By Christopher Zoukis, JD, MBA — Managing Director, Elizabeth Franklin-Best, P.C.
The Bureau of Prisons runs on written policy. Almost every decision that affects a sentence — where a person is designated, what programs they can enter, how much time they earn, when they go to a halfway house, what happens after a disciplinary report — traces back to a Program Statement, a regulation in 28 C.F.R., or a statute. This index covers 137 of them.
Each page below states what the policy requires, identifies the edition in force, and reproduces the operative text so it can be checked rather than taken on faith. Where a Program Statement has been reissued or rescinded, the page says so and names what governs now. Several of the longest manuals carry their complete text on a linked full text child page.
On this page
Sentence computation and how release dates are set
How the Bureau turns a judgment into a release date: the computation manuals, good conduct time, and the rules for older and specialized sentences.
- Sentence Computation Manual(CCCA of 1984)
- Sentence Computation Manual/Old Law/Pre CCCA 1984
- District of Columbia Sentence Computation Manual
- Good Conduct Time Under the Prison Litigation Reform Act
- Educational Good Time Sentence Credit for D.C. Code Offenders
- Fines and Costs for “Old Law” Inmates
- Administration of Sentence for Military Inmates
- Youth Corrections Act (YCA) Inmates
- Civil Contempt of Court Commitments
- Institution Hearing Program
- Nunc Pro Tunc Designation of a State Institution for Service of a Federal Sentence (Program Statement 5160.05)
- Categorization of Offenses
Early release, First Step Act credits, and RDAP
The routes that shorten a sentence already imposed, and the assessments and programs that earn them.
- First Step Act Assessments, Programming, and Incentives
- First Step Act of 2018 – Time Credits: Procedures for Implementation of 18 U.S.C. § 3632(d)(4)
- First Step Act of 2018 – Time Credits- Procedures for Implementation of 18 U.S.C. § 3632(d)(4) – BOP Program Statement 5410.01
- Early Release Procedures Under 18 U.S.C. 3621(e)
- Early Release Procedures Under 18 U.S.C. 3621(e) – BOP Program Statement 5331.02
- Psychology Treatment Programs
- Compassionate Release/Reduction in Sentence: Procedures for Implementation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 3582 …
- Petition for Commutation of Sentence
- Management of Aging Offenders
Halfway house, home confinement, and release preparation
The last stretch of a sentence: community placement, the programs that prepare people for it, and what the Bureau does on the day of release.
- Community Corrections Manual (Program Statement 7300.09)
- Community Corrections Center(CCC) Utilization and Transfer Procedures
- Home Confinement
- Community Corrections Mission & Responsibilities
- Community Treatment Services
- Release Preparation Program
- Release Gratuities, Transportation, and Clothing (Program Statement 5873.06)
- Release of Inmates Prior to a Weekend or Legal Holiday (Program Statement 5140.36)
- Reintegration Units (Program Statement 5218.01)
- Notification Requirements Upon Release of Sex Offenders, Violent Offenders, and Drug Traffickers
- Unescorted Transfers and Voluntary Surrenders
Designation, classification, transfers, and the inmate record
Where a person is sent and why, how the Bureau records and reviews it, and the mechanics of moving between institutions and jurisdictions.
- Inmate Security Designation and Custody Classification
- Medical Designations and Referral Services for Federal Prisoners
- Central Inmate Monitoring System and Separation Assignments (Program Statement 5180.05)
- Detainers and the Interstate Agreement on Detainers
- Detainer Action Letter (BP-394)
- Transfer of a Prisoner to State Custody Prior to Release from the Federal Sentence
- Transfer of Inmates to State Agents For Production on State Writs
- Transfer of Offenders To or From Foreign Countries (Program Statement 5140.42)
- Escorted Trips (Program Statement 5538.08)
- Furloughs – BOP Program Statement 5280.09
- SENTRY: The BOP’s Inmate Information System (PS 5890.13)
- Inmate Central File, Privacy Folder, and Parole Mini-Files (Program Statement 5800.17)
- Progress Reports
- Unit Management and Inmate Program Review
- Admission and Orientation Program (Program Statement 5290.14)
- Intake Screening (Program Statement 5290.15)
- Receiving and Discharge Manual (Program Statement 5800.19)
Discipline, restricted housing, searches, and use of force
The disciplinary process, the housing units people are moved to, and the Bureau’s authority to search, restrain, and detain.
- Inmate Discipline Program
- Special Housing Units
- Special Management Units (Program Statement 5217.02)
- Control Unit Programs (Program Statement 5212.07)
- Communications Management Units (Program Statement 5214.05)
- Lockdowns and Modified Operations
- Searches of Housing Units, Inmates, and Inmate Work Areas
- Searching, Detaining or Arresting Visitors to Bureau Grounds and Facilities (Program Statement 5510.15)
- Use of Force, Application of Restraints, and Firearms (Program Statement 5566.07)
- Ion Spectrometry Device Program (Program Statement 5524.01)
- Whole Body Imaging
- Polygraph Tests, Administering of
- Narcotic Identification, Inmate Urine and Alcohol Surveillance and Testing Program (Program Statement 5514.01)
- Correctional Services Procedures Manual (BOP Program Statement 5500.14)
- Hostage Situations or Criminal Actions Requiring FBI Presence – BOP Program Statement 5508.02
- Jurisdiction on Escape-Related Issues MOU- USMS, FBI, BOP – BOP Program Statement 1434.06
- Inmate DNA Sample Collection Procedures
- Posted Picture FIle
Medical and mental health care
What the Bureau owes a person in its custody medically, who provides it, and the policies governing serious illness, mental health, and death in custody.
- Patient Care
- Health Services Administration
- Health Information Management (Program Statement 6090.04)
- Dental Services (Program Statement 6400.03)
- Pharmacy Services (Program Statement 6360.03)
- Psychiatric Services (Program Statement 6340.04)
- Psychology Services Manual (Program Statement 5310.17)
- Treatment and Care of Inmates With Mental Illness
- Forensic and Other Mental Health Evaluations
- Secure Mental Health Units
- Suicide Prevention Program (Program Statement 5332.01)
- Infection Prevention and Control
- Hunger Strikes
- Over-the-Counter Medications (Program Statement 6541.03)
- Inmate Copayment Program
- Autopsies
- Certification and Civil Commitment of Sexually Dangerous Persons (Program Statement 5394.01)
- Physical Capacity for Bureau Facilities
Mail, telephone, visiting, and contact with the outside
Every channel between a person inside and the people outside, and the rules that restrict each one.
- Correspondence
- Mail Management Manual (Program Statement 5800.16)
- Inmate Telephone Regulations (corrected copy 2/11/08)
- Multimedia Communications
- Visiting Regulations
- Marriages of Inmates (Program Statement 5326.05)
- Inmate Manuscripts
- Incoming Publications
- Staff Correspondence About Inmates
- Release of Information
- Parenting, Children, and Families (Program Statement 5355.04)
Education, work, money, religion, and daily programs
Programming and institution life: what people can study, what they can earn, what they can spend, and what the Bureau must accommodate.
- Literacy Program
- English as a Second Language Program(ESL) Program
- Career and Technical Education Programs (Program Statement 5353.02)
- Postsecondary Education Programs (Program Statement 5354.04)
- Education, Training, and Leisure Time Program Standards (Program Statement 5300.21)
- Minimum Standards for Administration, Interpretation, and Use of Education Tests
- Inmate Library Services (Program Statement 1542.07)
- Inmate Recreation Programs (Program Statement 5370.12)
- Work and Performance Pay, Inmate
- Financial Responsibility Program, Inmate
- Inmate Contributions
- Trust Fund/Deposit Fund Manual
- Cost of Incarceration Fee (COIF)
- Food Service Manual (Program Statement 4700.08)
- Religious Beliefs and Practices
- Life Connections and Threshold Programs
- Inmate Organizations
- Sex Offender Programs
- Grooming
Rights, remedies, property, and staff accountability
How a person challenges what the Bureau does (administrative remedies, tort claims, property claims) and the standards staff are held to.
- Administrative Remedy Program
- Request to Staff, Inmate
- Inmate Legal Activities
- Federal Tort Claims Act
- Inmate Property Claims (Program Statement 5581.01)
- Inmate Personal Property
- Reporting Staff Misconduct: The Office of Internal Affairs (Program Statement 1210.26)
- Non-Discrimination Towards Inmates
- Standards of Employee Conduct
- Victim and Witness Notification Program
Policies for specific populations
Where Bureau policy turns on who a person is rather than what they were convicted of.
- Female Offender Manual
- Female Integrated Treatment (FIT) (Program Statement 5240.01)
- Pregnancy, Birth Control, Child Placement, and Abortion in Federal Prison
- Management of Inmates with Gender Dysphoria (Program Statement 5260.01)
- Transgender Offender Manual (BOP Program Statement 5200.08) — Status and What Governs Now
- Management of Inmates with Disabilities (Program Statement 5200.06)
- Management of Inmate Veterans
- Juvenile Delinquents
- Pretrial Inmates (Program Statement 7331.05)
- Sexually Abusive Behavior Prevention and Intervention Program
Staff and internal administration policies
These govern the Bureau as an employer rather than the conditions of anyone’s confinement. Nothing in this group determines how a sentence is calculated, where a person is designated, or what programs they can enter.
- BOP Staff and Internal Policy Index
- Commissioned Officer Student Training Extern Program – BOP Program Statement 6021.04
Forms and the administrative remedy process
Policy is enforced through paperwork. The BOP forms index collects the forms the Bureau publishes, and how to file a BP-9 walks through the administrative remedy sequence from the informal BP-8 to the BP-11 appeal to the Office of General Counsel.
Index rebuilt 9 September 2026. Program Statement currency verified against the Bureau’s published policy set; where a page reproduces a superseded edition, the page itself says so.
Reviewed for legal accuracy by Elizabeth Franklin-Best, Esq., Principal Attorney·September 2026