Who Is Eligible to Earn First Step Act Time Credits?
How eligibility is defined in general terms, and who decides it.
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Short answer
Eligibility to earn First Step Act Time Credits is defined by statute and by 28 C.F.R. part 523, subpart E, and it is determined by the Bureau of Prisons rather than by the sentencing court. Congress excluded certain offenses of conviction from earning credits. Eligibility to earn is also a separate question from whether earned credits may be applied toward prerelease custody or supervised release. CaseSteps does not determine whether any person is eligible.
Attorney review pending. This is general education, not legal advice.
Plain-English overview
The First Step Act allows eligible people in Bureau of Prisons custody to earn time credits for successful participation in assigned evidence-based recidivism reduction programs and productive activities. Eligibility to earn is defined by statute and by 28 C.F.R. part 523, subpart E.
Congress excluded certain offenses of conviction from earning credits, and the Bureau of Prisons applies those exclusions when it reviews a person’s record. Eligibility to earn is a separate question from whether earned credits may be applied toward prerelease custody or supervised release.
Why this matters
Eligibility drives everything else in this area. A person who is not eligible to earn cannot accumulate credits regardless of programming, and a person who is eligible to earn may still not qualify to have credits applied.
Why this question causes confusion
Three different words—eligible, earning and applied—are used interchangeably in everyday conversation, and each has a distinct meaning here.
People also assume the sentencing judge decides eligibility. The court imposes the sentence; the Bureau of Prisons determines eligibility, records participation and computes credits.
The governing distinctions
Eligible to earn
Whether the statute and regulation permit this person to accumulate FSA Time Credits at all, based largely on the offense of conviction.
Actually earning
Whether assigned qualifying programming or productive activities are being successfully completed and recorded over 30-day periods.
Eligible to have credits applied
A separate set of statutory requirements that must be met before earned credits can move someone toward prerelease custody or supervised release.
What can change the answer
- The offense of conviction as reflected in the judgment.
- Statutory amendments and Bureau of Prisons policy.
- Bureau of Prisons review of the record, including the presentence report.
- Immigration status matters that affect application of credits.
- Whether the term of imprisonment has commenced.
Which convictions can make someone ineligible to earn credits?
28 C.F.R. § 523.41(d)(2) states that a person serving a term of imprisonment for an offense specified in 18 U.S.C. § 3632(d)(4)(D) is not eligible to earn First Step Act Time Credits. The exclusion is written by reference to a list of statutory provisions, so the comparison is against the statutes of conviction in the judgment.
That list is long and specific. It is not a general test of whether a case sounds violent, and there is no rule that all nonviolent or all first-time cases qualify. Some entries are defined by particular elements or by cross-references to other provisions, which is why two cases described in similar everyday language can be treated differently.
Being excluded from earning is also different from the separate limits on applying credits in 28 C.F.R. § 523.44 — including the provision addressing people subject to a final order of removal under the immigration laws. The Bureau of Prisons makes both determinations; CaseSteps makes neither.
Source note — checked September 6, 2026
The structure above comes from 28 C.F.R. § 523.41(d)(2) and the Bureau of Prisons First Step Act FAQ, both read on September 6, 2026. The offense list at 18 U.S.C. § 3632(d)(4)(D) was read in full from the official U.S. Code text on GovInfo (U.S. Government Publishing Office) on September 6, 2026; it is enumerated at clauses (i) through (lxviii), that is 68 categories of offense provisions. CaseSteps does not reproduce that list, does not check anyone against it, and does not determine eligibility. Whether any particular conviction falls inside it requires review of the current official law and the person's own records with counsel, and this section remains attorney-review pending.
Records to locate
- The judgment and commitment order.
- The current FSA Time Credit Assessment.
- The needs assessment and assigned programs and productive activities.
- The sentence computation.
- Do not upload any of these records to CaseSteps. Nothing here accepts files.
Questions for the unit team
- Does my record show me as eligible to earn credits?
- What document reflects that determination?
- What qualifying programs or productive activities are assigned to me?
- Are credits shown as earned, applied, or projected?
- Is there an administrative-review process if the determination appears incorrect?
What CaseSteps cannot do
CaseSteps does not calculate credits, good-conduct time, a release date, a PATTERN score or a placement date.
CaseSteps does not decide whether anyone is eligible, and does not predict what the Bureau of Prisons will do.
The Bureau of Prisons controls official sentence computation, credit records and placement decisions. Individual questions belong with the unit team and with qualified counsel.
Questions to discuss with counsel
- In general terms, how is eligibility to earn credits determined?
- Does anything in my judgment affect eligibility?
- How is eligibility to earn different from eligibility to have credits applied?
- Who should I ask if the Bureau of Prisons record appears inconsistent with the judgment?
- Is there an administrative process for a disagreement about eligibility?
Official sources
- 18 U.S.C. § 3632 — Development of risk and needs assessment system (readable version from the Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School — a nonprofit legal-information publisher, not a government website)
- 18 U.S.C. § 3624 — Release of a prisoner (readable version from the Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School — a nonprofit legal-information publisher, not a government website)
- 28 C.F.R. § 523.41 — Definitions (FSA Time Credits)
- 28 C.F.R. § 523.42 — Earning First Step Act Time Credits
- Bureau of Prisons — First Step Act FAQ
- U.S. Sentencing Commission — First Step Act earned time credits
This is general federal legal education, not legal advice. Procedures and outcomes depend on the facts, the controlling law, court orders and local practices. Confirm deadlines and decisions with qualified counsel.
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