application of Management Variable
Official PDF	PS 5100.08 CN-3 (bop.gov)

Checked against the BOP policy set · 2026-09-06.

This is the Program Statement that decides which federal prison someone goes to. It converts a person’s offense, criminal history, detainers, age, education, escape and violence history and time remaining into a numeric security point score, applies any Public Safety Factors and Management Variables on top of that score, and produces a security level — MINIMUM, LOW, MEDIUM, HIGH or ADMINISTRATIVE — that the Designation and Sentence Computation Center then matches to a facility.

Two companion pages sit alongside this one. Federal prison security levels explains in plain terms what a camp, a low, a medium and a penitentiary are actually like, and how BOP designation works walks through the process from sentencing to arrival, including judicial recommendations and self-surrender. This page is the rule book behind both: the point scales, the cutoffs and the override lists, reproduced from the Bureau’s own document with page cites.

The rule itself: the BP-337 and BP-338 scoring items, the cutpoints, the Public Safety Factors and the Management Variables

Nothing on this page matters more than the numbers below, so a word first on where they come from and how to read them. The Bureau scores a person twice. At intake the Designation and Sentence Computation Center completes the BP-337, Inmate Load and Security Designation Form, which produces the initial security point total. Afterward, at the institution, the unit team completes the BP-338, Custody Classification Form, which re-runs a base score, adds an institutional-behavior score, and combines them through a variance table. A point total on its own does not settle anything: the Program Statement states that “[a]n inmate’s security point score is not the only factor used” (PS 5100.08 at p. 13), and Public Safety Factors override the score outright.

The BP-337 point items — Security Designation Data

These are the scored items on the intake form, exactly as the form prints them.

Item	Scoring values
5. Voluntary surrender status	0 = NO; (−3) = YES. If yes, must indicate 5a. voluntary surrender date and 5b. voluntary surrender location
6. Months to release	(entered, not scored on a scale)
7. Severity of current offense	0 = LOWEST; 1 = LOW MODERATE; 3 = MODERATE; 5 = HIGH; 7 = GREATEST
8. Criminal history score	0 = 0–1; 2 = 2–3; 4 = 4–6; 6 = 7–9; 8 = 10–12; 10 = 13 +
8a. Source of documented criminal history	Presentence Investigation Report or NCIC III
9. History of violence — MINOR	NONE = 0; >15 YEARS = 1; 10–15 YEARS = 1; 5–10 YEARS = 3; <5 YEARS = 5
9. History of violence — SERIOUS	NONE = 0; >15 YEARS = 2; 10–15 YEARS = 4; 5–10 YEARS = 6; <5 YEARS = 7
10. History of escape or attempts — MINOR	NONE = 0; >15 YEARS = 1; >10 YEARS = 1; 5–10 YEARS = 2; <5 YEARS = 3
10. History of escape or attempts — SERIOUS	NONE = 0; >15 YEARS = 3 (S); >10 YEARS = 3 (S); 5–10 YEARS = 3 (S); <5 YEARS = 3 (S)
11. Type of detainer	0 = NONE; 1 = LOWEST/LOW MODERATE; 3 = MODERATE; 5 = HIGH; 7 = GREATEST
12. Age	0 = 55 and over; 2 = 36 through 54; 4 = 25 through 35; 8 = 24 or less
13. Education level	0 = Verified High School Degree or GED; 1 = Enrolled in and making satisfactory progress in GED Program; 2 = No verified High School Degree/GED and not participating in GED Program
14. Drug/alcohol abuse	0 = Never/>5 Years; 1 = <5 Years
15. Security point total	(sum)
16. Public Safety Factors	A-NONE; B-DISRUPTIVE GROUP (males only); C-GREATEST SEVERITY OFFENSE (males only); F-SEX OFFENDER; G-THREAT TO GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS; H-DEPORTABLE ALIEN; I-SENTENCE LENGTH (males only); K-VIOLENT BEHAVIOR (females only); L-SERIOUS ESCAPE; M-PRISON DISTURBANCE; N-JUVENILE VIOLENCE; O-SERIOUS TELEPHONE ABUSE
17. Remarks	(free text)
18. OMDT referral	(yes/no)

Source: PS 5100.08 at p. 49 (Chapter 4, Page 16 — BP-337 Inmate Load and Security Designation Form).

Note item 5. Voluntary surrender is the only item on the form that subtracts points, and it subtracts three. That is the single largest reason self-surrender matters to a designation, and it is covered in more detail at voluntary surrender and unescorted transfers. Note also item 13: not having a verified high school diploma or GED, and not being enrolled in a GED program, adds two points that enrolling would remove.

The BP-338 point items — Base Scoring and Custody Scoring

The institutional form has two scored sections. Section B reproduces most of the intake items; Section C scores institutional adjustment.

Section B — Base Scoring

Item	Scoring values
1. Type of detainer	0 = NONE; 1 = LOWEST/LOW MODERATE; 3 = MODERATE; 5 = HIGH; 7 = GREATEST
2. Severity of current offense	0 = LOWEST; 1 = LOW MODERATE; 3 = MODERATE; 5 = HIGH; 7 = GREATEST
3. Months to release	(entered)
4. Criminal history score	0 = 0–1; 2 = 2–3; 4 = 4–6; 6 = 7–9; 8 = 10–12; 10 = 13 +
5. History of escape or attempts — MINOR	NONE = 0; >15 YEARS = 1; 10–15 YEARS = 1; 5–10 YEARS = 2; <5 YEARS = 3
5. History of escape or attempts — SERIOUS	NONE = 0; >15 YEARS = 3(S); 10–15 YEARS = 3(S); 5–10 YEARS = 3(S); <5 YEARS = 3(S)
6. History of violence — MINOR	NONE = 0; >15 YEARS = 1; 10–15 YEARS = 1; 5–10 YEARS = 3; <5 YEARS = 5
6. History of violence — SERIOUS	NONE = 0; >15 YEARS = 2; 10–15 YEARS = 4; 5–10 YEARS = 6; <5 YEARS = 7
7. Voluntary surrender status	0 = NOT APPLICABLE; (−3) = VOLUNTARY SURRENDER
8. Age	0 = 55 and over; 2 = 36 through 54; 4 = 25 through 35; 8 = 24 or less
9. Education level	0 = Verified High School Degree/GED; 1 = Enrolled in and making satisfactory progress in GED Program; 2 = No verified High School Degree/GED & not participating in GED Program
10. Drug/alcohol abuse	0 = Never/>5 Years; 1 = <5 Years
11. Base score	Add § B. items 1–10

Section C — Custody Scoring

Item	Scoring values
1. Percentage of time served	3 = 0–25%; 4 = 26–75%; 5 = 76–90%; 6 = 91+%
2. Program participation	0 = POOR; 1 = AVERAGE; 2 = GOOD
3. Living skills	0 = POOR; 1 = AVERAGE; 2 = GOOD
4. Type & number of most serious incident report	0 = ANY GREAT (100) IN PAST 10 YRS; 1 = > 1 HIGH (200) IN PAST 2 YRS; 2(A) = 1 HIGH (200) IN PAST 2 YRS; 2(B) = > 1 MOD (300) IN PAST YR; 3(A) = 1 MOD (300) IN PAST YR; 3(B) = >1 LOW MOD (400) IN PAST YR; 4 = 1 LOW MOD (400) IN PAST YR; 5 = NONE
5. Frequency of incident reports (in past year)	0 = 6+; 1 = 2 THRU 5; 2 = ONE; 3 = NONE
6. Family/community ties	3 = NONE OR MINIMAL; 4 = AVERAGE OR GOOD
7. Custody total	Add § C. 1–6
8. Custody variance	From the appropriate table on BP-338, page 2
9. Security total	Add or subtract custody variance (§ C.8) to base score (§ B.11)
10. Scored security level
11. Management security level

Source: PS 5100.08 at p. 82 (Chapter 6, Page 20 — BP-338 Custody Classification Form, Page 1).

Section C is the half a person can actually move. Clear conduct, program participation, living skills and maintained family ties are all scored, and higher custody-scoring points push the variance downward, which lowers the security total. Note the inversion built into item 4: on the custody side a higher number is better, and a clear year scores 5.

The custody variance tables

The custody total and the base score intersect to produce a variance, which is then applied to the base score to yield the security total.

Table 6-1(M) — Male Custody Variance Table

Base score ↓ / Custody total →	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22
0–11	+4	+4	+3	+3	+2	+1	+1	+1	0	0	−1	−1	−2	−3	−4	−5	−5
12–15	+4	+4	+3	+3	+2	+1	+1	+1	0	0	0	−1	−2	−3	−4	−5	−5
16–23	+8	+6	+5	+4	+4	+3	+2	+1	+1	0	0	0	−1	−1	−2	−2	−3
24+	+8	+6	+5	+4	+4	+3	+2	+1	+1	+1	0	0	0	−1	−1	−2	−3

Table 6-1(F) — Female Custody Variance Table

Base score ↓ / Custody total →	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22
0–15	+15	+11	+7	+4	+3	+2	+1	+1	0	0	0	0	−2	−4	−8	−12	−16
16–30	+15	+11	+7	+4	+3	+2	+1	+1	0	0	0	0	0	−4	−8	−12	−16
31+	+15	+11	+7	+4	+3	+2	+1	+1	0	0	0	0	0	0	−1	−5	−8

Source: PS 5100.08 at p. 77 (Chapter 6, Page 15). The Program Statement’s own worked example: “A male inmate has a Base Score of 17 points and a Custody Total of 11 points. By using the Custody Variance Matrix, the intersecting point for these two items is +3.”

The Program Statement then directs: if the custody variance score is in the positive range, consider a custody increase; if it is zero, present custody is continued; if it is in the negative range, consider a custody decrease (PS 5100.08 at p. 78). It adds that “[i]f the application of the Custody Variance to the Base Score results in a negative number, use 0.”

The cutpoints: Security Designation Table (Males)

This is Table 5-2 — the table that converts a point total plus any Public Safety Factor into a security level.

Security point total	Public Safety Factors	Inmate security level
0 – 11	No Public Safety Factors	Minimum
0 – 11	Deportable Alien	Low
0 – 11	Juvenile Violence	Low
0 – 11	Greatest Severity Offense	Low
0 – 11	Sex Offender	Low
0 – 11	Serious Telephone Abuse	Low
0 – 11	Threat to Government Officials	Low
0 – 11	Sentence Length — Time remaining > 10 Yrs	Low
0 – 11	Sentence Length — Time remaining > 20 Yrs	Medium
0 – 11	Sentence Length — Time remaining > 30 Yrs (Includes non-parolable LIFE and Death penalty cases)	High
0 – 11	Serious Escape	Medium
0 – 11	Disruptive Group	High
0 – 11	Prison Disturbance	High
12 – 15	No Public Safety Factors	Low
12 – 15	Serious Escape	Medium
12 – 15	Sentence Length — Time remaining > 20 Yrs	Medium
12 – 15	Sentence Length — Time remaining > 30 Yrs (Includes non-parolable LIFE and Death penalty cases)	High
12 – 15	Disruptive Group	High
12 – 15	Prison Disturbance	High
16 – 23	No Public Safety Factors	Medium
16 – 23	Disruptive Group	High
16 – 23	Prison Disturbance	High
16 – 23	Sentence Length — Time remaining > 30 Yrs (Includes non-parolable LIFE and Death penalty cases)	High
24 +	(any)	High

Source: PS 5100.08 at p. 61 (Chapter 5, Page 12, Table 5-2 — Security Designation Table (Males)).

The cutpoints: Security Designation Table (Females)

Security point total	Public Safety Factors	Inmate security level
0 – 15	No Public Safety Factors	Minimum
0 – 15	Deportable Alien	Low
0 – 15	Juvenile Violence	Low
0 – 15	Serious Telephone Abuse	Low
0 – 15	Sex Offender	Low
0 – 15	Threat to Government Officials	Low
0 – 15	Violent Behavior	Low
0 – 15	Prison Disturbance	High
0 – 15	Serious Escape	High
16 – 30	No Public Safety Factors	Low
16 – 30	Prison Disturbance	High
16 – 30	Serious Escape	High
31 +	(any)	High

Source: PS 5100.08 at p. 62 (Chapter 5, Page 13, Table 5-3 — Security Designation Table (Females)). In the source PDF the 16–30 row’s cell text wraps as “No Public Safety / Factors Prison / Disturbance Serious,” which reads as the three factors No Public Safety Factors, Prison Disturbance and Serious Escape, matching the 0–15 block above it; the word “Escape” does not print inside that cell in the PDF.

The two tables are not symmetric, and the difference is substantial. A woman scoring 15 points with no Public Safety Factor is Minimum; a man scoring 15 points is Low. The female tables also carry only three point bands to the male table’s four, and they route Prison Disturbance and Serious Escape to the Carswell Administrative Unit rather than to a high-security institution. Anything specific to women’s facilities is covered further in the Female Offender Manual (PS 5200.09) and at women’s federal prisons.

The Public Safety Factors

A Public Safety Factor overrides the point score. The Program Statement defines one as “relevant factual information regarding the inmate’s current offense, sentence, criminal history or institutional behavior that requires additional security measures be employed to ensure the safety and protection of the public,” and provides that “[a] maximum of three PSFs may be applied, however if more than three apply, those which would provide the greatest security and public safety will be utilized” (PS 5100.08 at p. 56).

Code	Public Safety Factor	Who it applies to and what floor it sets
A	None	No Public Safety Factors apply
B	Disruptive Group	A male inmate who is a validated member of a Disruptive Group identified in the Central Inmate Monitoring System will be housed in a High security level institution, unless the PSF has been waived
C	Greatest Severity Offense	A male inmate whose current term of confinement falls into the “Greatest Severity” range according to the Offense Severity Scale (Appendix A) will be housed in at least a Low security level institution, unless waived
F	Sex Offender	A male or female inmate whose behavior in the current term or prior history includes one or more of the six listed elements will be housed in at least a Low security level institution, unless waived. A conviction is not required if the PSR or other official documentation clearly indicates the behavior; it cannot be entered where the case was dismissed or nolle prosequi; it should be entered where a plea bargain avoided conviction on charged conduct
G	Threat to Government Officials	A male or female inmate classified with a Central Inmate Monitoring assignment of Threat to Government Official will be housed in at least a Low security level institution, unless waived
H	Deportable Alien	A male or female inmate who is not a citizen of the United States; all long-term detainees receive it. Housed in at least a Low security level institution. Not applied, or removed, where ICE or EOIR has determined deportation proceedings are unwarranted or there is a finding not to deport; not applied if the person has been naturalized
I	Sentence Length	A male inmate with more than ten years remaining to serve: at least Low. More than 20 years remaining: at least Medium. More than 30 years remaining (including non-parolable LIFE sentences): High. Each unless waived
K	Violent Behavior	A female inmate whose current term or history involves two convictions (or DHO findings of commission of a prohibited act) for serious incidents of violence within the last five years will be assigned to at least a Low security level institution, unless waived
L	Serious Escape	A female inmate involved in a serious escape within the last ten years, including the current term, will be assigned to the Carswell Administrative Unit, unless waived. A male inmate who has escaped from a secure facility (prior or instant offense) with or without the threat of violence, or who escapes from an open institution or program with a threat of violence, will be housed in at least a Medium security level institution, unless waived
M	Prison Disturbance	A male or female inmate involved in a serious incident of violence within the institution and found guilty of Engaging in or Encouraging a Riot, or acting in furtherance of such, as described in but not limited to disciplinary codes 103, 105, 106, 107, 212, 213 or 218, in conjunction with a period of simultaneous institution disruptions. Males: at least HIGH. Females: Carswell Administrative Unit. Each unless waived
N	Juvenile Violence	A male or female offender, currently of juvenile age, with any documented single instance of violent behavior, past or present, resulting in a conviction, delinquency adjudication, or finding of guilt
O	Serious Telephone Abuse	A male or female inmate who uses the telephone to further criminal activities or promote illicit organizations and meets one of four listed criteria; housed in at least a Low security level institution, unless waived. A conviction is not required

The Program Statement also records three discontinued Public Safety Factors: D — Firearms, E — High Drug, and J — Designation Assessment (PS 5100.08 at p. 61). If a file still carries one of those codes, it is a stale entry.

Source: PS 5100.08 at pp. 56–61 (Chapter 5, Pages 7–12).

The Management Variables

A Management Variable is the mechanism that lets the Bureau house someone at a level that does not match their score. The Program Statement provides that one “is required when placement has been made and/or maintained at an institution level inconsistent with the inmate’s scored security level,” that application “requires review and approval by the DSCC Administrator,” and that “[a] maximum of three Management Variables may be entered for each case” (PS 5100.08 at p. 50).

Code	Management Variable	Expiration (Table 5-1)
A	None	N/A
B	Judicial Recommendation	N/A
D	Release Residence/Planning	N/A
E	Population Management	Up to 18 months**
G	Central Inmate Monitoring Assignment	N/A
I	Medical/Psychiatric	6 months
N	Program Participation	Up to 18 months, at the discretion of the Regional Director**
R	Work Cadre	N/A
S	PSF Waived*	N/A (However, if an inmate is transferred to a more secure institution based on behavior related to the waived PSF, this MGTV will be removed.)
U	Long-Term Detainee	N/A
V	Greater Security*	Up to 24 months**
W	Lesser Security*	N/A

\ requires application of a Management Security Level (MSL). \\ if no expiration date is entered, SENTRY will default to an expiration date 12 months in advance. Source: PS 5100.08 at p. 55 (Chapter 5, Page 6, Table 5-1 — Management Variable Expiration Table); descriptions at pp. 52–55.*

Three of these — S (PSF Waived), V (Greater Security) and W (Lesser Security) — trigger a Management Security Level, which the Program Statement describes as an overriding level that “takes precedence over the security level reflected in SENTRY which is based upon the scored security level and the application of Public Safety Factors” (PS 5100.08 at p. 51). For S and W the MSL “must be at least one level less than the scored security level”; for V it “must be at least one level greater” (PS 5100.08 at pp. 53, 54).

Two are worth knowing by name. MGTV D, Release Residence, is the First Step Act variable: it provides that “[t]o the extent practicable, placement to the closest facility within 500 driving miles of the release area will be considered reasonable,” subject to bed availability, security designation, programmatic needs, mental and medical health needs, faith-based requests, court recommendations and other Bureau security concerns, and it “may also apply to inmates who are within 36 months of release” (PS 5100.08 at pp. 4–5, 52). MGTV S, PSF Waived, is the route for removing a Public Safety Factor: “Only the DSCC Administrator is authorized to waive a PSF,” and the request goes to the DSCC on form 409, with items 1 through 7 completed (PS 5100.08 at p. 53).

What security designation policy means for you

If you are the person inside: get your BP-337 and BP-338

Get the two forms. Your BP-337 is in Section 2 of your Central File, and a new BP-338 is generated at every annual custody review — the Program Statement directs that “[a]t each annual custody review, a new Custody Classification Form (BP-338) will be completed, even though the scoring elements may not have changed” (PS 5100.08 at p. 63). You are entitled to see what was scored. Read item by item against the tables above and look for the four errors we see most: a detainer scored that has since been lifted; a criminal history score computed from the wrong criminal history points; a violence or escape entry in the wrong recency band; and an education level of 2 for someone who does hold a GED but never had it verified.

Understand which half you can move. The base score items are almost all fixed history. Section C of the BP-338 is not: percentage of time served climbs on its own, and program participation, living skills, incident report history and family and community ties are all scored. Note the timing the Program Statement sets — “[a]n inmate’s first custody classification will be scored at the first program review following initial classification (approximately 7 months after arrival at an institution),” and subsequent reviews “will occur at least every 12 months,” though they “may be conducted earlier in order to enable progress toward community activities” (PS 5100.08 at p. 63). Only changes that raise or lower the overall security level — an FRP refusal, an incident report, a new sentence, a sentence reduction — are scored outside the 12-month cycle.

Finally, be realistic about what a score does and does not decide. The Program Statement itself says the Custody Classification Form “only recommends an inmate’s custody. The Unit Team and/or Warden is the final review authority” (PS 5100.08 at p. 63). And the Supreme Court has held that federal prison officials have “full discretion to control these conditions of confinement” and that a prisoner “has no legitimate statutory or constitutional entitlement sufficient to invoke due process” in prison classification or program eligibility. Moody v. Daggett, 429 U.S. 78, 88 n.9 (1976). A miscalculated point is worth correcting because it is wrong, not because there is a right to a particular prison.

If you are a family member: what decides distance from home

The number that most often decides how far away someone is housed is not the security score — it is Management Variable D and the 500-driving-mile language the First Step Act added in 2018. 18 U.S.C. § 3621(b) now directs the Bureau to “place the prisoner in a facility as close as practicable to the prisoner’s primary residence, and to the extent practicable, in a facility within 500 driving miles of that residence,” subject to a list of qualifiers. CN-1 wrote that language into this Program Statement in 2019, and it also changed the transfer rule: where the old policy said no further nearer-release referrals would be made once someone was within 500 driving miles, the current text says further referrals “can be considered” subject to the same qualifiers (PS 5100.08 at p. 5).

Practically, that means the release address on file matters. If the anticipated release residence in the file is an old address in a different part of the country, the Bureau’s nearer-release analysis runs from that address. Updating it is done through the unit team at a program review, and it is worth doing well before a transfer request. Understand too that “as close as practicable” and “to the extent practicable” are qualifiers, not guarantees — the Bureau may weigh bed availability, security designation, programmatic needs and medical needs against proximity, and no one can promise a particular facility.

If you are counsel: security designation

Three points are load-bearing here. First, on the record made at sentencing: the BP-337 scores offense severity from the Offense Severity Scale in Appendix A and criminal history from the criminal history score, and item 8a lists only two authorized sources — the Presentence Investigation Report or NCIC III. Ambiguity in the PSR’s offense conduct section, or an unresolved objection to criminal history, does not stay in the sentencing record; it converts into designation points. A judicial recommendation is separately captured as Management Variable B, and § 3621(b)(4)(B) directs the Bureau to consider “any statement by the court that imposed the sentence … recommending a type of penal or correctional facility as appropriate.”

Second, on the two override systems. A Public Safety Factor is not scored — it overrides the score and sets a floor, and the only route to removal is a waiver by the DSCC Administrator on form 409 (PS 5100.08 at p. 53). A Management Variable is the reverse: it justifies placement away from the scored level, and three of them carry an MSL that supersedes the scored level entirely. Any argument about a designation needs to identify which of these is actually driving the placement, because the decision-maker and the paperwork differ.

Third, on the ceiling. Moody v. Daggett, 429 U.S. 78 (1976), forecloses a due process claim to a particular classification, and courts have consistently treated designation under § 3621(b) as committed to Bureau discretion. That does not make designation unreviewable in every respect — a scoring input that is factually wrong is a different problem from a discretionary judgment about where to house someone — but it does mean the productive path is usually administrative correction of the inputs rather than litigation over the output. The Administrative Remedy Program is the exhaustion vehicle.

What changed across the PS 5100.08 change notices

This Program Statement is unusual: the base text is nearly twenty years old and has been amended by change notice rather than reissued. The base Program Statement P5100.08 is dated September 12, 2006 (PS 5100.08 at p. 6). Three change notices sit on top of it, and the current PDF contains all three, stacked in front of the 2006 text.

CN-1, September 4, 2019 (approved by Director Kathleen Hawk Sawyer) implemented changes “in light of the FIRST STEP Act.” It added the § 3621(b) 500-driving-mile language to the Introduction; rewrote Management Variable D, Release Residence, to add the “to the extent practicable … within 500 driving miles” sentence and its list of qualifiers, and to add that the variable “may also apply to inmates who are within 36 months of release”; and rewrote the Chapter 7 nearer-release transfer rule (Code 313) so that further referrals “can be considered” rather than being cut off once someone is within 500 driving miles (PS 5100.08 at pp. 4–5).

CN-2, March 6, 2025 (approved by Associate Deputy Director Kathleen Toomey) added five definitions to Chapter 2 — FEMALE, MALE, MAN/MEN, SEX, and WOMAN/WOMEN — stating that the change was made “to ensure consistency with Executive Orders issued by the Executive Office of the President of the United States” (PS 5100.08 at p. 3). Because the male and female security designation tables and several Public Safety Factors are sex-specific, these definitions feed directly into which cutpoint table applies.

CN-3, May 6, 2026 (approved by Director William K. Marshall III) is the current edition and it changes one thing: Section 1, Purpose and Scope. The new text confirms that designation and redesignation “shall be consistent with the statutory authority contained in 18 U.S.C. § 3621(b),” then adds an Attorney General provision that was not there before. It quotes 28 U.S.C. § 509 — “[a]ll functions of other officers of the Department of Justice and all functions of agencies and employees of the Department of Justice are vested in the Attorney General” — and states that “[i]n certain circumstances, the Attorney General may exercise authority to designate or redesignate the place of a prisoner’s imprisonment, consistent with the requirements of 18 U.S.C. § 3621(b).” Notice of such an intention “shall be provided to the Bureau of Prisons as soon as practicable”; absent notification, the Bureau’s own procedures are followed; and where the Attorney General invokes the authority, the Bureau “may provide relevant information in order to facilitate the determination” and “may also facilitate communication or correspondence between the inmate and the Office of the Attorney General” (PS 5100.08 at pp. 1–2). The 2006 sentence that all decisions are made without favoritism as to social or economic status survives at p. 2.

That last change is the newest thing in federal designation policy and no competing page reflects it. It does not alter a single point value. What it does is name a second decision-maker.

Where people get stuck when the point score is wrong

The point score is wrong

This is the most fixable problem on the page, and the route is documentary. Start with a written Inmate Request to Staff — form BP-A0148 — to the case manager, asking for a copy of the current BP-337 and BP-338 and identifying the specific item number you say is misscored. Attach or cite the document that proves it: the amended judgment, the order lifting the detainer, the GED certificate, the PSR paragraph. If informal resolution fails, the formal route is the Administrative Remedy Program: a BP-9 to the Warden within 20 calendar days of the date the basis for the request occurred, a BP-10 to the Regional Director within 20 calendar days of the Warden’s signed response, and a BP-11 to the General Counsel within 30 calendar days of the Regional Director’s response. If a response does not arrive in time, the absence of a response may be treated as a denial at that level.

A detainer is driving the score

Type of detainer is worth up to seven points on both forms, and it is frequently the difference between two security levels. A lodged detainer that the charging jurisdiction no longer intends to pursue still scores until it is removed from the file. Where an untried state indictment is the source, the Interstate Agreement on Detainers may provide a mechanism to force disposition; that machinery is covered at detainers and the Interstate Agreement on Detainers (PS 5800.15). Where a federal sentence is meant to run concurrently with a state term, the separate question of a nunc pro tunc designation is covered at designation of a state institution (PS 5160.05).

A Public Safety Factor is set at the wrong floor

Because a PSF overrides the score, this is often the whole ballgame — a person scoring in the Minimum band with a Sex Offender or Deportable Alien PSF is housed at Low. Two PSFs have express removal conditions written into the policy. H, Deportable Alien, “shall not be applied, or shall be removed when the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) have determined that deportation proceedings are unwarranted or there is a finding not to deport,” and it “shall not be applied if the inmate has been naturalized as a United States citizen” (PS 5100.08 at p. 58). F, Sex Offender, “cannot be entered” where the case “was dismissed or nolle prosequi” (PS 5100.08 at p. 57). Those are conditions in the Bureau’s own text, and documentation of the ICE or EOIR determination, or of the dismissal, is what makes the request concrete. Otherwise the route is a waiver, and only the DSCC Administrator can grant one, on form 409.

The placement is far from home

Ask which Management Variable is on the file, and what its expiration date is. If it is E (Population Management), the table caps it at up to 18 months, defaulting to 12 if no date was entered; if it is V (Greater Security), up to 24 months. Those dates are review triggers. If the goal is a nearer-release transfer, the relevant code is 313 and the relevant text is the CN-1 amendment at p. 5, which reopened further referrals for people already within 500 driving miles. This is one of the places where a consult makes more sense than a form, because the analysis turns on the release address, the security level, the receiving institutions’ bed space and any Central Inmate Monitoring separation assignment on the file — and because designation is discretionary, no route to a particular facility can be promised.

Related BOP policy on designation and classification

Page	What it covers
Federal prison security levels	Paired page: what minimum, low, medium, high and administrative facilities are actually like
How BOP designation works	Paired page: the designation process from sentencing to arrival
PATTERN risk score	The separate First Step Act risk instrument, often confused with security points
Categorization of offenses (PS 5162.06)	Which offenses the Bureau treats as crimes of violence
Unit team and program review (PS 5321.09)	Where the annual custody review happens
Central Inmate Monitoring and separatees (PS 5180.05)	The CIM assignments behind MGTV G and PSFs B and G
Nunc pro tunc / state designation (PS 5160.05)	Designating a state institution for service of a federal sentence
Detainers and the Interstate Agreement on Detainers (PS 5800.15)	Removing or resolving the detainer that is scoring points
Voluntary surrender and unescorted transfers (PS 5140.43)	The −3 point item
Medical designations and care levels (PS 6270.02)	The care-level system behind MGTV I
Female Offender Manual (PS 5200.09)	Policy specific to women’s facilities
Administrative Remedy Program (PS 1330.18)	The BP-9 / BP-10 / BP-11 route for a scoring error

Frequently Asked Questions About Security Designation

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Full text of the Program Statement

The Bureau’s own text of Program Statement 5100.08 is reproduced in full on a separate page, with page markers matching the Bureau’s published PDF so any passage can be pin-cited: Program Statement 5100.08 — Inmate Security Designation and Custody Classification (full text).

Reviewed for legal accuracy by Elizabeth Franklin-Best, Esq., Principal Attorney·September 2026