Prison Security Levels | Inmate Classification Levels

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

The Federal Bureau of Prisons sorts every institution it runs into one of five security levels — Minimum, Low, Medium, High, and Administrative — and sorts every person it holds by a numeric score that decides which of those levels they go to. For men the cut points are 0–11 points Minimum, 12–15 Low, 16–23 Medium, 24 and above High; for women they are 0–15 Minimum, 16–30 Low, 31 and above High, with no female Medium-security institutions (PS 5100.08 at p. 14).

That score is not the whole story, and the rest of this page is the part families almost never get told: two separate override systems — Public Safety Factors and Management Variables — can put someone at a higher or lower security level than their points call for, and in practice they decide more designations than the arithmetic does.

Staff score the caseOn the Inmate Load and Security Designation Form, BP‑337.

SENTRY totals the pointsSeverity of offense, criminal history, detainers, escapes, violence, age, education, drug use.

A Public Safety Factor is appliedIf one fits, it sets a floor and the point total no longer controls.

A Management Variable may shift itStaff judgment can move the placement one level up or down.

DSCC designates the institutionThe Designation and Sentence Computation Center in Grand Prairie, Texas, makes the call.

The score is the starting point, not the answer. Most people are surprised by step three: a Public Safety Factor keeps someone out of a lower‑security institution no matter how few points they scored, and no more than three may be applied at once. Steps three and four are also where a lawyer’s work actually lands — the point total is arithmetic, but the PSF and the Management Variable turn on judgment and on the record the Bureau is given.

Source: BOP Program Statement 5100.08, Inmate Security Designation and Custody Classification (Change Notice CN‑3, May 6, 2026), chs. 1, 2 and 5. Verified against the program statement text; confirm current policy before relying on it in a specific case.

The classification file at a glance
Governing policy	Program Statement 5100.08, Inmate Security Designation and Custody Classification — base document dated September 12, 2006, as amended by CN-1 (Sept. 4, 2019), CN-2 (Mar. 6, 2025) and CN-3 (May 6, 2026) (PS 5100.08 at pp. 1–6)
Governing regulation	28 C.F.R. part 524, subpart B — classification and program review
Governing statute	18 U.S.C. § 3621(b) — the Bureau designates the place of imprisonment
Who decides	The Designation and Sentence Computation Center (DSCC), Grand Prairie, Texas (PS 5100.08 at p. 14)
The two forms	BP-337, Inmate Load and Security Designation Form (initial) · BP-338, Custody Classification Form (every review afterward) (PS 5100.08 at pp. 49, 82)
Institutions on BOP’s roster	118, distributed 6 Minimum · 35 Low · 43 Medium · 15 High · 19 Administrative (BOP locations roster, reconciled facility-by-facility September 5, 2026)
Review cycle	Initial classification within 28 calendar days of arrival; program review at least every 180 days, and every 90 days once inside 12 months of release (28 C.F.R. § 524.11)

A Program Statement is the Bureau’s internal instruction to its own staff. It is agency policy, not law. The regulation at 28 C.F.R. part 524 and the statute at 18 U.S.C. § 3621(b) are what bind the Bureau; PS 5100.08 is how the Bureau tells its staff to carry them out. That distinction matters when you challenge a score, and we come back to it below.

The five federal prison security levels, side by side

The Bureau classifies an institution by what it is physically able to control: mobile patrol, gun towers, perimeter barriers, detection devices, internal security, type of inmate housing, inmate-to-staff ratio, and any special institutional mission (PS 5100.08 at p. 13). It classifies a person by the level of security and supervision they require and by their program needs — substance abuse, education, vocational training, counseling, medical or mental health treatment.

	Minimum	Low	Medium	High	Administrative
Common name	Federal Prison Camp (FPC); Satellite Prison Camp (SPC)	Federal Correctional Institution (FCI); Federal Satellite Low (FSL)	Federal Correctional Institution (FCI)	United States Penitentiary (USP)	FMC, MCFP, FDC, MDC, MCC, FTC, ADX
Male point range	0–11	12–15	16–23	24+	All point totals
Female point range	0–15	16–30	no female Medium institutions	31+	All point totals
Custody levels housed	COMMUNITY and OUT	OUT and IN	OUT and IN	IN and MAXIMUM	All custody levels
Perimeter	Limited or no fencing	Double fence, electronic detection	Reinforced fence, razor wire, armed patrol	Reinforced fence or wall; most have towers	Varies by mission
Housing	Dormitory	Dormitory or cubicle; some cells	Predominantly cells	Cells	Varies by mission
Institutions on BOP’s roster (Sept. 2026)	6 standalone camps, plus 60 institutions with an adjacent camp	34	44	15	19
Our page	Minimum-security federal prison camps	Low-security federal prisons	Medium-security federal prisons	High-security penitentiaries	Administrative-security prisons

Point ranges and custody levels: PS 5100.08 at p. 14. The footnote to that table states plainly that “Female security level institutions are classified as Minimum, Low, High and Administrative” (PS 5100.08 at p. 15). Institution counts are our own tally of BOP’s published locations roster, reconciled field-by-field against BOP’s live locations data on September 18, 2026; the 118 total excludes contract facilities, residential reentry offices, regional offices and the two central offices.

Two levels have pages of their own that cut across this table. Federal Medical Centers are administrative-security institutions organized around medical mission rather than custody, and women’s federal prisons span four of the five levels — the footnote above is the reason: the Bureau classifies female security level institutions as Minimum, Low, High and Administrative, with no Medium.

Administrative institutions are the exception to the whole scheme. They have a special mission — medical, mental health, pretrial detention, holdover, transfer — and people are assigned to them based on that mission rather than on security points. As PS 5100.08 puts it, administrative institutions “are designed to house all security level inmates” (PS 5100.08 at p. 16). That includes the Federal Medical Centers, MCFP Springfield, the Federal Detention Centers and Metropolitan Detention Centers that hold mostly pretrial detainees, FTC Oklahoma City — the Bureau’s air hub — and ADX Florence, the only administrative-maximum penitentiary in the system.

There is no “level 4” or “level 7” federal prison

If you have been told your loved one is going to a “level 4 prison” or a “level 7 prison,” that is state vocabulary, not federal. California, Ohio, Michigan and several other state systems use numbered custody levels; the federal Bureau of Prisons does not. Federal institutions carry a named security level — Minimum, Low, Medium, High or Administrative — and nothing else (PS 5100.08 at p. 13). If a document in your case says “level 4,” it is either describing a state facility, a medical care level (the Bureau does grade those 1 through 4), or somebody’s shorthand. Ask which. The difference between a federal medical care level 4 and a federal security level is enormous, and the two are decided by different offices. Our page on medical and mental health care levels explains the medical grading, and BOP’s own medical designation policy governs it.

The security point scale: what actually builds the number

Ten items on the BP-337, Inmate Load and Security Designation Form produce the Base Score. Nine of them add points; one subtracts. This is the table people come looking for, and it is reproduced here exactly as the Bureau prints it (PS 5100.08 at p. 49, with the scoring instructions at pp. 38–46).

BP-337 item	Point values	What the Bureau scores
Voluntary Surrender	0 = no · (−3) = yes	The only negative item on the form. Applies to post-sentencing self-surrender where the person was not escorted by law enforcement to the Marshals or to the institution; it does not cover surrendering to the Marshals on the same day as sentencing, and it may not be applied to a later supervised-release, mandatory-release or parole violation return (PS 5100.08 at pp. 38–39)
Months to Release	not scored	Total months remaining, less 15% for sentences over 12 months, less jail credit. Not part of the point total, but it drives the Sentence Length Public Safety Factor. Death-penalty, life and unparoled parolable-life cases are entered as 540 months (PS 5100.08 at p. 39)
Severity of Current Offense	0 lowest · 1 low moderate · 3 moderate · 5 high · 7 greatest	Scored on the most severe documented instant offense behavior regardless of the conviction offense, using the Offense Severity Scale at Appendix A. For multiple offenses the highest score is used (PS 5100.08 at p. 40)
Criminal History Score	0 = 0–1 CHP · 2 = 2–3 · 4 = 4–6 · 6 = 7–9 · 8 = 10–12 · 10 = 13+	Derived from the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines criminal history points in the Judgment and Statement of Reasons, or from the PSR. Where no guideline points exist, staff rebuild the score from the NCIC III report (PS 5100.08 at p. 41)
History of Violence	Minor: 0 / 1 / 1 / 3 / 5 · Serious: 0 / 2 / 4 / 6 / 7 across none, >15 yrs, 10–15 yrs, 5–10 yrs, <5 yrs	Only acts with a documented finding of guilt — court, DHO, parole or supervised-release violation. Excludes the current term of confinement, except that any UDC or DHO finding during the current term is scored as a history item (PS 5100.08 at p. 42)
History of Escape or Attempts	Minor: 0 / 1 / 1 / 2 / 3 · Serious: 0 / 3(S) / 3(S) / 3(S) / 3(S)	Minor = walking away from an open institution or program with no violence — a camp, a halfway house, a furlough — plus military AWOL, Bail Reform Act, flight to avoid prosecution, absconding. Serious = escape from secure custody, or from an open facility with actual threat of violence; scores 3 points and triggers the Serious Escape PSF (PS 5100.08 at p. 44)
Type of Detainer	0 none · 1 lowest/low moderate · 3 moderate · 5 high · 7 greatest	Scored on the most serious detainer using the Offense Severity Scale. No points for U.S. Parole Commission warrants. No points for ICE detainers — but an ICE detainer prompts review for the Deportable Alien PSF (PS 5100.08 at pp. 44–45)
Age	8 = 24 or less · 4 = 25–35 · 2 = 36–54 · 0 = 55 and over	Entered automatically by SENTRY from date of birth; staff do not key it. If the date of birth is unknown, SENTRY defaults to 4 points (PS 5100.08 at p. 45)
Education Level	0 = verified high school diploma or GED · 1 = enrolled and making satisfactory progress in GED · 2 = no verified diploma/GED and not participating	Highest grade completed is recorded separately: GED = 12, college graduate = 16, master’s = 18, Ph.D. = 21 (PS 5100.08 at p. 45)
Drug/Alcohol Abuse	0 = never or more than 5 years ago · 1 = within 5 years	A drug or alcohol conviction, a violation based on substance use, a positive test, a DUI, a detox admission — or the person’s own self-report, which is sufficient on its own (PS 5100.08 at p. 46)

Three things on that table cost people more security levels than anything else, and all three are worth checking on day one.

Offense severity is scored on behavior, not the count of conviction

PS 5100.08 gives its own example: someone involved in an assault with serious injury who pleads to simple assault is scored at Greatest severity — 7 points — on the documented behavior (PS 5100.08 at p. 40). But the policy also tells staff to read the Statement of Reasons, and where the sentencing judge made a narrower finding than the PSR alleged, the judge’s finding controls the score. The Bureau’s own illustration is a drug case where the PSR describes a conspiracy responsible for 31 grams of crack but the Statement of Reasons records the judge finding the defendant responsible for less than a gram: the correct score is Low Moderate, not Moderate (PS 5100.08 at p. 40). A Statement of Reasons that resolves a disputed drug quantity, loss amount or role is therefore a classification document as much as a sentencing document. It is required in every felony case where the guideline range exceeds 24 months or where the court departs (PS 5100.08 at p. 22).

Detainers are scored on the offense behind them, and they never expire

A lodged state detainer, a consecutive state sentence, or a state parole violation warrant all score. A concurrent state sentence scores only if the state term is expected to outrun the federal one and the state has formally filed a detainer (PS 5100.08 at p. 65). The Bureau tells its own staff to inform people that resolving detainers quickly matters, precisely because an unresolved detainer follows the score through every review. Our page on the Correctional Systems Manual and detainer practice covers the mechanics, and the firm’s Interstate Agreement on Detainers work covers the route to clearing one.

Voluntary surrender is worth three points, and it is lost by accident

Three points is the difference between a 14 and an 11 for a man — which is the difference between Low and Minimum. The credit attaches only to post-sentencing self-surrender where nobody escorted the person in, and it applies only to the initial term of confinement (PS 5100.08 at pp. 38–39). If the Judgment allows self-surrender but does not set a date, the DSCC contacts the court to set one. The BOP policy page on unescorted transfers and voluntary surrenders walks through what the Judgment has to say.

Applied Insight — Christopher Zoukis, JD, MBA, Managing Director: The single most productive hour in a designation matter is spent reading the PSR and the Statement of Reasons side by side against the ten BP-337 items, before the DSCC scores anything. Every item on that form traces to a document, and every document can be wrong, stale, or narrower than the offense conduct the PSR describes. What the firm looks for is a scoring item the record cannot support — a severity level built on conduct the judge rejected, a detainer that was withdrawn, an education field that ignores a GED earned in a county jail.

Custody scoring: the six items that change while you are inside

Base Score items are largely fixed. What moves after arrival is the custody score on the BP-338, Custody Classification Form — six items scored by the Unit Team, where in a reversal that confuses everyone, higher custody points are better, because they push the variance negative and pull the Security Total down (PS 5100.08 at pp. 71–76, 82).

BP-338 Section C item	Point values	What it measures
Percentage of Time Served	3 = 0–25% · 4 = 26–75% · 5 = 76–90% · 6 = 91%+	Months already served on the present commitment, including jail credit, divided by total anticipated months of confinement. The Bureau’s worked example: 15 months served of an anticipated 78 = 19.2% = score 3 (PS 5100.08 at p. 71)
Program Participation	0 poor · 1 average · 2 good	Good = actively participating in multiple recommended programs. Average = could take several but does one at a time, or sits on an official waiting list. Anyone in “FRP Refuse,” “RPP Refuse,” or refusing mandatory drug education scores 0 regardless of every other achievement (PS 5100.08 at p. 72)
Living Skills	0 poor · 1 average · 2 good	Demeanor, attitude, personal accountability, and the nature of interaction with staff and other people inside, over the past 12 months. Incident reports are not themselves determinative, but the underlying behavior may be. The same FRP/RPP refusal rule zeroes this item (PS 5100.08 at pp. 72–73)
Type and Number of Most Serious Incident Report	0 = any Greatest (100-level) in past 10 yrs · 1 = >1 High (200) in past 2 yrs · 2(A) = 1 High (200) in past 2 yrs · 2(B) = >1 Moderate (300) in past yr · 3(A) = 1 Moderate (300) in past yr · 3(B) = >1 Low Moderate (400) in past yr · 4 = 1 Low Moderate (400) in past yr · 5 = none	A single Greatest-severity finding scores 0 for ten years, no matter how many or few. The letters after 2 and 3 only distinguish identical numeric values; they are not used in the arithmetic (PS 5100.08 at pp. 73–74)
Frequency of Incident Reports (past year)	0 = 6+ · 1 = 2–5 · 2 = one · 3 = none	Findings of guilt by the Unit Discipline Committee or the Discipline Hearing Officer in the past year (PS 5100.08 at p. 74)
Family/Community Ties	3 = none or minimal · 4 = average or good	Scored on the person’s own effort to build and maintain ties, not the family’s effort to support them: visiting-list and phone-list development, correspondence, financial support (FRP payments excluded), parenting programs, Prisoner Visitation Services contact, institution community-service projects (PS 5100.08 at p. 75)

Two of those items deserve a warning label.

The incident report item is the most punishing single field on either form. One Greatest-severity finding — a 100-level code — holds the score at 0 for ten years, and no amount of good conduct moves it. That is why a disciplinary hearing is a classification proceeding as much as a punishment proceeding, and why it is worth defending even when the sanction on offer looks survivable. Our page on inmate discipline proceedings covers the hearing itself; the Inmate Discipline Program policy sets out the code severity levels.

The Family/Community Ties item is the only place on either form where a family’s actions and the incarcerated person’s actions can be made to line up. PS 5100.08 says explicitly that this item is scored on “the inmate’s efforts to build, maintain and strengthen family/community ties rather than the unilateral efforts of the family/community” (PS 5100.08 at p. 75). Somebody with no surviving parents, siblings, spouse or children can still score “average or good” by developing Prisoner Visitation Services contacts and participating in community-service activities inside. It is one point, and one point crosses a cut point more often than people expect. Our pages on visitation, phone calls, CorrLinks and TRULINCS email and writing to someone in federal prison are the practical side of that item.

The Custody Variance table — where the two scores meet

The six custody points are added into a Custody Total, and the Custody Total is crossed against the Base Score on a variance matrix. The intersection is added to or subtracted from the Base Score to produce the Security Total, which is the number that sets the security level (PS 5100.08 at pp. 76–78).

Table 6-1(M) — Male Custody Variance (PS 5100.08 at p. 77)

Base Score \ Custody Total	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22
0–11	+4	+4	+3	+3	+2	+1	+1	+1	0	0	−1	−1	−2	−3	−4	−5	−5
12–15	+4	+4	+3	+3	+2	+1	+1	+1	0	0	0	−1	−2	−3	−4	−5	−5
16–23	+8	+6	+5	+4	+4	+3	+2	+1	+1	0	0	0	−1	−1	−2	−2	−3
24+	+8	+6	+5	+4	+4	+3	+2	+1	+1	+1	0	0	0	−1	−1	−2	−3

Table 6-1(F) — Female Custody Variance (PS 5100.08 at p. 77)

Base Score \ Custody Total	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22
0–15	+15	+11	+7	+4	+3	+2	+1	+1	0	0	0	0	−2	−4	−8	−12	−16
16–30	+15	+11	+7	+4	+3	+2	+1	+1	0	0	0	0	0	−4	−8	−12	−16
31+	+15	+11	+7	+4	+3	+2	+1	+1	0	0	0	0	0	0	−1	−5	−8

The male table runs from +8 to −5; the female table from +15 to −16. If the variance comes out at zero, the Security Total equals the Base Score. If applying the variance produces a negative number, the Security Total is entered as 0 (PS 5100.08 at p. 78).

Worked example: how the points add up at designation and at program review

Numbers on a page are abstract. Here is the arithmetic on a hypothetical male defendant, scored the way the DSCC scores it, using nothing but the tables above. This is illustration, not prediction — nobody can tell you what score the Bureau will assign in your case, and this page does not try.

At initial designation (BP-337). Self-surrendered after sentencing, so Voluntary Surrender = −3. Wire fraud with a judicially found loss between $2,000 and $250,000, which the Offense Severity Scale puts at Low Moderate, so Severity = 1 (PS 5100.08 at p. 107). Three criminal history points in the Statement of Reasons, so Criminal History = 2. No violence, 0; no escape history, 0; no detainer, 0. Age 41, so Age = 2. Bachelor’s degree, so Education = 0. A DUI eleven years ago, so Drug/Alcohol = 0.

Base Score: −3 + 1 + 2 + 0 + 0 + 0 + 2 + 0 + 0 = 2 points. That is inside the male Minimum range of 0–11 and, absent a Public Safety Factor, points to a camp. Note what did the work: the voluntary-surrender credit and the fact that the severity item followed the judge’s loss finding rather than the indictment’s.

At the first program review, roughly seven months in (BP-338). Suppose instead the same man had come in with a Base Score of 17 — a 5-point severity, a 6-point criminal history, an old detainer — putting him in Medium. He has served 22 of an anticipated 78 months (28%), so Percentage of Time Served = 4. He is in a vocational program and the literacy program, so Program Participation = 2. Clean conduct and good work reports, so Living Skills = 2. No incident reports ever, so Type and Number = 5 and Frequency = 3. He has built a visiting list and calls his children weekly, so Family/Community Ties = 4.

Custody Total: 4 + 2 + 2 + 5 + 3 + 4 = 20 points. Cross a Base Score of 17 (the 16–23 row) with a Custody Total of 20 on Table 6-1(M) and the variance is −2. Security Total = 17 − 2 = 15, which is the top of the male Low range. The Custody Variance being negative also means the Unit Team may consider a custody decrease (PS 5100.08 at p. 78), and because his scored security level has changed, PS 5100.08 requires the case be referred to the DSCC for either transfer or application of a Management Variable (PS 5100.08 at p. 86).

That is the machine. Now the two systems that can ignore it.

Public Safety Factors: the override that outranks your points

A Public Safety Factor (PSF) is “relevant factual information regarding the inmate’s current offense, sentence, criminal history or institutional behavior that requires additional security measures be employed to ensure the safety and protection of the public” (PS 5100.08 at p. 56). A PSF sets a floor: it does not add points, it forbids placement below a stated security level. The definitions chapter says PSFs are “applied to inmates who are not appropriate for placement at an institution which would permit inmate access to the community (i.e., MINIMUM security)” (PS 5100.08 at p. 21) — which is the plain-English version of what a PSF does: it takes the camp off the table, and sometimes more than the camp.

A maximum of three PSFs may be applied, and if more than three fit, the Bureau applies the three that produce the greatest security (PS 5100.08 at p. 56). PSFs are normally entered on the BP-337 before initial designation, but they can be added or deleted at any time afterward on the BP-338.

Code	Public Safety Factor	Applies to	Security floor it sets
B	Disruptive Group — validated member of a disruptive group identified in the Central Inmate Monitoring System	Males only	High
C	Greatest Severity Offense — current term falls in the “Greatest Severity” range of the Offense Severity Scale	Males only	Low
F	Sex Offender — enumerated conduct in the current term or prior history; a conviction is not required if the PSR or other official documentation clearly shows it	Male and female	Low
G	Threat to Government Officials — carries the CIM assignment of that name	Male and female	Low
H	Deportable Alien — not a U.S. citizen; applied to all long-term detainees	Male and female	Low
I	Sentence Length — more than 10 years remaining	Males only	Low
I	Sentence Length — more than 20 years remaining	Males only	Medium
I	Sentence Length — more than 30 years remaining, including non-parolable LIFE	Males only	High
K	Violent Behavior — two convictions or DHO findings for serious incidents of violence within the last five years	Females only	Low
L	Serious Escape — male: escape from a secure facility with or without threat of violence, or from an open institution with threat of violence	Males	Medium
L	Serious Escape — female: serious escape within the last ten years, including the current term	Females	Carswell Administrative Unit
M	Prison Disturbance — found guilty of engaging in or encouraging a riot (codes such as 103, 105, 106, 107, 212, 213, 218) during simultaneous institution disruptions	Male and female	Males High; females Carswell Administrative Unit
N	Juvenile Violence — currently of juvenile age with any documented instance of violent behavior resulting in conviction, adjudication or finding of guilt	Male and female	Per Tables 5-2 / 5-3
O	Serious Telephone Abuse — using the phone to further criminal activity or promote illicit organizations; no conviction required	Male and female	Low

Codes and floors: PS 5100.08 at pp. 56–60. Code A means no PSF applies. Three PSFs have been discontinued — D (Firearms), E (High Drug) and J (Designation Assessment) (PS 5100.08 at p. 61).

A discrepancy inside the policy: nine Public Safety Factors, or eleven?

PS 5100.08’s definitions chapter states there are nine Public Safety Factors (PS 5100.08 at p. 21). Chapter 5, the BP-337 and the BP-338 all enumerate eleven — B, C, F, G, H, I, K, L, M, N and O, plus code A for “none” (PS 5100.08 at pp. 46, 56–60, 82). The likeliest explanation is that “nine” survives from an edition predating the discontinued factors, but the Bureau has not reconciled it, and neither will we. Count the codes on the form in front of you.

The PSF tables that decide the outcome

Tables 5-2 and 5-3 are the ones the DSCC actually reads. They cross the point total with the PSF and produce a security level directly.

Table 5-2 — Security Designation Table (Males) (PS 5100.08 at p. 61)

Security point total	Public Safety Factor	Resulting security level
0–11	None	Minimum
0–11	Deportable Alien	Low
0–11	Juvenile Violence	Low
0–11	Greatest Severity Offense	Low
0–11	Sex Offender	Low
0–11	Serious Telephone Abuse	Low
0–11	Threat to Government Officials	Low
0–11	Sentence Length — more than 10 years remaining	Low
0–11	Sentence Length — more than 20 years remaining	Medium
0–11	Sentence Length — more than 30 years remaining (incl. non-parolable LIFE and death-penalty cases)	High
0–11	Serious Escape	Medium
0–11	Disruptive Group	High
0–11	Prison Disturbance	High
12–15	None	Low
12–15	Serious Escape	Medium
12–15	Sentence Length — more than 20 years remaining	Medium
12–15	Sentence Length — more than 30 years remaining (incl. non-parolable LIFE and death-penalty cases)	High
12–15	Disruptive Group	High
12–15	Prison Disturbance	High
16–23	None	Medium
16–23	Disruptive Group	High
16–23	Prison Disturbance	High
16–23	Sentence Length — more than 30 years remaining (incl. non-parolable LIFE and death-penalty cases)	High
24+	(any)	High

Table 5-3 — Security Designation Table (Females) (PS 5100.08 at p. 62)

Security point total	Public Safety Factor	Resulting security level
0–15	None	Minimum
0–15	Deportable Alien	Low
0–15	Juvenile Violence	Low
0–15	Serious Telephone Abuse	Low
0–15	Sex Offender	Low
0–15	Threat to Government Officials	Low
0–15	Violent Behavior	Low
0–15	Prison Disturbance	High
0–15	Serious Escape	High
16–30	None	Low
16–30	Prison Disturbance	High
16–30	Serious Escape	High
31+	(any)	High

Read Table 5-2 and the whole logic of federal classification comes into focus: a man with zero security points and a Sex Offender, Deportable Alien or Greatest Severity PSF cannot go to a camp. His points are irrelevant. The PSF, not the arithmetic, is what put him in a Low. That is why the most valuable thing to check first is not the point total but the PSF field. Our pages on surviving prison as a person convicted of a sex offense and sex offender treatment programs cover what follows from the F factor; the Sex Offender Programs policy is the Bureau’s own instruction. For non-citizens, the H factor interacts with the Institution Hearing Program, and PS 5100.08 says the factor shall not be applied, or shall be removed, when ICE or the immigration court determines that deportation proceedings are unwarranted, when there is a finding not to deport, or when the person has naturalized (PS 5100.08 at p. 58). That removal is the single most common PSF challenge worth making.

Management Variables: the override that can go the other way

A Management Variable (MGTV) is required whenever someone is placed or kept at an institution whose level does not match their scored security level (PS 5100.08 at pp. 19, 50). It is the Bureau’s mechanism for professional judgment overriding the number — in either direction. A maximum of three may be applied to a case, and with limited exceptions only the DSCC or Central Office may enter one; institution staff may only re-enter a variable the DSCC already approved (PS 5100.08 at p. 50).

Code	Management Variable	What it does	Expiration (Table 5-1)
A	None	No variable applies; institution staff may enter this one	N/A
B	Judicial Recommendation	The sentencing court recommended an institution or program; the Bureau attempts to satisfy it where consistent with policy, and notifies the court in writing when it cannot	N/A
D	Release Residence / Planning	Placement reasonably close to the release area — ordinarily within 500 miles, and to the extent practicable the closest facility within 500 driving miles. May also apply to people within 36 months of release	N/A
E	Population Management	Facility activation, bed-space pressure within 500 driving miles of the release residence, gang or security concerns	Up to 18 months
G	Central Inmate Monitoring Assignment	CIM status limits placement options	N/A
I	Medical or Psychiatric	Designation to a medical or psychiatric referral center; applied and reviewed by the Central Office Medical Designator	6 months
N	Program Participation	A program available only at limited sites justifies placement off-level, or delay of a transfer until completion	Up to 18 months, at the Regional Director’s discretion
R	Work Cadre	At secure facilities without a satellite camp, the Regional Director may authorize a number of work-cadre workers outside the perimeter	N/A
S	PSF Waived	The DSCC Administrator waived a Public Safety Factor; requires a Management Security Level at least one level below the scored security level	N/A (removed if the person is transferred up for behavior related to the waived PSF)
U	Long-Term Detainee	Custody Classification Forms are not completed on long-term detainees; this variable covers the mismatch	N/A
V	Greater Security	Pending charges, a detainer, escape risk — a security concern the scheme does not capture. Requires an MSL at least one level above the scored security level	Up to 24 months
W	Lesser Security	Detainer removed, positive adjustment, or age driving the placement. Requires an MSL at least one level below the scored security level	N/A

Codes and expirations: PS 5100.08 at pp. 52–55. Where an expiration is “up to” a period and no date is entered, SENTRY defaults to an expiration 12 months out (PS 5100.08 at p. 55). Ten Management Variables have been discontinued: C (Age), F (Racial Balance), H (Voluntary Surrender), J (Custody), K (Detainer), L (Discipline), M (Grandfather Clause), O (Security), P (Sentence Limitation) and Q (Sliding Scale).

Management Security Level — the number that beats the number

Three of those variables — S (PSF Waived), V (Greater Security) and W (Lesser Security) — force the DSCC Administrator to assign a Management Security Level (MSL), and the MSL “takes precedence over the security level reflected in SENTRY which is based upon the scored security level and the application of Public Safety Factors” (PS 5100.08 at p. 51). The MSL is normally one level above or below the scored level (PS 5100.08 at p. 19), and where a designation is inconsistent with the MSL, at least one additional non-MSL variable must be added to explain it. SENTRY will not permit Greater Security and Lesser Security simultaneously (PS 5100.08 at p. 50).

Only the DSCC Administrator can waive a Public Safety Factor, and the request goes up on form 409 with items 1 through 7 completed (PS 5100.08 at p. 53). Requests to apply a Management Variable or to update the Management Variable Expiration Date should normally reach the DSCC within 21 calendar days of the scheduled custody review so that the DSCC is working from a current BP-338 (PS 5100.08 at p. 51). Two exceptions to DSCC control: the “I” (Med/Psych) variable is applied and reviewed by the Central Office Medical Designator, and the “U” (Long-Term Detainee) variable is applied by the Detention Services Branch at Central Office (PS 5100.08 at p. 50).

A note about judicial recommendations, because it is the most common misunderstanding in this whole area. The sentencing court may recommend a facility or a program, and the Bureau “attempts to satisfy judicial recommendations” where consistent with policy and sound correctional management, notifying the court in writing when it does not (PS 5100.08 at p. 52). The statute requires the Bureau to consider a recommendation, 18 U.S.C. § 3621(b)(4), and the same subsection says that “a designation of a place of imprisonment under this subsection is not reviewable by any court.” A recommendation is worth asking for. It is not an order, and a recommendation for the wrong security level is worse than none — the Bureau simply cannot follow it.

Custody level is not security level

People use these interchangeably and the Bureau does not. Security level describes the institution — its structural variables and inmate-to-staff ratio (PS 5100.08 at p. 22). Custody level describes the person — how much staff supervision they need within and beyond the institution’s perimeter (PS 5100.08 at p. 17).

Custody level	What it permits
COMMUNITY	The lowest level. May be eligible for the least secure housing, including outside the perimeter; may work outside details with minimal supervision; may participate in community-based program activities if otherwise eligible (PS 5100.08 at p. 16)
OUT	Second lowest. May be assigned less secure housing; may be eligible for work details outside the secure perimeter with a minimum of two-hour intermittent staff supervision (PS 5100.08 at p. 21)
IN	Second highest. Regular quarters, all regular work assignments and activities under normal supervision. Not eligible for work details or programs outside the secure perimeter (PS 5100.08 at p. 17)
MAXIMUM	Highest. For people identified by their behavior as assaultive, predacious, riotous, serious escape risks, or seriously disruptive. A change to or from MAXIMUM must be justified on the BP-338 and permanently maintained in the central file (PS 5100.08 at p. 19)

Table 4-1 — Initial Custody Assignment (PS 5100.08 at p. 47)

Level of institution initially designated	Initial custody assignment
Minimum	OUT
Low	IN
Medium	IN
High	IN, unless the designation is to USP Marion or ADX Florence, in which case MAXIMUM
Administrative	IN, unless the person is Minimum security level and the designation was not for security reasons, in which case OUT

Custody changes move one level at a time — a reduction from IN goes to OUT, not to COMMUNITY; an increase from COMMUNITY goes to OUT, not to IN. The exception runs only upward, for disciplinary cases involving Greatest Severity prohibited acts or escape, justified in a memo to the central file with a copy to the person (PS 5100.08 at p. 80). The other exception runs the other way: transfer to a Residential Reentry Center may require a drop of more than one level, and COMMUNITY custody must be in effect at the time of transfer, effective 12:01 a.m. on the transfer date (PS 5100.08 at p. 80). See our pages on halfway houses and home confinement, and the Bureau’s halfway house placement and home confinement policies.

Who signs matters. For Regular cases the Unit Team makes the custody call and the Unit Manager signs the BP-338. A case becomes an Exception case — requiring the Warden or designee to approve and sign any custody decrease — if there is documentation of a Public Safety Factor (including a waived one), a Central Inmate Monitoring assignment other than state prisoners and separation cases, or any other category the Warden specifies in writing (PS 5100.08 at pp. 78–79, 81). If the variance is zero but the Unit Team believes there is a compelling reason to change custody, the case goes to the Warden as the deciding official (PS 5100.08 at p. 80).

Table 6-2 — What the Unit Team may do (PS 5100.08 at p. 80)

If the BP-338 recommends	The classification team may
Custody increase (+ range)	Increase custody one level, or continue the same custody and document why
Custody decrease (− range)	Decrease custody one level, or continue the same custody and document why
Continue present custody (zero)	Continue the same custody, or refer to the Warden

And a line worth quoting to anybody who has been told the computer decided: “the Custody Classification Form only recommends an inmate’s custody. The Unit Team and/or Warden is the final review authority” (PS 5100.08 at p. 63). Where the Unit Team departs from the point total, PS 5100.08 requires them to document the reasons in writing on the form and inform the person (PS 5100.08 at p. 64). If that documentation is missing, that is the first thing to ask for.

How an initial designation actually happens

The Designation and Sentence Computation Center in Grand Prairie, Texas does this work, and it “will ordinarily complete the initial designation within three working days of receiving all the necessary documentation” from the U.S. Marshals Service and the U.S. Probation Officer (PS 5100.08 at p. 23). The necessary documentation is the Presentence Investigation Report, the Judgment, the Statement of Reasons, and Central Inmate Monitoring documentation where a CIM assignment is needed.

The chronology PS 5100.08 sets out (PS 5100.08 at p. 23):

1. The person is sentenced.
2. The Clerk of Court transmits the Judgment in a Criminal Case to the U.S. Marshals Service.
3. The Marshals Service tells the DSCC the person is ready for designation.
4. If documents are missing, DSCC staff contact the Probation Office or Marshals for two copies of the PSR, a copy of the Judgment including the Statement of Reasons, and the Individual Custody and Detention Report (USM-129).
5. DSCC staff complete and enter a BP-337 into SENTRY on all cases with terms exceeding 30 days (PS 5100.08 at p. 24).
6. SENTRY produces a list of appropriate-level facilities in order of proximity to the legal residence, and the Designator selects one and records whether the reason for designation was security (“S”) or management (“M”) (PS 5100.08 at pp. 25, 48).

Four provisions in that chapter change outcomes and almost never get raised:

• No Statement of Reasons? DSCC staff must make a reasonable effort to obtain one from the court or Probation, because the SOR “may contain information which overrides the PSR and may affect scoring decisions.” If none exists, staff note that in the BP-337 Remarks and proceed (PS 5100.08 at p. 23).
• PSR more than six months old? DSCC staff are to contact the Probation Office to determine whether there is new or significant information (PS 5100.08 at p. 24).
• No offense or background information at all? Then “an inmate must be designated to at least a Low security level institution,” and the institution may request redesignation once information arrives (PS 5100.08 at p. 24). A person can land in a Low purely because paperwork was missing.
• Rule 38(b) appeal recommendations. Where the court of conviction recommends confinement that allows participation in preparing an appeal, “the Bureau will make every effort to place the inmate in such a facility,” and calls the matter to the court’s attention if it cannot (PS 5100.08 at p. 25).

Anyone with a physical or mental health concern is referred to the Office of Medical Designations and Transportation no later than the following work day (PS 5100.08 at p. 23) — that referral, not the security score, is what routes people to a Federal Medical Center. SENTRY also shows the Designator each facility’s Rated Capacity (the capacity it was designed for) and Designation Capacity (the equitable share of that security level it should hold), which is how crowding enters the decision (PS 5100.08 at p. 25); the Bureau’s rated capacities policy sets the methodology.

One statutory limit is worth knowing. A misdemeanant — someone convicted of an offense carrying a maximum of a year or less — may not be transferred to a High-security institution without signing a waiver. 18 U.S.C. § 4083 prohibits placement in a “penitentiary” without consent, and the Bureau broadens that prohibition to cover any High-security institution (PS 5100.08 at pp. 19–20).

What happens next on the ground is covered on our pages about preparing for prison, the first day inside, the intake process and finding someone with the inmate locator. BOP’s own intake screening and admission and orientation policies govern the first days.

Reclassification, redesignation and transfer

Classification is not a one-time event. Under 28 C.F.R. § 524.11 newly committed people are classified within 28 calendar days of arriving at the institution designated for service of sentence, receive a program review at least once every 180 calendar days, and — once within twelve months of the projected release date — at least once every 90 calendar days. They must be notified at least 48 hours before appearing before the classification team, and may waive that notice in writing.

PS 5100.08 layers the custody-scoring cycle on top of that regulatory floor: the first custody classification is scored at the first program review, approximately seven months after arrival, and subsequent reviews occur at least every 12 months, though they may be conducted earlier to enable progress toward community activities (PS 5100.08 at p. 63). Only changes that raise or lower the overall security level — an FRP refusal, an incident report, a new sentence, a sentence reduction — are scored outside the 12-month cycle. A new BP-338 is completed at every annual review, even when nothing has changed, and only the most current form stays in the central file, except forms documenting custody reductions in exception cases and any form moving custody to or from MAXIMUM, which is kept permanently (PS 5100.08 at p. 63). Our page on unit team and program review covers the meeting itself, and progress reports covers the narrative document that travels with the file.

When a score change moves someone across a cut point, PS 5100.08 is directive: “the inmate must be referred to the DSCC for either transfer or application of a Management Variable,” and if transfer is denied, DSCC applies an appropriate variable and an MSL (PS 5100.08 at p. 86). Transfers travel by code:

Transfer type	Code	Key conditions
Institution classification — Lesser Security	308	Triggered by a decrease in scored security level on the BP-338
Institution classification — Greater Security	307	Triggered by an increase in scored security level
Nearer Release	313	Considered only after 18 consecutive months of clear conduct in general population. Not available to people with an order of deportation or removal, an ICE detainer for an unadjudicated offense, or an ICE detainer for a hearing
Disciplinary / Close Supervision	309 / 323	Documented misconduct; normally to greater security. Same-level transfers only where greater security is not possible or overriding circumstances exist
Adjustment	330	Reviewed by DSCC, which checks it is not really an unverified protection transfer (323)
Medical and psychiatric	331–336, 338, 339	Approved by the Central Office Medical Designator; classified Emergency, Routine/Urgent (direct transport) or Routine

Codes and conditions: PS 5100.08 at pp. 84–90.

The request travels on form 409, the Request for Transfer/Application of Management Variable, routed through institution channels for the Warden’s approval and then to the DSCC, with the Unit Team entering “W REDES R” in SENTRY for a routine request or “W REDES M” where the medical designator must review (PS 5100.08 at pp. 84–85). If the DSCC denies it, staff note the denial and delete the “W REDES” assignment — which is why unit staff are told to monitor SENTRY for deletions, and why a family that never hears anything may be hearing a denial. Redesignations between institutions of the same security level are discouraged, except for CIM purposes, nearer-release purposes, or unusual circumstances (PS 5100.08 at p. 85).

Two transfers work differently. The Warden of an institution with a satellite camp may move someone from the main institution to the camp without going to the DSCC, provided the security and custody levels fit; and a Camp Administrator at a camp adjacent to a Low or Medium may temporarily move someone into the main institution for disciplinary purposes (PS 5100.08 at p. 91). And unescorted transfer — traveling without staff — is available from a Low or Minimum institution to a Minimum institution for a Minimum-security person with OUT or COMMUNITY custody; family on the approved visiting list may provide the transportation, at the family’s expense, only camp-to-camp and only with the Warden’s approval (PS 5100.08 at p. 91).

Finally, the pre-release step nobody mentions: people approved for a Residential Reentry Center who are “otherwise appropriate for camp placement are to be transferred to a camp for intermediate placement if at all practicable,” ideally allowing a minimum of 60 days at the camp before the RRC reporting date, with RRC referrals made 12 to 18 months in advance (PS 5100.08 at p. 92). If your loved one is inside a year of release and still at a Low, that provision is worth raising with the Unit Team. See also Second Chance Act placement and the RRC release plan.

What changed in security-level policy, and what changes next

The current edition. PS 5100.08 has a September 12, 2006 base document and three change notices. CN-1 (September 4, 2019) wrote the First Step Act’s placement language into the Introduction and into the Release Residence Management Variable — the “as close as practicable to the prisoner’s primary residence, and to the extent practicable, in a facility within 500 driving miles” formula — and rewrote the Nearer Release Transfer paragraph so that reaching 500 driving miles no longer ends the inquiry (PS 5100.08 at pp. 4–5). CN-2 (March 6, 2025) added definitions of female, male, man/men, sex and woman/women to Chapter 2 (PS 5100.08 at p. 3). CN-3 (May 6, 2026) rewrote Section 1, Purpose and Scope, to state the Bureau’s authority under 18 U.S.C. § 3621(b) and to record that under 28 U.S.C. § 509 the Attorney General may in certain circumstances exercise the authority to designate or redesignate a place of imprisonment, with notice to the Bureau “as soon as practicable” (PS 5100.08 at p. 1). Absent that notice, the Bureau follows the procedures in the Program Statement. PS 5100.08 rescinded the 1999 manual, P5100.07 (PS 5100.08 at p. 10).

The 2026 closures and conversions are changing the map

On July 1, 2026 the Bureau announced closures and conversions driven by deferred maintenance — a backlog it put at more than $4 billion — and staffing (BOP press release, July 1, 2026). Closing: FCI Beaumont Low, FCI Big Spring and its satellite camp, FCI La Tuna together with its FSL and satellite camp, the FMC Lexington satellite camp, FCI Petersburg Low, and FCI Taft. Converting from minimum-security camps to Federal Satellite Lows: FPC Morgantown and FPC Duluth. Four low-security institutions and three camps leaving the system, and the two largest standalone men’s camps changing level, is a material contraction of exactly the space where most people want to be designated. Our page on major federal prison closures and deactivations tracks the list.

A roster discrepancy that affects designation analysis

As of a facility-by-facility reconciliation on September 5, 2026, FCI Yazoo City Low II is carried on BOP’s live locations roster at a security level of Medium while its published facility page still describes it as “a low security federal correctional institution.” It is the only security-level discrepancy across all 118 institution records. If a designation or transfer analysis in your case turns on Yazoo City Low II being a Low, confirm the level with the DSCC or the Unit Team before relying on it. Separately, four records are no longer on BOP’s roster and should not be treated as operating institutions: FCI Dublin, MCC New York, FPC Pensacola and FCI Terminal Island.

Where people get stuck with security-level scoring

“The points are wrong and nobody will fix them.”

Scoring errors are corrected by the Unit Team, not by the DSCC, and the route in is the Inmate Request to Staff — the cop-out, form BP-A0148 — asking for a specific item on a specific form to be rescored against a named document. Vague requests get vague answers. If the Unit Team declines, the Administrative Remedy Program runs BP-8 through BP-11, and our page on prison grievances explains the sequence. Exhausting that program is also what makes a later court challenge possible — while remembering that § 3621(b) makes the designation decision itself unreviewable, so the viable claims are usually about the accuracy of the underlying record rather than the choice of institution.

“He has a PSF and we didn’t know.”

The PSF field is on both the BP-337 and the BP-338, in the Public Safety Factors box near the top. Ask for a copy of the current BP-338 at the next program review. Every person is entitled to see and receive a copy of progress reports in the central file (28 C.F.R. § 524.43), and the central file and records policy sets out what is in it and how to see it.

“He is scored for Minimum but he is still in a Low.”

That is a Management Variable, and it should be visible on the BP-338 with an expiration date. Population Management runs up to 18 months; Greater Security up to 24; and where a variable is entered without a date, SENTRY defaults to 12 months out (PS 5100.08 at p. 55). Expiration dates are the pressure point — at the expiration date, case management staff are required to review whether the variable is still appropriate.

“The judge recommended a camp and he went to a Low.”

Check the PSF field before assuming the Bureau ignored the court. If a Sex Offender, Deportable Alien, Greatest Severity or Sentence Length factor applies, Table 5-2 forbids a camp regardless of the recommendation and regardless of the point total. The remedy, if any, is a PSF waiver from the DSCC Administrator on form 409, not a renewed request to the court.

“He is 500 miles from home and the family cannot visit.”

Nearer-release transfer under code 313 requires 18 consecutive months of clear conduct in general population (PS 5100.08 at p. 87), and CN-1 removed the old rule that once inside 500 driving miles no further referrals would be considered (PS 5100.08 at pp. 4–5). Transfer to an area other than the legal residence or sentencing district can be considered where there is strong evidence of community or family support. Our prison consulting service handles transfer requests, and in-prison problems covers what else we take on.

Medical and mental health care levels

Security level is not the only grading the Bureau applies to an institution. Every federal prison also carries a medical care level and a mental health care level, and for someone with a serious condition those numbers matter more than the security level does. They are assigned by a different office — the Office of Medical Designations and Transportation at Central Office, not the DSCC — and a medical designation can override the security-based placement entirely through the “I” Management Variable (PS 5100.08 at pp. 23, 52–53). The “I” variable carries a six-month expiration, and when institution staff believe it no longer applies they complete all sections of form 409 for the Central Office Medical Designator, who reviews the case for continuation or deletion; only after the Medical Designator removes it does the DSCC review the case for transfer, and if transfer is not appropriate another variable must be applied (PS 5100.08 at p. 51).

Our page on medical and mental health care levels in federal prison explains the 1-through-4 grading; medical care in federal prison covers what care actually looks like; and the Bureau’s medical designations and care levels policy is the governing instruction. People with serious mental illness may be routed under the mental illness treatment policy, and our page on mental health programs covers what is available inside.

What this means for you before designation

If you are the person facing designation

The three documents that decide your security level are the PSR, the Statement of Reasons and the Judgment. Read all three before sentencing, and raise any factual error in the offense-conduct description while the judge can still fix it. After sentencing the Bureau is scoring documented behavior, and the Statement of Reasons is your best instrument for narrowing it. Ask your lawyer about self-surrender — it is worth three points — and about resolving any detainer before designation.

If you are the family

You cannot change the score, but you can change one item on it. Get on the visiting list. Answer the calls. Send mail. The Family/Community Ties item is scored on the incarcerated person’s effort, and effort is impossible to demonstrate when nobody on the outside is reachable. Then ask, at each program review, for the current Security Total, the current custody level, and whether any PSF or Management Variable is in effect with an expiration date.

If you are counsel

The classification file is a paper record, and paper records are challengeable. The most productive targets, in order: a severity score built on conduct the Statement of Reasons narrowed; a detainer scored after it was withdrawn; a Deportable Alien PSF that survived an ICE decision not to pursue removal; a Management Variable past its expiration date; and an exception-case custody decrease that the Warden never signed. Every one of those is documented somewhere in the central file.

Elizabeth Franklin-Best, P.C. is a boutique federal criminal defense and appellate firm founded in 2019, with offices in Columbia and Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, serving clients nationwide. Christopher Zoukis, JD, MBA leads the firm’s federal prison consulting work — designation and classification, sentence computation, First Step Act time credits, RDAP and reentry planning — and legal representation is provided by Elizabeth Franklin-Best. If you want a classification file reviewed, call (843) 620-1100 or book an initial consultation.

Frequently Asked Questions About Prison Security Levels

Authorities Cited

Every source relied on above, cited in full and linked once. Page references in the text are to the editions listed here.

• BOP Program Statement 5100.08 — U.S. Dep’t of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Inmate Security Designation and Custody Classification (Sept. 12, 2006), as amended by Change Notice CN-3 (May 6, 2026)
• 18 U.S.C. § 3621 — Imprisonment of a convicted person
• 18 U.S.C. § 4083 — Penitentiary imprisonment; consent
• 28 C.F.R. pt. 524 — Classification of Inmates
• 28 C.F.R. § 524.11 — Process for classification and program reviews
• BOP press release, July 1, 2026 — Federal Bureau of Prisons, Facility Closures and Conversions

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