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First Step Act calculatorFSA credits, GCT, RDAP, and community placement

Use this First Step Act calculator to estimate FSA time credits, Good Conduct Time, RDAP, and Second Chance Act placement from published Bureau of Prisons rules. It runs in the browser. It is not an official computation and not legal advice.

GCT 54 days per year of the sentence imposed FSA 10 or 15 days per 30 days of programming SCA Community time is placement, not a shorter sentence

Research, not a BOP worksheet

An estimate from the rules

BOP staff apply credits from the record, PATTERN reviews, program participation, and current policy. Use this to see the moving parts. A Case Snapshot sizes the actual docket.

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Live estimate

Fill in what you know

Unused questions were left off. Dates are optional. If you skip the start date, you still get durations.

Sentence

Years

Months

Days

BOP start or surrender date

Earning cannot begin before December 21, 2018. Already in custody that day: that date. Arrived later: arrival or surrender. Leave blank if you only want durations. BOP GCT projected release date

Optional. If you have the GCT date from a BOP computation sheet, FSA dates stack from that date. Estimated GCT is used only when this is blank.

Jail credit (days)

Prior custody credited under 18 U.S.C. § 3585(b). GCT lost (days)

Disciplinary losses already taken. Non-earning days

Transit, SHU, opt-out, or similar pauses in FSA earning.

First Step Act

Eligible to earn FSA time credits?

Yes No, disqualifying offense

Some offenses listed in 18 U.S.C. § 3632(d)(4)(D) cannot earn these credits. BOP disqualifying offenses (PDF)

PATTERN risk

Minimum or low, first reviews still ahead Minimum or low for two consecutive reviews Medium or high

Two consecutive minimum or low reviews unlock 15 days going forward. The first review period is still 10 days per 30-day period. Medium or high can earn 10-day credits, but those credits are not applied toward earlier supervised release until risk drops.

Final order of removal or an immigration detainer that blocks application of credits

RDAP and community placement

RDAP sentence reduction

Do not include Estimate if approved

If included: 6 months off at 24 to 30 months, 9 months at 31 to 36, 12 months at 37 or more. Approval is separate from this math.

Second Chance Act community placement 0 months Halfway house or home confinement before the projected release date, up to 12 months. This does not shorten the sentence.

Estimate

Waiting on a sentence length

Enter the sentence length to see an estimate.

Method

How the numbers are built

The math follows the statute and the current BOP time-credit rule. Other public calculators were used for field layout, then unused questions were dropped.

Good Conduct Time

Sentences longer than one year earn 54 days per year of the term imposed, 18 U.S.C. § 3624(b). That is floor(sentence days × 54 ÷ 365), minus any days already lost.

FSA time credits

Eligible people earn 10 days per 30 days of successful programming. Two consecutive minimum or low PATTERN reviews unlock 15 days going forward; the first review period is still 10, 28 CFR § 523.42. Credits are earned only until the FSA Conditional Placement Date, not through the supervised-release date. Up to 365 days can move the FSA projected release date; extra credits are FSA conditional placement days and start community placement earlier, which then cuts later earning.

RDAP

If you include it, the estimate uses the common BOP reduction table: 6, 9, or 12 months by sentence length under 18 U.S.C. § 3621(e). The program still has to be offered and completed.

Community placement

Second Chance Act time, 18 U.S.C. § 3624(c), is where the last part of the sentence may be served. It is not extra time off. A removal order blocks application of FSA credits, 28 CFR § 523.44.

First Step Act calculator

Common questions

These answers describe this page. They are general information, not advice about one case.

How does this First Step Act calculator estimate credits?

Eligible people earn 10 days of FSA time credits per 30 days of programming. After two consecutive minimum or low PATTERN reviews, the rate is 15 days going forward. Credits are estimated only until the FSA Conditional Placement Date. Up to 365 days can move the projected release date.

When can First Step Act credits start?

Earning cannot begin before December 21, 2018. If the person was already in BOP custody that day, earning starts then. If they arrived later, it starts at arrival or surrender.

What is the 365-day cap?

Up to 365 days of FSA credits can apply toward earlier transfer to supervised release. Extra credits are FSA conditional placement days and can start community placement earlier. They do not keep earning through the supervised-release date.

Does this replace a BOP computation sheet?

No. It is a planning estimate from published rules. BOP staff apply credits from the record, PATTERN reviews, and current policy.

One case at a time

This page cannot read the docket

The Snapshot identifies the federal case, counts the docket, and returns a fixed Assessment price. It does not replace a BOP computation sheet.