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Who Decides Home Confinement, and Can a Federal Judge Order It?

A sentencing court may recommend. Under the prerelease statutes, the Bureau of Prisons decides.

Release and reentry Last reviewed: September 6, 2026

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Short answer

The Bureau of Prisons decides. 18 U.S.C. § 3624(c)(2) states that the authority may be used to place a prisoner in home confinement for the shorter of 10 percent of the term of imprisonment or 6 months. A sentencing court may recommend a place of imprisonment, and § 3621(b) directs the Bureau to consider any statement by the court, but the placement decision remains the Bureau's. Home confinement is ordinarily prerelease custody; it is not a sentence reduction and not supervised release.

Attorney review pending. This is general education, not legal advice.

Plain-English overview

The direct answer: home confinement as prerelease custody is a Bureau of Prisons placement decision. A sentencing judge may recommend, and the Bureau must consider any statement by the court under 18 U.S.C. § 3621(b), but the recommendation does not itself place anyone in home confinement.

Section 3624(c)(2) states that the authority under that subsection may be used to place a prisoner in home confinement for the shorter of 10 percent of the term of imprisonment of that prisoner or 6 months. 28 C.F.R. § 570.21(b) states the same limit.

Home confinement in this sense is ordinarily still Bureau of Prisons custody during the final part of the term of imprisonment. It is not supervised release, and it is not a reduction of the sentence the court imposed.

Separate court authorities exist for reducing a term of imprisonment, including compassionate release under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A). Those are different questions, decided by a court, and CaseSteps does not assess whether any of them applies to anyone.

Why this matters

Families often hear that 'the judge sent him home' and then expect a court filing to produce a placement, or read a Bureau placement as though the sentence itself had been shortened. Neither reading matches the statutes.

What the important terms mean

'Home detention' is defined in 28 C.F.R. § 570.20(b) as a program of confinement and supervision that restricts the person to their residence continuously, except for authorized absences, enforced by appropriate means of surveillance.

'Prerelease custody' is the general category. 18 U.S.C. § 3624(g)(2) identifies the two types as home confinement and a residential reentry center.

'Judicial recommendation' is a statement by the sentencing court about the type of facility, which § 3621(b) directs the Bureau to consider along with the other listed factors. Considering a recommendation is not the same as being bound by it.

'Sentence reduction' describes a court changing the term of imprisonment under a statute that allows it. That is a separate proceeding from any placement decision.

Ten authorities people treat as one

Second Chance Act prerelease placement

18 U.S.C. § 3624(c)(1) permits a portion of the final months of imprisonment, not to exceed 12 months, in conditions that afford a reasonable opportunity to prepare for reentry. A ceiling on an authority, not an award.

First Step Act Time Credits

A separate credit under 18 U.S.C. § 3632(d)(4) earned by eligible people for successfully completing assigned qualifying programming, with its own earning, recording and application rules in 28 C.F.R. part 523, subpart E.

Residential Reentry Center (RRC) placement

Placement in a community correctional facility as described in 28 C.F.R. § 570.20(a). A Residential Reentry Center (RRC), often called a halfway house, is ordinarily a form of Bureau of Prisons prerelease custody.

Home confinement

Home detention as defined in 28 C.F.R. § 570.20(b), confinement to a residence except for authorized absences. Section 3624(c)(2) limits use of that subsection's authority to the shorter of 10 percent of the term or 6 months.

RDAP and 18 U.S.C. § 3621(e)

The residential drug abuse treatment program has components defined in 28 C.F.R. § 550.53. A separate provision, § 3621(e)(2)(B), permits a reduction of the period of custody of not more than one year for an eligible person who completes treatment.

Good-conduct time

Up to 54 days per year of the sentence imposed under 18 U.S.C. § 3624(b), based on the Bureau's determination about compliance with disciplinary regulations. Not a program credit.

Early transfer to supervised release using credits

18 U.S.C. § 3624(g)(3) permits transfer to begin a court-imposed supervised-release term at an earlier date, not to exceed 12 months, based on the application of time credits.

The court-imposed term of supervised release

A term imposed by the sentencing court under 18 U.S.C. § 3583 that, under § 3624(e), commences on the day the person is released from imprisonment. Overseen through the federal judiciary. Not parole.

Modification and early termination

Court decisions under 18 U.S.C. § 3583(e)(1) and (e)(2). Early termination becomes available after the expiration of one year of supervised release; it is not automatic at that point.

Revocation

A separate court decision under § 3583(e)(3), on a finding by a preponderance of the evidence, with the protections of Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 32.1.

Common misunderstandings

  • "A judge can order home confinement as part of the sentence." The prerelease home-confinement authority in § 3624(c)(2) belongs to the Bureau. Whether a court has any other authority in a specific case is a legal question for counsel.
  • "Home confinement means the sentence is over." It is ordinarily prerelease custody within the term of imprisonment, not the end of it and not supervised release.
  • "Home confinement is a compassionate-release order." Compassionate release under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A) is a court decision about the term of imprisonment. A Bureau placement is not that.
  • "First Step Act credits put someone in home confinement automatically." Credits are applied under 28 C.F.R. § 523.44 subject to its conditions; the placement remains a separate Bureau decision.
  • "The 10 percent figure is a guarantee." It is a ceiling on the use of that authority, expressed as the shorter of two figures.

Dated rule change — checked September 6, 2026

Through September 29, 2026, the existing version of 28 C.F.R. § 523.42(a) remains the currently effective regulatory text. It ties the start of First Step Act Time Credit earning to the date the person arrives, or voluntarily surrenders, at the designated Bureau of Prisons facility.

Effective September 30, 2026, revised § 523.42(a) states: “An eligible inmate begins earning FSA Time Credits after the inmate’s term of imprisonment commences.” The amendment removes the language that tied commencement to arrival or voluntary surrender at the designated Bureau facility.

This does not mean credits begin automatically merely because a sentence was imposed. The person must still be eligible and must successfully complete assigned, approved evidence-based recidivism-reduction programming or productive activities. The change does not promise retroactive credits and does not establish any individual release, placement or transition date. Implementation guidance and practices may change. Check the current regulation and current Bureau of Prisons guidance.

The same rule revises 28 C.F.R. § 523.44(a)(3). It states that the paragraph does not bar application of First Step Act Time Credits for a person serving a sentence imposed in a foreign country when the U.S. Parole Commission has determined an equivalent U.S. Code sentence under 18 U.S.C. § 4106A.

The document is an interim final rule and request for comments, published August 31, 2026 at 91 FR 55740, effective September 30, 2026. Comments are accepted through September 30, 2026. The Bureau invoked the Administrative Procedure Act’s good-cause provisions rather than using prior notice and comment.

This page describes a regulation that changes on September 30, 2026. Confirm the current regulation and Bureau of Prisons guidance before relying on it.

Where credits are part of the answer on this page, that rule could change the answer. CaseSteps records the rule as dated and pending rather than describing how it will apply to anyone.

Records that may help clarify the issue

  • The judgment, including any recommendation the court made.
  • The current sentence computation held by the Bureau of Prisons.
  • Any written prerelease review or referral record provided by unit staff.
  • Do not upload any of these records to CaseSteps, and do not type case numbers, register numbers, dates or names anywhere on this site. Nothing here accepts files or keeps what you type.

Questions for appropriate Bureau of Prisons staff

  • What is the general process for prerelease review at this institution?
  • In general terms, how is a recommendation from the sentencing court recorded in Bureau records?
  • What written record of a placement decision is ordinarily provided?

Exactly where each statement above comes from — source checked: September 6, 2026

  • The home-confinement limit: 18 U.S.C. § 3624(c)(2), official U.S. Code text on GovInfo, read September 6, 2026, and 28 C.F.R. § 570.21(b).
  • Definition of home detention: 28 C.F.R. § 570.20(b).
  • The two types of prerelease custody: 18 U.S.C. § 3624(g)(2).
  • Designation authority and the direction to consider any statement by the sentencing court: 18 U.S.C. § 3621(b).
  • Conditions on applying earned time credits: 28 C.F.R. § 523.44.
  • Compassionate release is a separate court authority: 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A), referenced here only to keep it distinct; CaseSteps does not assess it.

What CaseSteps cannot do

CaseSteps does not calculate First Step Act Time Credits, good-conduct time, a release date, a placement length or any other figure.

CaseSteps does not decide eligibility, predict whether anyone will receive Residential Reentry Center placement, home confinement, an RDAP early-release benefit or early transfer to supervised release, and does not predict how a court will rule on modification, early termination or an alleged violation.

CaseSteps does not draft motions, administrative remedies or responses to alleged violations. Individual questions belong with qualified counsel, appropriate Bureau of Prisons staff and, once supervision begins, the supervising probation officer.

Questions to discuss with counsel

  • In general terms, who holds the home-confinement placement authority?
  • Is there anything in the judgment that speaks to placement?
  • How is a placement decision different from any court authority to change a term of imprisonment?
  • What would counsel expect the general process to look like from here?
  • What should family members avoid assuming while waiting?

Official sources

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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