Inmate Central File, Privacy Folder, and Parole Mini-Files (Program Statement 5800.17)

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

Field	Value
Program Statement	5800.17
Subject	Inmate Central File, Privacy Folder, and Parole Mini-Files
Effective / current edition	04-03-2015, approved by Director Charles E. Samuels, Jr. The document is marked “CORRECTED COPY (replaces version dated January 9, 2015)” — PS 5800.17 at p. 1
Change notices	None. BOP’s published policy list carries 5800.17 with no change notice; the April 3, 2015 document is itself the corrected version of the January 9, 2015 issuance.
Supersedes	Policy Rescinded: “P5800.11 Inmate Central File, Privacy Folder, and Parole Mini-Files (12/31/97)” — PS 5800.17 at p. 1
Governing statute	The Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. § 552a, and the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552. The file is part of a Privacy Act system of records — the Inmate Central Records System (JUSTICE/BOP-005) — “defined in the Federal Register, September 16, 1976, Volume 41, No. 181, page 39918” (PS 5800.17 at p. 4).
28 C.F.R. anchor	§ 513.40, “Inmate access to Inmate Central File” — verified. It sits in part 513, subpart D (“Release of Information”), in the subject group “Inmate Requests to Institution for Information,” §§ 513.40–513.44. Copies and fees: § 513.44. Medical records: § 513.42. The Privacy Act exemption for this system of records is 28 C.F.R. § 16.97(j) — see What binds and what does not, below.
Related BP forms	BP-A0381 Inmate Activity Record · BP-387 Inmate File Check-out Card · BP-A0171 Record of Information Release · BP-A0337 Inmate Load and Security Designation · BP-A0338 Custody Classification
Official PDF	bop.gov/policy/progstat/5800_017.pdf

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

Your central file is the six-part folder that every consequential decision about your sentence is made from — where you are designated, what your custody score is, which programs you are considered for, when the unit team says you can go to a halfway house. Program Statement 5800.17 says what goes in each of its six sections, what goes instead into a sealed Privacy Folder you are not shown, and how a person asks to read the disclosable part of it.

Two things are worth knowing before anything else. First, reading your file and fixing your file are two different processes with two different routes, and confusing them costs people months. Second, the most damaging entries are usually not disciplinary — they are an inaccurate paragraph in a presentence report, or a detainer that was resolved years ago and never removed. Both drive scoring and program eligibility long after anyone remembers putting them there. Our practical companion on what a person in federal custody can and cannot insist on is What Rights Do Prisoners Have?; the formal records route, for anything the unit team will not hand over, is FOIA and Privacy Act Requests (PS 1351.05).

The rule itself: the central file

Everything in this section is transcribed from the Bureau’s own text at bop.gov/policy/progstat/5800_017.pdf.

The six sections

PS 5800.17 at p. 5, transcribed verbatim:

e. Organization. The six-part Inmate Central File folder organizes filed material, topically, as follows:

Section No. Topic

1. Sentence Data/Detainers/IFRP 2. Classification/Parole Material 3. Mail, Visits, Property, etc. 4. Disciplinary, Work, and Education Reports 5. Release Processing 6. General Correspondence

In addition, a Privacy Folder, attached to the top of Section 5, provides a receptacle for storing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Exempt material.

The same page settles two more mechanics. The file is created by the Unit Secretary “immediately after assignment to a housing unit at the designated institution,” and “Inmates who were previously classified and transferred from other Bureau institutions ordinarily do not need to have another Inmate Central File created”; a former file on someone recommitted under the same sentence is reactivated (pp. 4–5). The file lives “at the current or last institution or facility of confinement” (p. 5).

What is actually in each section

This is the part people come for, and BOP publishes it. Attachment A to PS 5800.17, at pp. 16–19, is the Bureau’s own filing order. Its instruction, at p. 16: “Material must be filed in the following order (top to bottom) by sections when the document, report, etc., is appropriate, available, and disclosable to the inmate.” Transcribed section by section:

Section One — Sentence Data / Detainers / Inmate Financial Responsibility Program (p. 16)

(1) CIM White Card (2) SENTRY Sentence Computation Record (most current) (3) Copy of Judgment in a Criminal Case or Judgment and Commitment Papers (all) (4) Financial Responsibility Contract (most current) (a) Installment Schedule Agreement for Unpaid Fines form (if applicable) (b) Cost of Incarceration Fee form (BP-546) (if applicable) (c) Correspondence relating to IFRP (i.e. Financial Litigation Unit Correspondence) (5) Extra Good time Recommendation (BP-390) (all) (6) Detainer Action Letter (BP-394) (all) (7) FBI Fingerprint Report (RAP Sheet) or request for RAP Sheet; no Bureau run NCIC/III records in disclosable portion of File (8) Disclosable AO-235/AO-245/USA-792, (with response, if applicable)

Section Two — Classification and Parole Materials (pp. 16–17)

(1) Inmate Activity Record form (BP-381); new form for each institution (all) (2) In-Transit Data form (most current) (3) Copy of Transfer Order (BP-399) (all) (4) Request for Transfer (all) (5) Request for Management Variable Application/Updated Expiration Date or PSF Waiver (all) (6) Custody Classification form (most current; all exception cases resulting in custody reductions; all changes to or from MAX custody) (7) Parole forms (in chronological order) (all) — Parole Commission Appeals, National/Regional; Notice of Action; Notice of Action, Part II-Salient Factor; Waiver of Notice, Representation or Disclosure Staff Representative form; Notice of Hearing; Parole Application/Waiver (I-24); Background Statement of Inmate (I-32); Attorney Witness Election forms (I-16) and (CJA 22) (8) Related Correspondence to Parole Commission (all) — Parole Violation Warrant Application; USPO packet excluding duplication (9) Most recent signature page from progress report or program review (10) Treaty Transfer Packet (copy, if applicable) — Transfer Inquiry form (BP-297); Treaty Transfer Case Summary (11) Executive Clemency Report (if applicable) (12) Security Designation form (BP-337) (13) Presentence Investigation Report (PSI) (U.S. District Courts Only)/Probation Violator Report (14) Correspondence relating to PSI (disclosable)

Section Three — Mail, Visits, Property, etc. (p. 17)

(1) Extra Photographs (most current) (2) Identification (originals) (stored in envelope; send to R&D upon release) (3) Approved Visiting List (most current) (4) Correspondence relating to Visiting List (disclosable) (5) Inmate to Inmate Correspondence Approvals (all) (6) Acknowledgment of Inmate (BP-407) (all) (7) Acknowledgment of Inmate (BP 408) (original signed) (8) Inmate Personal Property Records (BP-383) (all) (9) Confiscation & Disposition of Contraband forms (BP-402) (all) (10) Authorization to Receive Packages or Property (BP-331) (maintain for two years) (11) Injury Report – Inmate (BP-140) (all) (12) Uniform Basic Safety Regulations (BP-169) (most current) (13) Admission and Orientation (Institution and Unit) Program Checklist (current) (14) Intake Screening form (Rights & Responsibilities) (all)

Section Four — Discipline, Work, Education Reports, etc. (pp. 17–18)

(1) Chronological Disciplinary Record for Incident Reports written prior to December 1, 1990 (2) Incident Reports, UDC Actions (all) (3) Discipline Hearing Officer Packet; file each UDC/DHO action as a packet in chronological order (all) — (a) Incident Report (BP-288); (b) Inmate Rights at Discipline Hearing (BP-293); (c) Notice of Discipline Hearing Before the DHO (BP-294); (d) Duties of Staff Representative (BP-306); (e) Waiver of Appearance (BP-307); (f) Discipline Hearing Officer (DHO) Report (BP-304); (g) DHO Checklist (BP-447); (h) Administrative Detention Order (BP-308); (i) Special Housing Unit Record (BP-292); (j) Special Housing Review (BP-295); (k) Temporary Placement in Disciplinary Segregation Order (BP-321), including any supporting disclosable Documentation (4) SHU forms that are not part of a UDC or DHO packet (all) — (a) Administrative Detention Order (BP-A0308); (b) Special Housing Unit (SHU) Record (BP-A0292); (c) Special Housing Review (BP-A0295) (5) Work Performance Rating forms, UNICOR and IPP (purged after incorporated into the inmate’s progress report) (6) Request for Vacation (most current) (7) Education-Related Documents (8) Drug Abuse Program correspondence (most current on top)

Section Five — Release Processing (pp. 18–19)

(1) Institution/Unit Release Preparation Checklists (most current) (2) Program Review Profile section page with notification information and corresponding signature page (3) Notification of Community Treatment Programs form (if applicable) (4) USPO Plan Approval (most current) (5) Parole Certificates, Parole form (H-13) (all) (6) Parole Certificate Request form (most current) (7) Release Correspondence (most current) (8) Notice of Release and Arrival, Parole form (I-13) (all) (9) Deportation Notice (Parole form 55) (all) (10) Supervision Release Plan form (BP-522) (all) (11) Certificate of Mandatory Release, Mandatory Release to Special Parole, Special Parole or Court Designated Parole (Parole form I-33) (all) (12) Release Authorization (BP-392) (all) (13) Gratuity forms (BP-189 or BP-379) (most current) (14) Notification of Prisoner Release Form (if applicable) (15) Release of Immigration Detainee with Supervision to follow (BP-325) (all) (16) Conditions of Probation and Supervised Release, (Probation form 7A) (if applicable) (17) RRC Terminal Report (if applicable) (18) RRC Packet (most current) — (a) Furlough Approval and Record form (BP-291) (RRC Only); (b) Institution Referral for RRC Placement (BP-210); (c) Acceptance/Denial Documentation from RRM; (d) Memorandum from the Warden with rationale for exclusion from RRC and Home Confinement/Inmate’s refusal to participate; (e) Community Based Program Agreement (19) Prior Release Documents (file entire packet together)

Section Six — General Correspondence, chronological (p. 19)

(1) Correspondence, General (2) Furlough Packet (all) — (a) Furlough Questionnaire USPO (BP-302); (b) Furlough Questionnaire; (c) Furlough Approval form (BP-291); (d) Correspondence Regarding Furlough (3) Record of Escorted Trip (most current) (4) Inmate Request to Staff Member (BP-148) (all) (5) Congressional Correspondence – Entire Packet (all) (6) Consent forms – General (all)

And a note at the foot of Attachment A, PS 5800.17 at p. 19, that surprises almost everyone:

Note: No Administrative Remedy Responses should be maintained in the Inmate Central File. See the Program Statement Administrative Remedy Program for file maintenance.

Two items in that list deserve to be circled. Section Two, item (18)(d) of Section Five — “Memorandum from the Warden with rationale for exclusion from RRC and Home Confinement” — is the written reason a halfway-house placement was cut or refused, and it is filed in a section you are entitled to review. Section Two, item (5) — “Request for Management Variable Application/Updated Expiration Date or PSF Waiver” — is the paper trail for every attempt to move a security score off its default. See Halfway House Placement Procedures and Security Designation and Custody Classification.

The Privacy Folder — what you do not get to see

PS 5800.17 at p. 20, the whole of it:

PRIVACY FOLDER. The Privacy Folder is located on the top of Section 5 of the Inmate Central File. The Privacy Folder contains two sections:

– FOIA Exempt material for Section I includes Central Inmate Monitoring documents and Victim/Witness Information. – Section II includes other non-disclosable material from the Inmate Central File.

How material gets there is set at p. 12: “Records that have been determined, under separately issued guidelines, to be excluded from inmate review are placed in the Privacy Folder … As materials from any source are submitted for placement in the Inmate Central File, they are routed to an appropriate staff member. The Case Manager reviews the materials, to ascertain whether to place them in the regular sections, place them in the Privacy Folder, or discard them. Any document to be excluded from inmate review must be stamped ‘FOI EXEMPT.'”

So the Privacy Folder is a working judgment made by a case manager, document by document, using guidelines issued elsewhere — chiefly the Release of Information Program Statement. Section I is defined narrowly: Central Inmate Monitoring documents and victim/witness information. Section II is defined as “other non-disclosable material,” which is not a definition at all. That is where a records dispute usually lives. Related: Central Inmate Monitoring System (PS 5180.05).

Parole material is withheld on a separate basis, p. 12: “Parole Mini-files, examiner packets, and pre-hearing assessments are not disclosable unless specifically authorized by the U.S. Parole Commission. The Parole Mini-file and other hearing materials must be removed from the Inmate Central File prior to inmate review. The inmate may seek review of those materials through the U.S. Parole Commission in accordance with 28 CFR 2.55 and 2.56.”

How you ask to read your file

The regulation and the Program Statement work together here, so both are quoted.

28 C.F.R. § 513.40, the binding rule:

Inmates are encouraged to use the simple access procedures described in this section to review disclosable records maintained in his or her Inmate Central File, rather than the FOIA procedures described in §§ 513.60 through 513.68 of this subpart. … An inmate may at any time request to review all disclosable portions of his or her Inmate Central File by submitting a request to a staff member designated by the Warden. Staff are to acknowledge the request and schedule the inmate, as promptly as is practical, for a review of the file at a time which will not disrupt institution operations.

The same section sets three procedural points that decide most disputes: “Prior to the inmate’s review of the file, staff are to remove the Privacy Folder which contains documents withheld from disclosure pursuant to § 513.32”; “During the file review, the inmate is to be under direct and constant supervision by staff. The staff member monitoring the review shall enter the date of the inmate’s file review on the Inmate Activity Record and initial the entry”; and — the one to remember — “Staff shall advise the inmate if there are documents withheld from disclosure and, if so, shall advise the inmate of the inmate’s right under the provisions of § 513.61 to make a FOIA request for the withheld documents.” If information is withheld, “staff will provide the inmate with a general description of that information.”

PS 5800.17 at p. 10 is the Bureau’s instruction to staff for carrying that out, transcribed verbatim:

11. INMATE REVIEW OF INMATE CENTRAL FILE MATERIALS

An inmate has the option to look at Central File materials. This procedure is not required by either the Freedom of Information Act or Privacy Act. A request submitted under FOIA, for example, is processed formally under Department of Justice and Bureau guidelines for handling such requests, per the specific statutory provisions. By contrast, the information contained in this section establishes an administrative procedure for inmate access to records that can properly be shown to the inmate in accordance with sound correctional practices.

a. Local Procedures. Each institution must adopt its own procedures and forms for submitting and acknowledging requests and for logging and scheduling Inmate Central File reviews.

b. Inmate Request and Review. Any inmate seeking to look at his/her Inmate Central File materials must make a request to a staff member indicating a particular need, as designated in the local instruction:

– The inmate’s request should be acknowledged. – The inmate should be permitted to review the file whenever practicable. – All file reviews must be done under constant and direct staff supervision. Central File materials stored electronically are printed for inmate review as appropriate; protocols must be in accordance with the Program Statement Information Security Programs. – Materials that have been determined to be non-disclosable are removed from the folder before inmate review. – An entry is made on the Inmate Activity Record (BP-A0381) to show the date the inmate reviews the file. The staff member monitoring the review initials the entry.

Note the difference between the two texts. The regulation says an inmate “may at any time request to review all disclosable portions”; the Program Statement adds that the request should indicate “a particular need.” The regulation is what binds.

Copies, and what you may not keep

PS 5800.17 at p. 11: “Any inmate who wishes to receive copies of disclosable materials from the file must make a request to institution staff. Within a reasonable time after the request, institution staff provide the inmate copies of requested disclosable Inmate Central File materials. Fees for copies are calculated in accordance with the Program Statement Release of Information.”

The regulation, 28 C.F.R. § 513.44, says the same thing and points to the fee schedule: “Within a reasonable time after a request, Bureau staff are to provide an inmate personal copies of requested disclosable documents maintained in the Inmate Central File and Medical Record. Fees for the copies are to be calculated in accordance with 28 CFR 16.10.” Under 28 C.F.R. § 16.10, “[w]here photocopies are supplied, the component shall provide one copy per request at a cost of five cents per page”; non-commercial requesters get “[t]he first 100 pages of duplication” and “[t]he first two hours of search” without charge, and “[w]hen, after first deducting the 100 free pages … and the first two hours of search, a total fee calculated … is $25.00 or less for any request, no fee will be charged.”

There is one large exception, and it is the single most common source of frustration on this subject. Under PS 1351.05, Release of Information, at p. 20 of the PDF (printed page 16): “For safety and security reasons, inmates are prohibited from obtaining or possessing photocopies of their PSRs, SORs, or other equivalent non-U.S. Code sentencing documents (e.g., D.C., state, foreign, military, etc.). Inmates violating this provision are subject to disciplinary action.” The same passage explains why — that people are pressured for their reports “to learn if they are informants, gang members, have financial resources” — and notes that a pretrial detainee awaiting sentencing may possess and review the PSR, but “[a]fter sentencing, however, the inmate is prohibited from retaining a copy.” Medical records have their own rule, 28 C.F.R. § 513.42, which allows review but routes records containing “subjective evaluations and opinions of medical staff” through a harm review first.

How you challenge something in the file

PS 5800.17 at p. 11, transcribed verbatim because the procedure it describes is the whole ballgame:

c. Inmate Challenge to Information. An inmate may challenge the accuracy of Central File materials. Unit staff take reasonable steps to ensure the accuracy of challenged information, particularly when that information is capable of being verified. The inmate is required to provide staff with sufficient information in support of a challenge (names of persons to contact, government agency, etc.).

When an inmate provides such information, staff review the alleged error(s) and take reasonable steps to ensure the information is correct.

For example, if an inmate challenges information in the PSR, staff instruct the inmate to prepare a written challenge, which staff then forward to the appropriate U.S. Probation Office (USPO). USPO procedures, however, do not allow changes or addendums to be made to the Presentence Investigation Report after sentencing, since it is a court document.

If the USPO subsequently reports that the challenged information, or some part thereof, is not accurate, staff attach the inmate’s inquiry and the USPO response to the challenged document. Staff file this information in the applicable section of the Inmate Central File, and also make a notation on the Inmate Activity Record (BP-A0381) to ensure that future decisions affecting the inmate are not based on discredited information.

When the USPO verifies that the information in the PSR is inaccurate, as claimed by the inmate, staff subsequently review, and, where indicated, correct Bureau-generated reports or data such as the Inmate Load and Security Designation form (BP-A0337), the Custody Classification form (BP-A0338), Progress Report, and any other reports that may have been based on the PSI. Bureau reports, data, or SENTRY transactions should be corrected within a reasonable period of time after identification of an inaccuracy.

Read that carefully, because it says two things at once. The presentence report itself will not be changed — it is a court document, and the probation office does not amend it after sentencing. What the policy does contemplate is (a) an attached inquiry-and-response pair, (b) a notation on the Inmate Activity Record so future decisions are not based on discredited information, and (c) correction of the Bureau’s own downstream products — the BP-A0337 designation form, the BP-A0338 custody classification, the progress report. That last item is the practical target: you are not trying to rewrite history, you are trying to stop a scoring input.

Housekeeping rules that occasionally matter

Rule	The Program Statement’s own words	Pin-cite
Custodian of the record	“The Case Management Coordinator (CMC) is the official custodian of inmate records. He/she is responsible for file retention, disposal, certification, and for court appearances when necessary.”	p. 8
Who may hold the file	“Files may never be left unsecured or handled in such a way as to be accessible to unauthorized persons. Staff ensure that inmates do not transport files and confidential materials.”	p. 8
Check-out tracking	“An Inmate File Check-Out Card (BP-387) must be prepared for each volume and remain with that volume.”	p. 9
Counting	“Inmate Central Files must be counted any time the file cabinet is unlocked.” The Inmate File Accountability Log records date/time of the count, total volumes counted, initials of the counter, and “[r]easons for any changes since the previous day’s count.”	p. 9
Weekly census	“A name roster and census count must be conducted at least weekly (weekly is defined as once per calendar week, Sunday through Saturday).”	p. 9
How long the counts are kept	“After completion, the printout is initialed, dated, and maintained for 90 days. The file count record is maintained for a period of two years.”	p. 9
Second volumes	A second volume “must contain all the original core documents required for an initial file” — the CIM White Card, the intact FOIA Exempt section from the primary volume, the J&C and the PSR where no electronic version exists.	p. 6
After release	“Inmate Central Files are retained for approximately two weeks after the inmate’s release.” Files for people in home confinement or an RRC are held “until the final release paperwork is received.”	p. 13
Long-term retention	“Inmate Central Files must be preserved for 30 years after the sentence expiration,” with medical, mental health and visiting records consolidated into the file after release. “Expiration of sentence for this purpose is defined as the date supervision expires, plus any special parole term, probation, supervised release, or the date released from confinement with no supervision to follow plus any special parole term.”	pp. 13–14
Post-release mail about you	“Material received regarding inmates who have been released from serving their sentences must be destroyed, with the exception of death notices or certificates and copies of U.S. Parole Commission correspondence to the U.S. Marshals Service transmitting warrants and court orders or documents.”	p. 14

The 30-year retention line is the one counsel should note. A central file is not purged when a sentence ends; it is consolidated with the medical and visiting records and preserved. That is why a records request years after release is not a lost cause.

What binds and what does not in PS 5800.17

This distinction decides what a reader can actually do with this policy, so it goes near the front rather than buried.

A Program Statement is the Bureau’s internal instruction to its own staff, not a regulation. The Supreme Court described a BOP Program Statement in Reno v. Koray, 515 U.S. 50 (1995), as “an internal agency guideline” that is “akin to an ‘interpretive rule’ that ‘do[es] not require notice and comment,'” though “still entitled to some deference.” What binds here is 28 C.F.R. § 513.40 — the right to request review of the disclosable portions of your file, to be scheduled promptly, to be told when something is withheld, and to be told you may file a FOIA request for it — together with § 513.44 on copies and § 513.42 on medical records.

Now the harder half. The Privacy Act ordinarily gives a person the right to see a federal agency’s records about them and to demand that inaccurate records be amended. Those rights are in 5 U.S.C. § 552a(d). They do not apply to this file. 28 C.F.R. § 16.97(j) provides:

The following system of records is exempt pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(j) and (k) from subsections (c)(3) and (4); (d); (e)(1), (2), (3), (4)(G), (H), and (I), (5), (8); (f); and (g): Inmate Central Records System (JUSTICE/BOP-005).

Subsection (d) is access and amendment. Subsection (e)(5) is the agency’s duty to maintain records with the accuracy necessary to assure fairness in any determination. Both are on that list. The Department’s stated reason for the (d) exemption, in the same section, is that compliance “could jeopardize the legitimate correctional interests of safety, security, and good order of prison facilities,” could “possibly identify a confidential source,” and could “constitute a potential danger to the health or safety of law enforcement personnel, confidential informants, and witnesses”; on amendment it adds that the requirement “would interfere with ongoing law enforcement activities and impose an impossible administrative burden by requiring investigations, analyses, and reports to be continuously reinvestigated and revised.”

The courts have applied that exemption directly. In Skinner v. United States Department of Justice & Bureau of Prisons, 584 F.3d 1093, 1096 (D.C. Cir. 2009), the court wrote that BOP “exempted its Inmate Central Records System from § 552a(d)’s amendment provision,” and “[a]s the district court found, as our precedents make clear, and as amicus acknowledged at oral argument, that exemption prevents us from ordering the amendment of an inmate’s records.” And in Martinez v. Bureau of Prisons, 444 F.3d 620, 624 (D.C. Cir. 2006) (per curiam), the court stated plainly: “The BOP has exempted its Inmate Central Record System from the accuracy provisions of the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552a(e)(5). See 28 C.F.R. § 16.97(j).” Martinez also addressed copies of a presentence report, holding that an agency “need not respond to a FOIA request for copies of documents where the agency itself has provided an alternative form of access,” on a record showing the appellant “was afforded a meaningful opportunity to review his PSRs and to take notes on them.”

The consequence, stated plainly: there is no Privacy Act lawsuit to force BOP to correct your central file. What exists is the administrative route in PS 5800.17 § 11(c) and § 513.40, the disciplinary and remedy processes for particular documents, and — for a presentence report — the sentencing court. Anyone who tells you otherwise is describing the law as it stood before the Department expanded the exemption.

Both Skinner and Martinez carry a “caution” citator signal, which is ordinary for older opinions with long citing histories; each is cited here only for the proposition its own text states, and each was retrieved and read in full before being named.

The practical point: what a stale file actually costs

This is the part that turns a records question into a sentence-length question, and it is worth being concrete about.

The Bureau does not score you from your case; it scores you from the documents in section one and section two of your central file. The Inmate Load and Security Designation form, BP-A0337, is built from the judgment, the presentence report and the USM-129. The Custody Classification form, BP-A0338, is rescored at each program review. Those two forms produce a security point total, a custody level, and any Public Safety Factor — and those in turn determine which prisons you can be sent to, whether a camp is available, and whether a management variable is needed to move you. The mechanics are on our Security Designation and Custody Classification (PS 5100.08) page.

Two specific file entries do most of the damage.

An inaccurate presentence report. A drug quantity, a weapon reference, a victim-injury description or a criminal-history entry that was never litigated at sentencing does not stay in the PSR — it propagates into the BP-A0337, into the offense categorization that drives program eligibility under Categorization of Offenses (PS 5162.06), and into decisions about First Step Act time credits and PATTERN scoring. The moment to fix it was at sentencing: under Fed. R. Crim. P. 32(f)(1), “[w]ithin 14 days after receiving the presentence report, the parties must state in writing any objections,” and under Rule 32(i)(3) the court at sentencing “must—for any disputed portion of the presentence report or other controverted matter—rule on the dispute or determine that a ruling is unnecessary,” and “must append a copy of the court’s determinations under this rule to any copy of the presentence report made available to the Bureau of Prisons.” That last clause is the one people forget. If the judge resolved a dispute in your favor, the ruling is supposed to travel with the report into your central file. If it did not, obtaining and lodging it is a concrete, achievable step. See The presentence report and Getting Your Transcripts, PSR, and Your Lawyer’s File.

A stale detainer. A Detainer Action Letter, form BP-394, is filed in section one and stays there. A detainer that has been withdrawn, satisfied, or lodged on a charge long since dismissed will keep affecting halfway-house and home-confinement consideration and can keep a Public Safety Factor in place until someone gets the lodging agency to withdraw it in writing. That is a Correctional Systems process, not a unit-team process: see Detainers and the Interstate Agreement on Detainers (PS 5800.15) and Interstate Detainer Act.

Applied Insight — Christopher Zoukis, JD, MBA, Managing Director: Ask for a central file review at least once a year, and again about eighteen months before your projected release date — not because anything is wrong, but because that is when a wrong entry is still cheap to fix. Take notes; you may not keep copies of the PSR, but nothing stops you from writing down what it says. Then compare what you read against your own BP-A0337 and BP-A0338, which you are entitled to see. Most of the designation and program disputes we are asked to fix late in a sentence were visible in the file years earlier, and the file review is free.

What central file policy means for you

If you are the person inside: two requests on a BP-A0148

Two requests, in writing, on a BP-A0148 Inmate Request to Staff. The first asks the staff member the Warden has designated to schedule a review of the disclosable portions of your Inmate Central File under 28 C.F.R. § 513.40. The second asks for copies of specific disclosable documents under § 513.44 — name them: the BP-A0337, the BP-A0338, the most recent progress report, any Detainer Action Letter, the RRC referral packet. Naming documents works better than asking for “my file.”

Expect the review to be supervised, expect the Privacy Folder to have been removed before you sit down, and expect the date to be recorded on your Inmate Activity Record. If something is withheld, the regulation entitles you to a general description of it and to be told you may file a FOIA request. Write down what you were told and when. If nothing happens, the ladder is the Administrative Remedy Program — and note that under PS 5800.17 at p. 19 the remedy responses themselves are not filed in the central file, so keep your own copies.

Finally: your file is not only a liability. Section four holds education records and drug-program correspondence; section five holds the release-preparation checklists and the RRC packet. If a program completion is missing from the file, it is missing from the progress report, and a missing completion is as consequential as a wrong entry. See Unit Team and Program Review.

If you are the family member: why you cannot request the file

You cannot request your loved one’s central file. The Privacy Act forbids an agency to release records about a person without that person’s written consent, and PS 5800.17 at p. 10 restates it: the Act “forbids release of information from agency records without a written request by, or without the prior written consent of, the individual to whom the record pertains.” What you can do is help assemble the raw material for a challenge. PS 5800.17 at p. 11 puts the burden on the incarcerated person to give staff “sufficient information in support of a challenge (names of persons to contact, government agency, etc.)” — court dockets, a sentencing transcript excerpt, a letter from a clerk showing a charge was dismissed, a written withdrawal of a detainer. Those are documents a family member on the outside can obtain in a week and an incarcerated person cannot obtain at all.

The other useful thing is patience with the shape of the process. A file review is scheduled “at a time which will not disrupt institution operations,” and a challenge routed to a probation office can take months to come back. That is not stalling. Our overview for families is What Families Should Know About Federal Prison.

If you are counsel: the central file

Three practical notes. First, the client’s own supervised review plus a targeted § 513.44 copy request will usually produce more, faster, than a FOIA request will — and Martinez holds that meaningful in-person access can itself answer a FOIA request for copies. Use FOIA for what the institution declines to produce, and use it under PS 1351.05, which is where the fee and certification requirements live.

Second, plan around 28 C.F.R. § 16.97(j) rather than into it. An amendment claim under 5 U.S.C. § 552a(d) is foreclosed for this system of records, and Skinner says so directly. The workable levers are the § 11(c) challenge with documentary support, a request that the sentencing court’s Rule 32(i)(3) determinations be lodged in the file, a management-variable or PSF-waiver request through the unit team, and — where the error affects the computation of the sentence rather than its conditions — the administrative remedy ladder followed by a § 2241 petition. Related: Sentence Computation Manual.

Third, remember what is not in this file. Administrative remedy responses are maintained elsewhere (p. 19). Medical and mental-health records are a separate system with a separate access rule at 28 C.F.R. § 513.42 and are consolidated into the central file only after release (pp. 13–14). Parole material and examiner packets are removed before any inmate review, and PS 5800.17 at p. 12 routes review of them to the Parole Commission under 28 C.F.R. § 2.55 (“Disclosure of file prior to parole hearing”) and § 2.56 (“Disclosure of Parole Commission file”). And SENTRY data — the sentence computation, the custody score, the program assignments — is a database, not a folder; see SENTRY (PS 5890.13).

What changed from PS 5800.11 to 5800.17

PS 5800.17, dated 4/3/2015, rescinded PS 5800.11, Inmate Central File, Privacy Folder, and Parole Mini-Files (12/31/97) — an eighteen-year gap. Its own Summary of Changes, at PS 5800.17 at p. 1, lists seven revisions:

– Amended language and consolidated numerous sections to account for advances in technology and changes in the agency since its last publication. – Amended Program Statement to include Federal inmates boarded in state facilities, juveniles, and direct court commitments to Residential Reentry Centers (RRCs). – Eliminated previous Section 9 and created Attachment A, which outlines the Inmate Central File order. – Updated to allow electronic submission of parole material to the U.S. Parole Commission. – Modified the section on Routine Uses of Inmate Central Files. – Clarified procedures for inmate review of Central File materials stored electronically. – Amended procedures regarding inmate challenges to Central File materials.

The third of those is why this page can exist: Attachment A, the file order reproduced above, was created in 2015 and had no published predecessor.

The 2015 revision also carried a set of deletions under what BOP called REDMAP — the Reduction and Elimination of Duties Management Assessment Project. PS 5800.17 at p. 2 removed these documents from the central file “since they are filed elsewhere as part of a permanent record”: the Statutory Good Time Action Notice (BP-389), the Good Conduct Time Action Notice (BP-448), Redesignation Approval SENTRY-generated Clearance Data, the system-generated telephone list, the Telephone Number Request form (BP-505), Acknowledgment of Receipt of Inmate Account Card (BP-480), Request/Authorization to Mail Inmate Packages (BP-329), the Institution AIDS Training form, Intake Screening (Medical) (BP-354), the SENTRY-generated Education Data Transcript, pre-4/30/93 exception memoranda from the Warden, the Furlough Evaluation, the Victim/Witness Initial Notification Letter, and the most current VNS-generated Notification Report. Three mail forms — BP-A0327, BP-A0328 and BP-A0329 — were also removed and “are retained in Correctional Systems.” Old Admission and Orientation forms were approved for purging: “Only the most current A&O form must be maintained in the Central File.”

That list is a research map. If you are looking for a good-conduct-time action notice, a telephone list, an intake medical screening form or an education transcript, it is not in the central file and has not been since 2015 — it is in another system, and finding it takes a different request.

One more 2015 change matters procedurally. The Bureau “[r]emoved the requirement for the Institution Supplement to identify specific local procedures for an inmate to request review of his/her Central File. Procedures are outlined in the Program Statement Release of Information” (p. 2). Section 11(a) of the same document still says each institution “must adopt its own procedures and forms for submitting and acknowledging requests” (p. 10) — so there is still a local practice, it is just no longer required to be written into the published supplement. Ask your unit team what it is.

The document has not been reissued in the eleven years since. BOP’s mass reissue of 23 Program Statements effective 22 June 2026 did not include 5800.17, and the policy list carries it with no change notice.

Where people get stuck requesting central file records

Four problems recur. Each has a route, and the route matters more than the complaint.

“I asked to see my file and nothing happened.” This is the most winnable of the four, because the obligation is in a regulation rather than a Program Statement. 28 C.F.R. § 513.40(a) says an inmate “may at any time request to review all disclosable portions” and that staff “are to acknowledge the request and schedule the inmate, as promptly as is practical.” Put the request in writing on a BP-A0148 Inmate Request to Staff — universally called a “cop-out” — addressed to the staff member the Warden has designated, cite § 513.40 by section number, and keep a dated copy. If nothing follows, the formal ladder is the Administrative Remedy Program: BP-9 to the Warden, BP-10 to the Regional Director, BP-11 to the Office of National Inmate Appeals, under 28 C.F.R. part 542, subpart B. The deadline is short — 28 C.F.R. § 542.14(a) sets “20 calendar days following the date on which the basis for the Request occurred,” subject to an extension “[w]here the inmate demonstrates a valid reason for delay.” BOP publishes BP-A0148 but does not publish the BP-9, BP-10 or BP-11 forms; you get those from your unit team. See Administrative Remedy Program, Request to Staff, and Prison Grievances.

“The PSR is wrong and it is costing me points.” Follow § 11(c) exactly, because doing it out of order wastes the one channel that exists. Prepare a written challenge that identifies the specific paragraph, states what is inaccurate, and supplies “names of persons to contact, government agency” and documents — the probation office will not act on an assertion. Staff forward it to the U.S. Probation Office. Understand the ceiling before you start: the PSR itself will not be amended after sentencing. What you are seeking is the USPO response attached to the document, a notation on the Inmate Activity Record, and correction of the BP-A0337, the BP-A0338 and the progress report. If the sentencing judge already resolved the point, Fed. R. Crim. P. 32(i)(3)(C) directs that the court’s determinations be appended to the copy of the report given to the Bureau — obtaining that order and getting it lodged is often faster than relitigating the fact. Where the scoring consequence is the real injury, run the designation route in parallel: a management variable or PSF waiver request through the unit team, documented in section two of the file.

“There is a detainer in my file that should not be there.” A Detainer Action Letter sits in section one and keeps working until the lodging agency withdraws it. Ask Correctional Systems in writing for a copy of every Detainer Action Letter in your file and the current status of each; if a charge was dismissed or a sentence discharged, get the written proof from the court or agency and route it through the Case Management Coordinator. This is Correctional Systems work, not unit-team work, and it is one of the highest-yield things anyone can do eighteen months out from release. See Detainers and the Interstate Agreement on Detainers.

“They withheld something and won’t say what.” The regulation gives you two things here and it is worth insisting on both: a “general description of that information,” and notice “of the inmate’s right under the provisions of § 513.61 to make a FOIA request for the withheld documents” (§ 513.40(b)). If the general description was never given, that is the thing to name in the cop-out — not the withholding itself, which may well be proper. Then file the FOIA or Privacy Act request under PS 1351.05, using DOJ Form 361, Certification of Identity, where identity has to be established. Remember that a withheld document may be Central Inmate Monitoring or victim/witness material under the Privacy Folder’s Section I (p. 20), in which case the answer is likely to stay no — but you will at least know the category.

Where the underlying problem is designation, sentence computation, medical care or a First Step Act credit calculation, the administrative remedy path is necessary but rarely sufficient on its own. Those issues belong in a consult — see Federal Prison Consulting Services or contact us. Exhaustion also matters if court is ever a possibility: under the Prison Litigation Reform Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(a), no action may be brought about prison conditions until available administrative remedies are exhausted. “Exhaustion” means completing every level of the internal grievance ladder, on time, before filing.

Related BOP policy on records and the central file

The records route, first: FOIA and Privacy Act Requests (PS 1351.05) is the paired page for anything the unit team will not produce by asking, and it carries the certification, fee and appeal mechanics. Administrative Remedy Program (PS 1330.18) is the ladder when a request is ignored — and the place those responses are actually filed. What Rights Do Prisoners Have? is the plain-language companion on what a person in federal custody can insist on.

What the file drives: Security Designation and Custody Classification (PS 5100.08) for the BP-A0337 and BP-A0338 scoring. Unit Team and Program Review (PS 5321.09) for who maintains the file and when it is rescored. Categorization of Offenses (PS 5162.06) and First Step Act Time Credits (PS 5410.01) for how an offense description in section two becomes a program exclusion. Sentence Computation Manual (PS 5880.28) and SENTRY (PS 5890.13) for the data layer beside the folder.

What fills each section: Detainers and the Correctional Systems Manual (PS 5800.15) and Inmate Financial Responsibility Program (PS 5380.08) for section one — see also Inmate Restitution. Petition for Commutation of Sentence (PS 1330.19) and International Prisoner Transfer Treaty Program for section two. Visiting Regulations (PS 5267.09), Inmate Visitation and Inmate Personal Property (PS 5580.10) for section three. Inmate Discipline Program (PS 5270.09), prison disciplinary infractions, Special Housing Units (PS 5270.12), Literacy Program and GED, Work and Performance Pay (PS 5251.06) and Psychology Treatment Programs and RDAP (PS 5330.11) for section four. Release Preparation Program (PS 5325.09) and Halfway House Placement Procedures (PS 7310.04) for section five. Patient Care (PS 6031.06) for the medical records that are consolidated into the file only after release.

Court-side companions: The presentence report and Getting Your Transcripts, PSR, and Your Lawyer’s File. Further reading on our site: Legal Resource Guide to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

Frequently Asked Questions About the Inmate Central File

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Program Statement 5800.17 — full text

The full text of Program Statement 5800.17 follows, reproduced from the Bureau’s published PDF exactly as issued — nothing summarized and nothing omitted. Source: bop.gov PDF.

U.S. Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Prisons

PROGRAM STATEMENT

OPI: CPD/CPB NUMBER: 5800.17 DATE: April 3, 2015

Inmate Central File, Privacy Folder, and Parole Mini-Files

CORRECTED COPY (replaces version dated January 9, 2015)

/s/ Approved: Charles E. Samuels, Jr. Director, Federal Bureau of Prisons

1. PURPOSE AND SCOPE

The Bureau of Prisons maintains complete information on all inmates confined in Bureau institutions. Staff use the Inmate Central File, Privacy Folder, and Parole Mini-file to maintain pertinent information regarding detainees and unsentenced and sentenced offenders.

a. Summary of Changes

Policy Rescinded P5800.11 Inmate Central File, Privacy Folder, and Parole Mini-Files (12/31/97)

This revision of the Program Statement includes the following changes:

• Amended language and consolidated numerous sections to account for advances in technology and changes in the agency since its last publication.
• Amended Program Statement to include Federal inmates boarded in state facilities, juveniles, and direct court commitments to Residential Reentry Centers (RRCs).
• Eliminated previous Section 9 and created Attachment A, which outlines the Inmate Central File order.
• Updated to allow electronic submission of parole material to the U.S. Parole Commission.
• Modified the section on Routine Uses of Inmate Central Files.
• Clarified procedures for inmate review of Central File materials stored electronically.
• Amended procedures regarding inmate challenges to Central File materials.

As part of the Reduction and Elimination of Duties Management Assessment Project (REDMAP), the following procedural changes are approved:

• Removed the requirement to file the following documents in the central file since they are filed elsewhere as part of a permanent record:

• Statutory Good Time Action Notice form, BP-389.
• Good Conduct Time Action Notice form, BP-448.
• Redesignation Approval – SENTRY-generated Clearance Data.
• System-generated telephone list.
• Telephone Number Request form, BP-505.
• Acknowledgment of Receipt of Inmate Account Card, BP-480.
• Request/Authorization to Mail Inmate Packages, BP-329.
• Institution AIDS Training form.
• Intake Screening (Medical), BP-354.
• Education Data Transcript, SENTRY-generated.
• Exception Memorandum from Warden done prior to 4/30/93.
• Furlough Evaluation.
• Victim/Witness Initial Notification Letter.
• National Victim Notification System (VNS-generated) Notification Report (most current).

• Removed the requirement for the BP-A0327 (Returned Correspondence), BP-A0328 (Stamps, Negotiable Instrument and Other Returned to Sender), and BP-A0329 (Authorization to Mail Package) to be filed in the central file. These are retained in Correctional Systems.
• Approved the purging of old Admission and Orientation (A&O) forms. Only the most current A&O form must be maintained in the Central File.
• Removed the requirement for the Institution Supplement to identify specific local procedures for an inmate to request review of his/her Central File. Procedures are outlined in the Program Statement Release of Information.

b. Program Objectives. The expected results of this program are:

• Inmate files will be maintained with complete information on each inmate confined in a Bureau of Prisons institution, Federal inmates who are boarded in state facilities, juveniles, and direct court commitments in Residential Reentry Centers (RRCs).
• U.S. Parole Mini-files will be completed and accessible to the U.S. Parole Commission for all applicable inmates.

2. PRETRIAL PROCEDURES

File materials for pretrial inmates are kept in letter-size, straight cut, drop file folders. The location of the folders and accountability procedures must be identified in the local Institution Supplement.

Staff must adhere to the general requirements concerning the handling of inmate files addressed in this Program Statement. Pretrial file material includes any documentation normally retained for a sentenced inmate. FOI Exempt material is placed in the drop file folders stamped “FOI Exempt.”

3. IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT (ICE) DETAINEES

Institution staff maintain the Inmate Central File on an inmate who completes his/her sentence and is reclassified as an ICE detainee. The existing Inmate Central File must incorporate any documents accumulated during his/her status as an ICE detainee. The file is maintained until the inmate is removed from the institution by ICE officials.

For inmates who are initially classified as ICE detainees and thus have had no previous Inmate Central File created, institution staff follow Section 2 (Pretrial Procedures) of this Program Statement for specific instructions on file materials for ICE detainees. The Institution Supplement must address the location of the files and establish file accountability procedures.

4. WITNESS SECURITY FILES

Because of the sensitivity of Witness Security Cases, procedures for handling these files may differ. For specific instructions, refer to the Program Statements Central Inmate Monitoring Manual and Protective Custody Unit Manual.

5. INMATE RECORD FUNCTIONS

Many inmate administrative and clerical functions are performed in the unit, while others are appropriately performed in the Correctional Systems Department. Normally, the functions of Central Files, Privacy Folder, and mini-files created for use by the U.S. Parole Commission are separated by Unit Management and Correctional Systems staff in the following manner.

a. Unit Management Functions

• Create and maintain Inmate Central Files.
• Create Privacy Folders.
• Monitor the filing/security of Inmate Central Files.
• Create Parole Mini-files electronically as needed.

b. Correctional Systems Functions

• Coordinate internal and external movement of Central Files/Central File materials.
• Retire and retrieve inactive files.

c. Regional Correctional Programs Functions

• Create and maintain state concurrence Central Files.

d. Residential Reentry Management Functions

• Create and maintain Inmate Central Files for:

• Federal inmates being boarded in state facilities (State Boarders).
• Juveniles.
• Direct court commitments to community confinement.

6. INMATE CENTRAL FILE

a. Documents File. Part of the Inmate Central Records System is defined in the Federal

Register, September 16, 1976, Volume 41, No. 181, page 39918.

b. Creation. Each Unit Secretary reviews the SENTRY Daily Log for unit assignments and

creates the Inmate Central File and Privacy Folder immediately after assignment to a housing unit at the designated institution. Inmates who were previously classified and transferred from

other Bureau institutions ordinarily do not need to have another Inmate Central File created. Former files on individuals recommitted under the same sentence are reactivated.

The six-part Inmate Central File Folder is used, along with a pressure-sensitive label.

c. Location. The Inmate Central File is maintained at the current or last institution or facility of confinement. Once the inmate is released, see the Program Statement Correctional Systems Manual for further instructions.

d. Categories of Individuals Covered. Current and former sentenced inmates under the

custody of the Attorney General of the United States, including Study and Observation cases.

e. Organization. The six-part Inmate Central File folder organizes filed material, topically, as follows:

Section No. Topic

1. Sentence Data/Detainers/IFRP 2. Classification/Parole Material 3. Mail, Visits, Property, etc. 4. Disciplinary, Work, and Education Reports 5. Release Processing 6. General Correspondence

In addition, a Privacy Folder, attached to the top of Section 5, provides a receptacle for storing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Exempt material.

f. Standardization of Inmate Central File Material. Standardization streamlines the filing of material, expedites accessibility and retrieval of data, and eliminates the need to rearrange files of inmates transferring into the unit.

(1) Responsibilities. All institutions must comply with the standard system for organizing material in the Inmate Central File and Privacy Folder. Unit Managers ensure Inmate Central Files and Privacy Folders are organized per this Program Statement. At institutions retaining a centralized file system, staff accountable for standardized filing of material are identified in the Institution Supplement.

(2) Requirements. Detailed instructions for the order of routine filing and the filing of FOIA materials in the Privacy Folder are included in Attachment A.

(3) Storage. Files must be stored alphabetically.

g. Multiple Volumes. When it becomes necessary to establish a second volume of an inmate’s

Central File, it must contain all the original core documents required for an initial file.

(1) Core Documents. Core documents include:

• Central Inmate Monitoring (CIM) White Card.
• Intact FOIA Exempt section from primary volume.
• Judgment and Commitment Order (J&C) (if no electronic version is available).
• Pre-Sentence Investigation Report (PSR) (if no electronic version is available).

(2) Privacy Folder. A new Privacy Folder is not ordinarily re-created. Staff remove the FOI Section from the preceding volume and insert it in the newly created volume.

(3) Controls. Multiple volumes must be clearly identified on the check-out cards, file tabs, and on the file cover (Volume I of III, Volume II of III, etc.)

• An Inmate File Check-out Card (BP-387) must be used for each volume.
• If all volumes of multiple files are not kept together in the regular Central File cabinet, the current volume is marked with the location of the other volume(s).
• Each volume must be accounted for daily. Thus, the total file count will exceed the inmate count when multiple volumes exist.
• Multiple volume files must be created chronologically, maintaining the six-part file’s order.

7. U.S. PAROLE COMMISSION MINI-FILES

Facilities must adhere to U.S. Parole Commission rules and regulations in creating and handling these files.

a. Origin. The Unit Secretary creates the Parole Mini-file when requested by the U.S. Parole

Commission for all commitments who are eligible for parole and will eventually be released with U.S. Parole Commission supervision to follow.

Files on inmates who do not receive a hearing or are not granted parole, but who have a mandatory or special parole term after release, are sent immediately after the inmate’s release to the U.S. Parole Commission.

b. Maintenance and Use. These files are maintained at the same institution at which the inmate is confined. When requested, the files are provided to the U.S. Parole Commission office.

c. Contents and Organization. The contents of the Parole Mini-files are limited to the items

listed below. Files not submitted electronically must be organized with applicable materials as follows:

(1) Sentence Data

• SENTRY Sentence Computation Record.
• Prosecuting Agency Report.
• Report of U.S. District Judge, AO-235 form.
• Report of U.S. Attorney, 792 form.
• FBI Fingerprint report (RAP Sheet).
• Judgment and Commitment Order.

(2) Classification Material

• Progress Report (most current).
• Escape Reports.
• Front Side of an Incident Report.
• Medical, psychological, and psychiatric reports, if disclosable.
• Classification Materials.
• Presentence Report of USPO (Probation form 2a), if disclosable.

(3) General Correspondence

• Correspondence regarding release planning and aftercare arrangements.
• Correspondence regarding detainers.
• Release Certificates where applicable.
• Recommendations relative to RRC or home confinement transfer, including adjustment reports.
• Committed fine documents.
• Other pre-release matters.
• Correspondence Relative to Parole Consideration.
• Any other material requested by the Parole Commission.

(4) Parole Material

• Notice of Hearing – Parole Application (current and previous ones), Representative, and Disclosable Request (Parole form I-24).
• Background Statement of Inmate (Parole form I-32).

Note: FOIA Exempt Material is not placed in Parole Mini-files.

d. Maintenance, Security, and Access, Responsibilities and Procedures. The same rules as

for the Inmate Central File apply. Institution staff file any material described above that is received or generated prior to transferring the files to the U.S. Parole Commission. Routine filing material received or generated after that time is forwarded to the U.S. Parole Commission for filing.

e. Transfers. As inmates are transferred between institutions, Parole Mini-file materials are included with the Inmate Central File.

f. Inmate Review of Parole Commission Files. Inmates may request review of the Parole

Mini-file through the U.S. Parole Commission, in accordance with 28 CFR 2.55 and 2.56.

8. MAINTENANCE, SECURITY, AND ACCESS PROCEDURES

a. Responsibility. The Case Management Coordinator (CMC) is the official custodian of

inmate records. He/she is responsible for file retention, disposal, certification, and for court appearances when necessary. The Regional Correctional Programs Administrator has the same responsibilities at the Regional Office level.

At institutions where inmate files are stored centrally, the Warden’s designee has supervisory responsibility. At institutions where Inmate Central Files are decentralized, supervisory responsibility belongs to the Unit Manager and his/her staff. Although some delegation is necessary, the Unit Manager is accountable for file security, control, and maintenance.

b. Accountability Requirements. The following rules apply at every institution where inmates

are confined and files maintained, regardless of whether Inmate Central Files are centralized or decentralized.

• Files may never be left unsecured or handled in such a way as to be accessible to unauthorized persons. Staff ensure that inmates do not transport files and confidential materials.
• During the course of the work day, Central Files must be maintained in a secure area. Active Central Files must be returned to the appropriate file cabinet by the close of the business day. This applies to all departments that handle Central Files (e.g., Correctional Systems, Health Services, Unit Management). Fireproof cabinets will be used for Central Files stored in housing units.
• Inmate Central Files for inmates not housed in the institution (e.g., on writ, home confinement, or housed in RRCs) are accounted for in the same manner. These files must be kept in a separate section of the file cabinet to facilitate accountability.
• An Inmate File Check-Out Card (BP-387) must be prepared for each volume and remain with that volume. The card is placed in the file cabinet with the volume, and each user signs and dates the card when a volume is removed and leaves the card in the volume’s place. This system provides a tracking device when files are missing or needed for other purposes and improves the ability to take inventory.
• Inmate Central Files must be counted any time the file cabinet is unlocked. For example, if staff are on duty and open a file cabinet, all files must be counted that day. Conversely, if staff are on duty but have no need to open the file cabinet, the files do not have to be counted. Staff indicate “file not opened,” initial, and date the file count record. The following information must be included on the Inmate File Accountability Log:

• Date/time of the count.
• Total volumes counted.
• Initials of the counter.
• Reasons for any changes since the previous day’s count.

A name roster and census count must be conducted at least weekly (weekly is defined as once per calendar week, Sunday through Saturday). This count consists of accounting for each file by securing a name roster printout from SENTRY and comparing the files in the file cabinet with the name roster. After completion, the printout is initialed, dated, and maintained for 90 days. The file count record is maintained for a period of two years.

c. Security Level Requirements. Inmate Central Files in Minimum, Low, and Medium

Security Level institutions may be maintained in either the functional unit with the Warden’s approval or in a secure, centralized location.

Inmate Central Files in High Security or Administrative Level facilities may be maintained in either the functional unit with the Regional Director’s approval or in a secure, centralized location.

9. ROUTINE USES OF INMATE CENTRAL FILES

The routine uses of Bureau Inmate Central Files are periodically published in the Federal Register. This information is posted on the Correctional Programs Branch Sallyport webpage.

10. DISCLOSURE OF INMATE CENTRAL FILE MATERIAL

The Privacy Act of 1974 sets forth requirements governing Federal agency recordkeeping practices intended to safeguard individuals against invasions of personal privacy. The Act forbids release of information from agency records without a written request by, or without the prior written consent of, the individual to whom the record pertains, except in specific instances described in the Act. Civil sanctions and criminal penalties are prescribed for violation of the provisions of the Privacy Act.

It is, therefore, imperative that each Bureau employee be knowledgeable about this Act’s provisions, and conform his/her conduct to the Act regarding the maintenance of records and the release of information contained in them. The Program Statement Release of Information establishes procedures for the release of requested records in the Bureau’s possession.

11. INMATE REVIEW OF INMATE CENTRAL FILE MATERIALS

An inmate has the option to look at Central File materials. This procedure is not required by either the Freedom of Information Act or Privacy Act. A request submitted under FOIA, for example, is processed formally under Department of Justice and Bureau guidelines for handling such requests, per the specific statutory provisions. By contrast, the information contained in this section establishes an administrative procedure for inmate access to records that can properly be shown to the inmate in accordance with sound correctional practices.

a. Local Procedures. Each institution must adopt its own procedures and forms for submitting

and acknowledging requests and for logging and scheduling Inmate Central File reviews.

b. Inmate Request and Review. Any inmate seeking to look at his/her Inmate Central File

materials must make a request to a staff member indicating a particular need, as designated in the local instruction:

• The inmate’s request should be acknowledged.
• The inmate should be permitted to review the file whenever practicable.
• All file reviews must be done under constant and direct staff supervision. Central File materials stored electronically are printed for inmate review as appropriate; protocols must be in accordance with the Program Statement Information Security Programs.
• Materials that have been determined to be non-disclosable are removed from the folder before inmate review.
• An entry is made on the Inmate Activity Record (BP-A0381) to show the date the inmate reviews the file. The staff member monitoring the review initials the entry.

c. Inmate Challenge to Information. An inmate may challenge the accuracy of Central File

materials. Unit staff take reasonable steps to ensure the accuracy of challenged information, particularly when that information is capable of being verified. The inmate is required to provide staff with sufficient information in support of a challenge (names of persons to contact, government agency, etc.).

When an inmate provides such information, staff review the alleged error(s) and take reasonable steps to ensure the information is correct.

For example, if an inmate challenges information in the PSR, staff instruct the inmate to prepare a written challenge, which staff then forward to the appropriate U.S. Probation Office (USPO). USPO procedures, however, do not allow changes or addendums to be made to the Presentence Investigation Report after sentencing, since it is a court document.

If the USPO subsequently reports that the challenged information, or some part thereof, is not accurate, staff attach the inmate’s inquiry and the USPO response to the challenged document. Staff file this information in the applicable section of the Inmate Central File, and also make a notation on the Inmate Activity Record (BP-A0381) to ensure that future decisions affecting the inmate are not based on discredited information.

When the USPO verifies that the information in the PSR is inaccurate, as claimed by the inmate, staff subsequently review, and, where indicated, correct Bureau-generated reports or data such as the Inmate Load and Security Designation form (BP-A0337), the Custody Classification form (BP-A0338), Progress Report, and any other reports that may have been based on the PSI. Bureau reports, data, or SENTRY transactions should be corrected within a reasonable period of time after identification of an inaccuracy.

If the information source provides a corrected document or data, it should be immediately inserted in the file or data base and the inaccurate information or document removed. A notation on the Inmate Activity Record form should acknowledge the insertion of the corrected information or document.

d. Inmate Copies. Any inmate who wishes to receive copies of disclosable materials from the

file must make a request to institution staff. Within a reasonable time after the request, institution staff provide the inmate copies of requested disclosable Inmate Central File materials.

Fees for copies are calculated in accordance with the Program Statement Release of Information.

e. Privacy Folder. Records that have been determined, under separately issued guidelines, to

be excluded from inmate review are placed in the Privacy Folder. Normally, actual placement of documents in the Inmate Central File is the Unit Secretary’s responsibility. The Privacy Folder is placed on top of section 5 in the Inmate Central File.

As materials from any source are submitted for placement in the Inmate Central File, they are routed to an appropriate staff member. The Case Manager reviews the materials, to ascertain whether to place them in the regular sections, place them in the Privacy Folder, or discard them. Any document to be excluded from inmate review must be stamped “FOI EXEMPT.” At each Program Review and before an inmate reviews his/her Inmate Central File, the Case Manager reviews the file to ensure the proper location of forms and purges outdated or unnecessary forms and documentation.

f. Parole Files. Parole Mini-files, examiner packets, and pre-hearing assessments are not

disclosable unless specifically authorized by the U.S. Parole Commission. The Parole Mini-file and other hearing materials must be removed from the Inmate Central File prior to inmate review. The inmate may seek review of those materials through the U.S. Parole Commission in accordance with 28 CFR 2.55 and 2.56.

12. DOCUMENTATION OF DISCLOSURES

The Privacy Act of 1974 requires accounting for both written and oral disclosures of information about inmates. Except for disclosures of information of records made to other Department of Justice employees and components, and for disclosures required by the FOIA (i.e., public information), an accounting of disclosures of any information concerning an individual contained in a system of records maintained by the Bureau must be kept in accordance with the following guidelines:

a. Oral Disclosures. Staff are to take the position that only public information is to be released orally. Form BP-A0171, Record of Information Release, is designed to assist the person receiving an oral request for information in accounting for the results of the request. The form may also be used to document information that is released and not covered by the FOIA.

A memorandum must be prepared and retained in the file from which the record is disclosed, or an appropriate notation is maintained in the file, attached to the recorded information disclosed.

b. Written Disclosure. Accounting for written disclosures is made in the same manner as for

oral disclosures, or may be made by retaining a copy of the correspondence requesting the information and a copy of the response in the file from which the record is disclosed.

13. TRANSFER OF RECORDS BETWEEN BUREAU FACILITIES

a. Transfer Out. Procedures for processing all records, including the Inmate Central File, are outlined in the Program Statement Correctional Systems Manual.

b. Transfer In. Correctional Systems Department staff receive and process records on

transferring inmates and distribute documents and files (medical, central file, J&C, etc.) to the respective departments.

For all other inmates returning to a Bureau institution where their file is not located, their files are immediately requested. Files are mailed by trackable mail with signature confirmation and processed upon receipt in the same manner as noted above.

14. REQUESTS FOR FORWARDING INMATE FILES

Requests for inmate files from individuals or agencies outside the Bureau are referred to the Correctional Systems Department for review and action as required in the Program Statement Correctional Systems Manual. Requests from Bureau facilities are also referred to the Correctional Systems Department.

15. RETIREMENT OF INMATE CENTRAL FILES

a. Files on Expired Sentences. Files on these sentences are not combined with new sentence

files. However, they may be retrieved for review, then returned to the Federal Records Center after the review is completed.

b. File Processing at Final Release. The following procedures are completed at the time of

each inmate’s release.

• Inmate Central Files are retained for approximately two weeks after the inmate’s release. Files for inmates housed in community release status (home confinement or RRCs) are maintained until the final release paperwork is received. This allows for final release papers to be consolidated and filed before the file is forwarded to the Correctional Systems Department for inactive file storage. Unit Managers are responsible for ensuring all required documents are in the Inmate Central File prior to retirement of the file.
• Inmate Central Files must be preserved for 30 years after the sentence expiration. Therefore, following release from service of the confinement portion of the sentence, medical, mental health, and visiting records are forwarded to the appropriate unit for consolidation with the Inmate Central File. The consolidated file is then sent to the Correctional Systems

Department. The Judgment in a Criminal Case/Judgment and Commitment file is included in the consolidated file at retirement.

The outside of the file folder is stamped with the year of expiration of sentence and files are stored according to local procedures. Expiration of sentence for this purpose is defined as the date supervision expires, plus any special parole term, probation, supervised release, or the date released from confinement with no supervision to follow plus any special parole term.

• Files designated for research purposes are forwarded to the Office of Research and Evaluation (ORE), Central Office, and scheduled for disposal as ORE determines. A notation is entered on the permanent alpha index card in each case to indicate to whom in ORE the file was sent.
• Material received regarding inmates who have been released from serving their sentences must be destroyed, with the exception of death notices or certificates and copies of U.S. Parole Commission correspondence to the U.S. Marshals Service transmitting warrants and court orders or documents. Questionable material may be referred to the CMC or the Regional Correctional Programs Administrator for a decision.

c. Retention and Disposal of Inmate Central Files. Specific procedures for the retention and

disposal of Inmate Central Files are contained in the Program Statement Correctional Systems Manual.

16. INSTITUTION SUPPLEMENT

Each institution must develop an Institution Supplement that includes:

• Procedures to ensure Inmate Central File maintenance, security, and access responsibilities.
• The designated location and accountability procedures for pretrial and ICE files.
• Staff accountable for standardized filing (only for institutions with centralized filing location).

17. AGENCY ACA ACCREDITATION REFERENCES

(Staff can access ACA standards by contacting their facility’s accreditation manager.)

• American Correctional Association Standards for Adult Correctional Institutions, 4th Edition: 4-4095, 4-4096, 4-4098, 4-4099, 4-4245, and 4-4246.
• American Correctional Association Performance Based Standards for Adult Local Detention Facilities, 4th Edition: 4-ALDF-6C-15, 4-ALDF-6C-16, 4-ALDF-7D-20, and 4-ALDF-7D- 21.
• American Correctional Association Standards for Administration of Correctional Agencies, 2nd Edition: 2-CO-1E-01, 2-CO-1E-02, 2-CO-1E-03, 2-CO-1E-04, 2-CO-1E-06, 2-CO-1E- 07, 2-CO-1E-08, and 2-CO-1E-09.

REFERENCES

Program Statements

P5100.08 Inmate Security Designation and Custody Classification (9/12/06)

TRM 5802.02 SENTRY General Use Technical Reference Manual (7/10/00)

Federal Register, Volume 41, Number 181 (9/16/76)

BOP Forms BP-A0171 Record of Information Release BP-A0337 Inmate Load and Security Designation BP-A0338 Custody Classification BP-A0381 Inmate Activity Record BP-387 Inmate File Check-out Card

Records Retention Requirements Requirements and retention guidance for records and information applicable to this program are available in the Records and Information Disposition Schedule (RIDS) system on Sallyport.

Attachment A. Inmate Central File Order

The six-position Inmate Central File provides for the organization of filed material. Material must be filed in the following order (top to bottom) by sections when the document, report, etc., is appropriate, available, and disclosable to the inmate.

a. Section One: (Sentence Data/Detainers/Inmate Financial Responsibility Program)

(1) CIM White Card (2) SENTRY Sentence Computation Record (most current) (3) Copy of Judgment in a Criminal Case or Judgment and Commitment Papers (all) (4) Financial Responsibility Contract (most current) (a) Installment Schedule Agreement for Unpaid Fines form (if applicable) (b) Cost of Incarceration Fee form (BP-546) (if applicable) (c) Correspondence relating to IFRP (i.e. Financial Litigation Unit Correspondence) (5) Extra Good time Recommendation (BP-390) (all) (6) Detainer Action Letter (BP-394) (all) (7) FBI Fingerprint Report (RAP Sheet) or request for RAP Sheet; no Bureau run NCIC/III records in disclosable portion of File (8) Disclosable AO-235/AO-245/USA-792, (with response, if applicable)

b. Section Two: (Classification and Parole Materials)

(1) Inmate Activity Record form (BP-381); new form for each institution (all) (2) In-Transit Data form (most current) (3) Copy of Transfer Order (BP-399) (all) (4) Request for Transfer (all) (5) Request for Management Variable Application/Updated Expiration Date or PSF Waiver (all) (6) Custody Classification form (most current; all exception cases resulting in custody reductions; all changes to or from MAX custody) (7) Parole forms (in chronological order) (all) (a) Parole Commission Appeals, National/Regional (b) Notice of Action (c) Notice of Action, Part II-Salient Factor (d) Waiver of Notice, Representation or Disclosure Staff Representative form (e) Notice of Hearing (f) Parole Application/Waiver (I-24) (g) Background Statement of Inmate (I-32) (h) Attorney Witness Election forms (I-16) and (CJA 22) (8) Related Correspondence to Parole Commission (all)

(a) Parole Violation Warrant Application (b) USPO packet excluding duplication (9) Most recent signature page from progress report or program review (10) Treaty Transfer Packet (copy, if applicable) (a) Transfer Inquiry form (BP-297) (if applicable) (b) Treaty Transfer Case Summary (if applicable) (11) Executive Clemency Report (if applicable) (12) Security Designation form (BP-337) (13) Presentence Investigation Report (PSI) (U.S. District Courts Only)/Probation Violator Report (14) Correspondence relating to PSI (disclosable)

c. Section Three: (Mail, Visits, Property, etc.)

(1) Extra Photographs (most current) (2) Identification (originals) (stored in envelope; send to R&D upon release) (3) Approved Visiting List (most current) (4) Correspondence relating to Visiting List (disclosable) (5) Inmate to Inmate Correspondence Approvals (all) (6) Acknowledgment of Inmate (BP-407) (all) (7) Acknowledgment of Inmate (BP 408) (original signed) (8) Inmate Personal Property Records (BP-383) (all) (9) Confiscation & Disposition of Contraband forms (BP-402) (all) (10) Authorization to Receive Packages or Property (BP-331) (maintain for two years) (11) Injury Report – Inmate (BP-140) (all) (12) Uniform Basic Safety Regulations (BP-169) (most current) (13) Admission and Orientation (Institution and Unit) Program Checklist (current) (14) Intake Screening form (Rights & Responsibilities) (all)

d. Section Four: ( Discipline, Work, Education Reports, etc.)

(1) Chronological Disciplinary Record for Incident Reports written prior to December 1, 1990 (2) Incident Reports, UDC Actions (all) (3) Discipline Hearing Officer Packet; file each UDC/DHO action as a packet in chronological order (all) (a) Incident Report (BP-288) (b) Inmate Rights at Discipline Hearing (BP-293) (c) Notice of Discipline Hearing Before the DHO (BP-294) (d) Duties of Staff Representative (BP-306) (e) Waiver of Appearance (BP-307)

(f) Discipline Hearing Officer (DHO) Report (BP-304) (g) DHO Checklist (BP-447) (h) Administrative Detention Order (BP-308) (i) Special Housing Unit Record (BP-292) (j) Special Housing Review (BP-295) (k) Temporary Placement in Disciplinary Segregation Order (BP-321), including any supporting disclosable Documentation (4) SHU forms that are not part of a UDC or DHO packet (all) (a) Administrative Detention Order (BP-A0308) (b) Special Housing Unit (SHU) Record (BP-A0292) (c) Special Housing Review (BP-A0295) (5) Work Performance Rating forms, UNICOR and IPP (purged after incorporated into the inmate’s progress report) (6) Request for Vacation (most current) (7) Education-Related Documents (8) Drug Abuse Program correspondence (most current on top)

e. Section Five: (Release Processing)

(1) Institution/Unit Release Preparation Checklists (most current) (2) Program Review Profile section page with notification information and corresponding signature page (3) Notification of Community Treatment Programs form (if applicable) (4) USPO Plan Approval (most current) (5) Parole Certificates, Parole form (H-13) (all) (6) Parole Certificate Request form (most current) (7) Release Correspondence (most current) (8) Notice of Release and Arrival, Parole form (I-13) (all) (9) Deportation Notice (Parole form 55) (all) (10) Supervision Release Plan form (BP-522) (all) (11) Certificate of Mandatory Release, Mandatory Release to Special Parole, Special Parole or Court Designated Parole (Parole form I-33) (all) (12) Release Authorization (BP-392) (all) (13) Gratuity forms (BP-189 or BP-379) (most current) (14) Notification of Prisoner Release Form (if applicable) (15) Release of Immigration Detainee with Supervision to follow (BP-325) (all) (16) Conditions of Probation and Supervised Release, (Probation form 7A) (if applicable) (17) RRC Terminal Report (if applicable) (18) RRC Packet (most current) (a) Furlough Approval and Record form (BP-291) (RRC Only)

(b) Institution Referral for RRC Placement (BP-210) (c) Acceptance/Denial Documentation from RRM (d) Memorandum from the Warden with rationale for exclusion from RRC and Home Confinement/Inmate’s refusal to participate (e) Community Based Program Agreement (19) Prior Release Documents (file entire packet together)

f. Section Six: (General Correspondence) – Chronological

(1) Correspondence, General (2) Furlough Packet (all) (a) Furlough Questionnaire USPO (BP-302) (b) Furlough Questionnaire (c) Furlough Approval form (BP-291) (d) Correspondence Regarding Furlough (3) Record of Escorted Trip (most current) (4) Inmate Request to Staff Member (BP-148) (all) (5) Congressional Correspondence – Entire Packet (all) (6) Consent forms – General (all)

Note: No Administrative Remedy Responses should be maintained in the Inmate Central File. See the Program Statement Administrative Remedy Program for file maintenance.

PRIVACY FOLDER. The Privacy Folder is located on the top of Section 5 of the Inmate Central File. The Privacy Folder contains two sections:

• FOIA Exempt material for Section I includes Central Inmate Monitoring documents and Victim/Witness Information.
• Section II includes other non-disclosable material from the Inmate Central File.

All material not considered FOIA Exempt is filed in the appropriate section of the Inmate Central File.

a. Section One: Central Inmate Monitoring and Victim/Witness Notification Packet

(1) CIM (BP-339) (most current) (2) CIM (BP-340) (all) (3) CIM Documentation (all) (4) Cover Memorandum to Appropriate Review Authority (all) (5) CIM Approval Letter from Appropriate Review Authority (all) (6) CIM Clearance Request with corresponding SENTRY Clearance Data Display (7) Victim/Witness Protection Packet – Notification Log (all) (a) All pre-VNS Victim/Witness Notification Documents (all)

b. Section Two: Miscellaneous Non-Disclosable Materials

(1) Secret Service Card (2) Non-Disclosable PSI, AO 235, 245, USA 792 and Sentencing Memo/Transcript (3) FOIA Exempt In-Transit Data form (most current) (4) Psychological/Psychiatric Intake Screening form (BP-435 and 436) (Only FOIA EXEMPT) documents determined by Psychology staff. (5) Visitor Information form (BP-309) (all) (6) Visitor Authorization for Release form (BP-310) (all) (7) Request for Conviction Information form (BP-311) (all) (8) Any Materials from the Central File which are FOIA Exempt are to be filed chronologically. (9) Any other Materials that are FOIA exempt: (a) Study and Observation Cases (all) (b) Confidential Investigations (all)

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