Program Statement 1335.01 at a glance
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Program Statement | 1335.01 |
| Subject | Petition for Commutation of Sentence |
| Effective / current edition date | September 3, 2026 |
| Change notice | None — the September 3, 2026 edition carries no change notice in its header block |
| Supersedes / rescinds | 1330.19, Petition for Commutation of Sentence (6/5/2025) |
| Governing statute | None. Clemency is a constitutional power, not a statutory one: U.S. Const. art. II, § 2, cl. 1 |
| Governing regulation (28 C.F.R.) | Part 1, §§ 1.1–1.11 (Executive Clemency — Department of Justice); §§ 571.40–571.41 (the Bureau’s own procedures) |
| Related BP forms | BP-A0381, Inmate Activity Record (receipt of the petition is logged on it). The petition itself is a Department of Justice form — Petition for Commutation of Sentence, OMB Control Number 1123-0015 — obtained from the case manager or from the Office of the Pardon Attorney |
| Official PDF | Program Statement 1335.01 (5 pp.) |
Checked against the BOP policy set · 2026-09-19.
Program Statement 1335.01 is the Bureau of Prisons’ internal instruction for handling a clemency petition that comes from someone in its custody — who collects which documents, how long staff have, and where the package goes. The Bureau does not decide commutation petitions and does not recommend on them unless the Pardon Attorney asks: its role here is a mail-and-records role, and the Program Statement is written that way.
The decision belongs to the President alone. Whether a particular petition is worth filing, what it should argue, and how the Office of the Pardon Attorney evaluates it are questions for counsel — that is the subject of our commutation of sentence page, which covers the merits side and the strategy. This page covers what the Bureau does with the paper once it leaves your hands, and the deadlines that bind Bureau staff along the way.
On this page
The rule itself: what staff must send, and how long they have
The heart of this Program Statement is the referral package and its clock — the enumerated documents institution staff must assemble, and the time frames the policy sets for each step. Nothing else in the five pages is a rule a reader can act on. The tables below reproduce it.
The referral package
The Program Statement states: “When referring an inmate’s petition for commutation of sentence, staff must include:”
| Document | As stated in the Program Statement |
|---|---|
| The petition | “Petition for Commutation of Sentence (OMB Control Number: 1123-0015)” |
| Presentence report | “Presentence Investigation Report (if available)” |
| Judgment | “Judgment in a Criminal Case” |
| Progress report | “Progress Report (if older than 180 days, a new progress report must be completed)” |
| Medical records | “Pertinent medical records, if the petition involves the inmate’s health” |
| Anything else relevant | “Any other available, pertinent, documented information” |
Source: PS 1335.01 at p. 3.
The time frames
| Step | What the Program Statement directs | Time frame |
|---|---|---|
| Case manager compiles the package | “Once the petition is received, the Case Manager has 30 calendar days to compile the required documents and route for the Warden’s signature.” | 30 calendar days |
| Progress report currency | “Progress Report (if older than 180 days, a new progress report must be completed)” | 180 days |
| Warden answers a Pardon Attorney request for more documents | “When the U.S. Pardon Attorney needs additional information, a request is forwarded directly to the Warden of the institution housing the inmate. In these cases, the Warden ensures the requested documents are forwarded to the U.S. Pardon Attorney within 15 working days.” | 15 working days |
| Warden comments when the Director is asked to recommend | “The Warden will submit a written response to the Administrator, Correctional Programs Branch, Correctional Programs Division, within 10 days of receiving the request, and will forward an informational copy to the appropriate Regional Director.” | 10 days |
| Medical emergency | “In the event of a medical emergency certified by the physician at the institution where the inmate is confined, staff must expedite the petition at all levels as resources permit.” | Expedited “as resources permit” |
Source: PS 1335.01 at pp. 3–4.
Where the petition goes
| Routing point | What the Program Statement states |
|---|---|
| Through the Warden | “To expedite the Pardon Attorney’s consideration of an inmate’s petition for commutation of sentence, the inmate must send the petition through the Warden to the U.S. Pardon Attorney.” |
| Why that route | “This will expedite consideration of the petition because the Pardon Attorney will then obtain most, if not all, of the requisite Bureau inmate records with the petition that will prevent the need for a subsequent request for standard materials.” |
| What it does not speed up | “This does not expedite the Pardon Attorney’s evaluation process, including obtaining inmate records and recommendations from other clemency stakeholders (United States Attorney Office, United States Probation Office, etc.).” |
| Staff cannot screen it out | “Staff must process an inmate’s petition for commutation of sentence, even when it appears the inmate is not eligible for clemency.” |
| Documentation of receipt | “When an inmate submits the petition for commutation of sentence, the Case Manager documents the petition receipt with an entry on the BP-A0381, Inmate Activity Record in the Inmate Central File and annotates the status on the inmate’s Individualized Needs Plan, during the inmate’s next program review.” |
| Preferred transmission | “The Office of the Pardon Attorney has converted to a digital office, so email is the preferred mode of communication and transmission on all clemency matters.” |
| Hardcopy address | “Office of the Pardon Attorney, 950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20530” |
| Incomplete packages | “The U.S. Pardon Attorney may delay and/or return petitions received without the required supporting documentation.” |
| Where the form lives | “The Petition for Commutation of Sentence is available on the U.S. Pardon Attorney’s website.” (justice.gov/pardon) |
Source: PS 1335.01 at pp. 2–3.
What happens on a grant or a denial
| Outcome | What the regulation and the Program Statement direct |
|---|---|
| Grant | “the U.S. Pardon Attorney will forward the original of the signed and sealed warrant of clemency evidencing the President’s action to the Warden at the detaining institution, with a copy to the Director, Bureau of Prisons. The Warden shall deliver the original warrant to the affected inmate, and obtain a signed receipt for return to the U.S. Pardon Attorney. The Warden shall take such action as is indicated in the warrant of clemency.” |
| Grant — sentence recomputation | “If a petition for commutation of sentence is granted, Bureau of Prisons staff shall recalculate the inmate’s sentence in accordance with the terms of the commutation order.” |
| Grant — parole eligibility | “If the commutation grants parole eligibility, the inmate is to be placed on the appropriate parole docket.” |
| Denial | “When a petition for commutation of sentence is denied, the U.S. Pardon Attorney ordinarily notifies the Warden, requesting that the Warden notify the inmate of the denial.” |
| Denial — how notice arrives | “Notification to the Warden is ordinarily made via email from the U.S. Pardon Attorney, with a request the Warden provide a copy of the denial notification to the inmate. The Warden forwards a copy of the denial letter to the Regional Director.” |
Source: PS 1335.01 at p. 4; the same language is the binding regulation at 28 C.F.R. § 571.41(c)–(d).
The one thing the Bureau does not do
The Bureau does not recommend. 28 C.F.R. § 571.41(a) provides that, except in one situation, “no Bureau of Prisons recommendation is to be forwarded with the package of material submitted to the U.S. Pardon Attorney.” The exception is § 571.41(b): “When specifically requested by the U.S. Pardon Attorney, the Director, Bureau of Prisons shall submit a recommendation on the petition.” Only then does the Director, through the Assistant Director of the Correctional Programs Division, email the Warden for comments — and it is the Director, not the Warden, who forwards the Bureau’s position to the Pardon Attorney.
That matters for expectations. A warden who declines to say anything supportive is not withholding a recommendation; under the regulation there is no recommendation to withhold unless the Pardon Attorney has asked for one.
What the commutation petition policy means for you
If you are the person inside: asking your case manager for the forms
Ask your case manager for the forms. 28 C.F.R. § 571.40(a) provides that “[a]n inmate may request from the inmate’s case manager the appropriate forms (and instructions) for filing a petition for commutation of sentence,” and 28 C.F.R. § 1.1 confirms that “[p]etition forms for commutation of sentence also may be obtained from the wardens of federal penal institutions.” Staff cannot refuse to process the petition on the ground that it looks unlikely to succeed — the Program Statement says so in terms.
Send it through the Warden rather than mailing it out yourself. That is the whole point of the Bureau’s procedure: the package that goes to the Pardon Attorney carries your judgment, presentence report, progress report and medical records with it, so the Pardon Attorney does not have to come back and ask. Then note the date. The case manager has 30 calendar days from receipt to compile and route the package, and the receipt is supposed to be logged on your Inmate Activity Record in the central file and annotated on your Individualized Needs Plan at your next program review. Both of those are records you can ask to see.
If you are a family member: why you cannot sign the petition
You cannot file the petition for someone else — the petition is signed by the person seeking clemency and is addressed to the President — but you can do most of the assembly. 28 C.F.R. § 1.1 directs that the petition “shall be addressed to the President of the United States and shall be submitted to the Pardon Attorney, Department of Justice, Washington, DC 20530,” and that “[e]ach petition for executive clemency should include the information required in the form prescribed by the Attorney General.” The form and its instructions are on the Office of the Pardon Attorney’s site at justice.gov/pardon.
What families supply that nobody inside can are the outside letters and the outside records: employment offers, housing commitments, medical documentation from treating physicians, evidence of community ties. Under 28 C.F.R. § 1.6 the Attorney General “shall cause such investigation to be made of the matter as he or she may deem necessary and appropriate,” and for a felony offense with a victim the Attorney General must, in defined circumstances, make reasonable effort to notify the victim that a petition has been filed and that the victim may submit comments. Expect the process to be long and to be silent while it runs. There is no docket to check.
If you are counsel: a commutation petition
Two regulations frame the filing and they pull in different directions. 28 C.F.R. § 1.3 provides that “[n]o petition for commutation of sentence, including remission of fine, should be filed if other forms of judicial or administrative relief are available, except upon a showing of exceptional circumstances.” The current Program Statement restates the rule without examples (“should be filed only if no other form of relief is available, except when exceptional circumstances exist,” at pp. 1–2); the 2025 edition had named the alternatives it had in mind: relief “from a court of the United States, U.S. Parole Commission, or upon motions under 18 U.S.C. §3582 (c) and 4205(g).” So a live § 3582(c)(1)(A) motion or a pending appeal is, on the face of the regulation, a reason the petition should wait — and that judgment call is the first one to make. Our compassionate release policy explainer sets out the parallel route.
Pulling the other way is 28 C.F.R. § 1.11: “The regulations contained in this part are advisory only and for the internal guidance of Department of Justice personnel. They create no enforceable rights in persons applying for executive clemency, nor do they restrict the authority granted to the President under Article II, section 2 of the Constitution.” Section 1.3 is therefore guidance to the Pardon Attorney, not a jurisdictional bar. Build the record on the traditional grounds the Program Statement itself lists at page 2 — “disparity or undue severity of sentence, critical illness or old age, and meritorious service rendered to the government that has not already been adequately awarded by other official action” — and address § 1.3 head-on rather than hoping nobody raises it.
What changed in PS 1335.01
PS 1335.01 took effect September 3, 2026 and rescinded PS 1330.19 (June 5, 2025). Its Summary of Changes lists one substantive revision — it “[r]emoved the requirement for Victim/Witness Notification by Unit Management staff when a petition is received by an inmate” — and the renumbering (PS 1335.01 at p. 1). Victim and witness statements also no longer appear in the referral package (at p. 3). The 2025 edition had itself replaced PS 1330.15 CN-1, Commutation of Sentence, Petition for (May 2, 2014), clarifying the roles of institution and DSCC staff and moving communication with the Pardon Attorney’s office to email.
The communication rules carry over, and they are the practical part. The current edition records that “[t]he Office of the Pardon Attorney has converted to a digital office, so email is the preferred mode of communication and transmission on all clemency matters,” that hardcopy is accepted “[w]hen email is not feasible,” and that “[t]he Office of the Pardon Attorney maintains a telephone and Pardon Attorney staff will respond to voicemails as time and resources allow” (PS 1335.01 at p. 3). Anyone whose plan involves telephoning the Pardon Attorney for a status update should adjust it.
The underlying regulations did not change. 28 C.F.R. §§ 571.40–571.41 were last amended at 75 FR 13681 (Mar. 23, 2010), and 28 C.F.R. part 1 has been stable since Order No. 2323-2000 (65 FR 48381, Aug. 8, 2000) and the victim-notification amendment at 65 FR 58223 (Sept. 28, 2000). So the substance of what the Bureau must do — route the petition, supply records, recommend only when asked, deliver the warrant, recompute the sentence — is unchanged. What changed in the 2025 and 2026 editions is the internal choreography and the channel.
The 2026 edition also closes a wording gap. PS 1330.19 had paraphrased 28 C.F.R. § 1.3 as applying “except when unusual circumstances exist”; PS 1335.01 now says “except when exceptional circumstances exist” (at pp. 1–2), in line with the regulation’s “except upon a showing of exceptional circumstances.” The regulation is what binds.
Where people get stuck treating clemency as an appeal
Treating clemency as a form of appeal
Clemency is not review of a conviction or a sentence and is not decided on legal error. It is an Article II power exercised by the President, and the regulations that surround it are, by their own terms, advisory. The Supreme Court has been explicit that discretion of this kind creates nothing a court will enforce: in Connecticut Board of Pardons v. Dumschat, 452 U.S. 458 (1981), the Court held that a commutation power “conferred no rights on respondents beyond the right to seek commutation,” and that “[a] constitutional entitlement cannot be created — as if by estoppel — merely because a wholly and expressly discretionary state privilege has been granted generously in the past.” That case concerned a state pardon board, but the principle it states is general and it is why no one can promise a result here. If the goal is to attack the conviction or the sentence, the vehicle is a direct appeal or a motion under 28 U.S.C. § 2255, not a petition to the President.
Filing while other relief is still available
Section 1.3 tells the Pardon Attorney that a commutation petition “should” not be filed when other judicial or administrative relief is available, absent exceptional circumstances. In practice that means a pending appeal, a pending § 2255 motion, or an unfiled compassionate release request can become a reason the petition sits. The fix is sequencing and candor: decide with counsel which route is primary, and if the petition goes in while something else is pending, say why in the petition rather than leaving the Pardon Attorney to notice it. Our compassionate release policy explainer covers the alternative the Program Statement names most often.
The package goes out incomplete
The Program Statement is blunt about the consequence: “The U.S. Pardon Attorney may delay and/or return petitions received without the required supporting documentation.” The two items that most often hold a package up are a stale progress report — anything older than 180 days has to be redone — and a missing presentence report, which the Program Statement lists as “(if available)” and which is frequently not in the institution’s disclosable file. Both are fixable in advance. Ask the unit team for a current progress report before you submit, and route the PSR question through the records process in PS 1351.05. If the case manager blows the 30-day compile deadline, that is a processing failure a written Inmate Request to Staff can address at the unit level and, if it goes nowhere, a BP-9 under 28 C.F.R. § 542.14 filed within 20 calendar days of the failure.
Expecting notice of the outcome to arrive on time
Denials arrive by email from the Pardon Attorney to the Warden, who is asked to hand the person a copy. That is two handoffs inside a large institution, and the Program Statement makes the second one a request rather than a command (“requesting that the Warden notify the inmate of the denial”). If months pass with nothing, the productive question is not “has the President decided” — nobody at the institution knows — but “has the institution received anything,” which is a records question and can be asked in writing of the unit team, then through the Administrative Remedy Program if it goes unanswered.
Related BOP policy on commutation petitions
| Page | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Commutation of sentence | The merits side: what a commutation petition has to argue, how the Office of the Pardon Attorney evaluates one, and how the firm builds a petition |
| Compassionate Release / Reduction in Sentence (PS 5050.51) | The § 3582(c)(1)(A) route the clemency regulation names as an alternative form of relief |
| Administrative Remedy Program (PS 1330.18) | The BP-8 → BP-9 → BP-10 → BP-11 route for a staff processing failure |
| Inmate Request to Staff (PS 5511.08) | The cop-out, BP-A0148 — how to put a request or a complaint on the record |
| Inmate Central File and Records (PS 5800.17) | The Inmate Activity Record where petition receipt is logged |
| Progress Reports (PS 5803.08) | The 180-day currency rule for the progress report in the referral package |
| Victim and Witness Notification Program (PS 1490.06) | The victim-notification duties that attach at significant stages of a sentence (PS 1335.01 dropped the unit-staff notification when a clemency petition is received) |
| Sentence Computation Manual (PS 5880.28) | How a sentence is recomputed if a commutation is granted |
| FOIA and Privacy Act Requests (PS 1351.05) | Getting the judgment, PSR-related records and medical records the package needs |
Frequently Asked Questions About Commutation Petitions
What is the difference between a pardon and a commutation?
A commutation shortens or reduces a sentence that has already been imposed; a pardon is forgiveness of the conviction itself, normally sought after a sentence has been served. The waiting periods differ accordingly. 28 C.F.R. § 1.2 provides that “[n]o petition for pardon should be filed until the expiration of a waiting period of at least five years after the date of the release of the petitioner from confinement” (or five years after conviction where no prison sentence was imposed), and that “[g]enerally, no petition should be submitted by a person who is on probation, parole, or supervised release.” No comparable waiting period applies to a commutation petition.
Is there a waiting period before filing for commutation?
No. 28 C.F.R. part 1 sets a five-year waiting period for pardon petitions and none for commutation petitions. What § 1.3 sets instead is a sequencing rule: a commutation petition “should” not be filed if other judicial or administrative relief is available, absent a showing of exceptional circumstances.
Who decides a commutation petition?
The President, alone. Article II, section 2 of the Constitution vests the clemency power in the President, and the Program Statement notes at page 1 that the power “includes commutations (reductions) of sentences.” The Office of the Pardon Attorney investigates and the Attorney General makes a written recommendation under 28 C.F.R. § 1.6, but neither of them decides.
Does the Bureau of Prisons recommend for or against the petition?
Not ordinarily. 28 C.F.R. § 571.41(a) provides that “no Bureau of Prisons recommendation is to be forwarded with the package of material submitted to the U.S. Pardon Attorney.” The Bureau supplies records. Only “[w]hen specifically requested by the U.S. Pardon Attorney” does the Director submit a recommendation, and in that event the Warden’s comments go to the Director rather than to the Pardon Attorney.
What documents does the Bureau send with the petition?
Six categories, listed at page 3 of the Program Statement: the petition form itself (OMB Control Number 1123-0015), the presentence investigation report if available, the judgment in a criminal case, a progress report (a new one if the existing report is older than 180 days), pertinent medical records if the petition involves health, and “[a]ny other available, pertinent, documented information.”
How long does the Bureau have to move the petition along?
The case manager has 30 calendar days from receipt to compile the required documents and route them for the Warden’s signature. If the Pardon Attorney later asks for more, the Warden has 15 working days to send it. If the Director is asked to recommend, the Warden has 10 days to submit written comments. There is no time limit on the Pardon Attorney or the President.
Can staff refuse to process the petition if the person appears ineligible?
No. The Program Statement states at page 2: “Staff must process an inmate’s petition for commutation of sentence, even when it appears the inmate is not eligible for clemency.” Eligibility judgments belong to the Office of the Pardon Attorney, not to institution staff.
Is there any way to appeal a denial?
No. There is no administrative appeal from a clemency denial and no judicial review of the President’s decision. 28 C.F.R. § 1.11 states that the clemency regulations “create no enforceable rights in persons applying for executive clemency.” What a denial does not do is bar a later petition, and it has no effect on any separate route — a direct appeal, a motion under 28 U.S.C. § 2255, or a compassionate release motion under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A).
Applied Insight — Christopher Zoukis, JD, MBA, Managing Director: The part of this process the Bureau actually controls is the records package, and that is where a petition is most often weakened before anyone at the Pardon Attorney’s office reads it. A progress report that has aged past 180 days, a missing judgment, an incomplete medical file — these are the reasons packages come back. Before the petition goes to the case manager, get a current progress report, confirm what is and is not in the central file, and gather the outside documentation yourself. The Bureau’s 30-day clock only starts once the petition is received; nothing obliges anyone to help you assemble it first.
This page is general information about federal prison policy, not legal advice, and nothing here is a prediction about any petition. Elizabeth Franklin-Best, P.C. is a federal criminal defense and appellate practice representing people in federal courts nationwide, with offices in Columbia and Mount Pleasant, South Carolina — (843) 620-1100.
Program Statement 1330.19 (rescinded) — full text
The text below is the rescinded June 5, 2025 edition (PS 1330.19), reproduced for reference; the Bureau no longer posts it. It was replaced on September 3, 2026 by PS 1335.01, which drops the unit-staff victim/witness notification and the victim/witness statements item in the referral package; everything above follows the current text. Current edition: Program Statement 1335.01 (PDF).
U.S. Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Prisons
PROGRAM STATEMENT
OPI CPD/CPB
NUMBER 1330.19
DATE June 5, 2025
Petition for Commutation of Sentence
/s/ Approved: William K. Marshall III Director, Federal Bureau of Prisons
1. § 571.40 Purpose and scope.
An inmate may file a petition for commutation of sentence in accordance with the provisions of 28 CFR part 1.
(a) An inmate may request from the inmate’s case manager the appropriate forms (and instructions) for filing a petition for commutation of sentence.
(b) When specifically requested by the U.S. Pardon Attorney, the Director, Bureau of Prisons will forward a recommendation on the inmate’s petition for commutation of sentence.
Article II, Section 2, of the U.S. Constitution empowers the President of the United States to grant Executive Clemency (including pardon), commutation (reduction) of sentence, remission of time, and reprieve. Commutation of the term of a prison sentence is only considered in the most exceptional circumstances.
Rules governing petitions for Executive Clemency, such as commutation of sentence, are published in 28 CFR Part 1 (§1.1-1.11).
In accordance with 28 CFR §1.3, a petition for commutation of sentence, including remission of fine, should be filed only if no other form of relief is available, such as from a court of the United States, U.S. Parole Commission, or upon motions under 18 U.S.C. §3582 (c) and 4205(g), except when unusual circumstances exist.
Appropriate grounds for consideration traditionally include disparity or undue severity of sentence, critical illness or old age, ineligibility for parole, and meritorious service rendered to
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the Government that has not already been adequately awarded by other official action.
a. Summary of Changes.
Policy Rescinded 1330.15, CN-1 Commutation of Sentence, Petition for (05/02/2014)
- Clarifies the roles of institution and Designation and Sentence Computation Center (DSCC) staff in the commutation process.
- Incorporates appropriate methods of communication with the U.S. Pardon Attorney’s office.
b. Objective.
- All inmates will have access to the U.S. Pardon Attorney to request a petition for commutation of sentence.
c. Pretrial, Holdover, and Detainee Procedures. Procedures contained in this Program
Statement apply only to sentenced inmates.
d. Victim/Witness Notifications. Victim/witness notifications must be made regarding
significant stages in the criminal justice process in accordance with the Program Statement Victim and Witness Notification Program.
2. § 571.41 Procedures.
(a) Staff shall suggest that an inmate who wishes to submit a petition for commutation of sentence do so through the Warden to the U.S. Pardon Attorney. This procedure allows institution staff to forward with the application the necessary supplemental information (for example, sentencing information, presentence report, progress report, pertinent medical records if the petition involves the inmate’s health, etc.). Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, no Bureau of Prisons recommendation is to be forwarded with the package of material submitted to the U.S. Pardon Attorney.
To expedite the Pardon Attorney’s consideration of an inmate’s petition for commutation of sentence, the inmate must send the petition through the Warden to the U.S. Pardon Attorney. This will expedite consideration of the petition because the Pardon Attorney will then obtain most, if not all, of the requisite Bureau inmate records with the petition that will prevent the need for a subsequent request for standard materials. This does not expedite the Pardon Attorney’s evaluation process, including obtaining inmate records and recommendations from other clemency stakeholders (United States Attorney Office, United States Probation Office, etc.).
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The Petition for Commutation of Sentence is available on the U.S. Pardon Attorney’s website at https://www.justice.gov/pardon.
Staff must process an inmate’s petition for commutation of sentence, even when it appears the inmate is not eligible for clemency. When an inmate submits the petition for commutation of sentence, the Case Manager documents the petition receipt with an entry on the Inmate Activity Record in the Inmate Central File and annotates the status on the inmate’s Individualized Needs Plan, during the inmate’s next program review.
Once the petition is received, the Case Manager has 30 calendar days to compile the required documents and route for the Warden’s signature.
When referring an inmate’s petition for commutation of sentence, staff must include:
- Petition for Commutation of Sentence (Form OMB Control Number: 1123-0015)
- Presentence Investigation Report (if available)
- Judgment in a Criminal Case
- Progress Report (if older than 180 days, a new progress report must be completed)
- Victim/Witness statements, if applicable
- Pertinent medical records, if the petition involves the inmate’s health
- Any other available, pertinent, documented information
In the event of a medical emergency certified by the physician at the institution where the inmate is confined, staff must expedite the petition at all levels as resources permit.
The Office of the Pardon Attorney has converted to a digital office, so email is the preferred mode of communication and transmission on all clemency matters. Documents may be transmitted to the Office of the Pardon Attorney via email, which can be found on their website.
The Office of the Pardon Attorney maintains an unmanned telephone and Pardon Attorney staff will respond to voicemails as time and resources allow. The telephone number can be found on their website.
When email is not feasible, the Pardon Attorney will accept hardcopy materials at the following physical address:
Office of the Pardon Attorney 950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20530
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The U.S. Pardon Attorney may delay and/or return petitions received without documentation pending the remaining documentation’s receipt.
When the U.S. Pardon Attorney needs additional information, a request is forwarded directly to the Warden of the institution housing the inmate. In these cases, the Warden ensures the requested documents are forwarded to the U.S. Pardon Attorney within 15 working days.
(b) When specifically requested by the U.S. Pardon Attorney, the Director, Bureau of Prisons shall submit a recommendation on the petition. Prior to making a recommendation, the Director may request comments from the Warden at the institution where the inmate is confined. Upon review of those comments, the Director will forward a recommendation on the petition to the U.S. Pardon Attorney.
The Director, through the Assistant Director, Correctional Programs Division, contacts the Warden for comments via email, with an informational copy sent to the Regional Director.
The Warden submits a written response to the Administrator, Correctional Programs Branch, Correctional Programs Division, within 10 days of receiving the request, and forwards an informational copy to the Regional Director.
The Director, upon review of all available information, forwards the Bureau’s recommendation to the U.S. Pardon Attorney via email, with a copy to the Warden and Regional Director.
(c) When a petition for commutation of sentence is granted by the President of the United States, the U.S. Pardon Attorney will forward the original of the signed and sealed warrant of clemency evidencing the President’s action to the Warden at the detaining institution, with a copy to the Director, Bureau of Prisons. The Warden shall deliver the original warrant to the affected inmate, and obtain a signed receipt for return to the U.S. Pardon Attorney. The Warden shall take such action as is indicated in the warrant of clemency.
The Warden forwards a copy of clemency to the Regional Director.
(1) If a petition for commutation of sentence is granted, Bureau of Prisons staff shall recalculate the inmate’s sentence in accordance with the terms of the commutation order.
(2) If the commutation grants parole eligibility, the inmate is to be placed on the appropriate parole docket.
(d) When a petition for commutation of sentence is denied, the U.S. Pardon Attorney ordinarily notifies the Warden, requesting that the Warden notify the inmate of the denial.
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Notification to the Warden is ordinarily made via email from the U.S. Pardon Attorney, with a request the Warden provide a copy of the denial notification to the inmate.
The Warden forwards a copy of the denial letter to the Regional Director.
3. FORMS
Necessary forms and instructions may be downloaded from the Office of the Pardon Attorney website.
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REFERENCES
Program Statements 1490.06 CN-1 Victim and Witness Notification Program (10/20/2016) 5800.17 Inmate Central File, Privacy Folder, and Parole Mini-Files (4/3/2015) 5803.08 Progress Reports (2/27/2014) 6010.05 Health Services Administration (6/26/2014)
Federal Regulations 28 C.F.R. §§ 571.40-41
ACA Standards None.
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) on the Bureau’s intranet site.
Reviewed for legal accuracy by Elizabeth Franklin-Best, Esq., Principal Attorney·September 2026