Federal prisons work through a single agency, the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), that assigns every person convicted of a federal crime to one of 122 institutions based on a security score, then structures daily life around work, programming, and two separate credit systems that can move up the release date. Roughly 138,800 people are in BOP custody at any given time.1Federal Bureau of Prisons. Population Statistics2Federal Bureau of Prisons. Our Locations If you’re trying to understand what to expect, almost everything that matters flows from three questions: where will the person be housed, how long will they actually serve, and how will they stay connected while they’re inside.
Who Goes to Federal Prison and Who Decides Where
Federal jurisdiction applies when someone is convicted of breaking a law passed by Congress rather than a state legislature. That covers drug trafficking across state lines, mail and wire fraud, tax evasion, racketeering, crimes committed on federal property, and offenses investigated by agencies like the FBI or DEA. State charges go to state prisons; federal charges go to the BOP.
Once the sentence is imposed, the court does not pick the prison. The BOP does. The agency weighs the security designation, medical and mental health needs, programming requirements, and proximity to family. The governing statute directs the BOP to place people as close as practicable to their primary residence, ideally within 500 driving miles, though “practicable” does a lot of work and placements farther away are common.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3621 – Imprisonment of a Convicted Person
The Four Security Levels
The BOP assigns a security level using a point-based system that scores the severity of the offense, criminal history, history of violence, escape attempts, age, education, and any outstanding detainers.4Federal Bureau of Prisons. Inmate Security Designation and Custody Classification The total matches to one of four levels, and the difference between them is the single biggest factor shaping daily life.
- Minimum security, called Federal Prison Camps, uses dormitory housing with limited or no perimeter fencing. These sites emphasize work and programming and generally hold people with nonviolent histories and shorter sentences.
- Low security sites have double-fenced perimeters, mostly dormitory or cubicle housing, and strong work and program availability.
- Medium security facilities add electronic detection to the double fence, use cell-type housing, offer a wider range of treatment programs, and control internal movement more tightly.
- High security, the U.S. Penitentiaries, uses walls or reinforced fences, single and multiple-occupant cells, the highest staff-to-inmate ratio, and close control over all movement.5Federal Bureau of Prisons. About Our Facilities
Classification is not permanent. The BOP recalculates scores periodically and can move someone up or down based on behavior, disciplinary history, changes in sentence length, or completed programming. A person who enters at medium with a clean record for several years can end up at a low or even a camp.
Facilities That Don’t Fit the Four Levels
Some federal facilities are classified as administrative and can hold inmates at any security level because their mission is specialized.5Federal Bureau of Prisons. About Our Facilities Federal Medical Centers function as hospitals inside the system, treating people with serious or chronic conditions regular facilities cannot manage. Federal Detention Centers and Metropolitan Detention Centers sit near federal courthouses and hold people awaiting trial or sentencing; they are not designed for long-term programming. Federal Transfer Centers are hubs for moving inmates between facilities. ADX Florence in Colorado is the only federal supermax, holding people who have assaulted staff or inmates at high-security facilities and some convicted of terrorism or espionage.
How Time Gets Shorter: Good Conduct Time and First Step Act Credits
Two separate credit systems can reduce the time a federal inmate actually spends behind bars. They stack, and together they can take years off a long sentence.
Good Conduct Time
Federal law allows people serving more than one year to earn up to 54 days of credit for each year of the sentence imposed by the court. The BOP awards the credit based on “exemplary compliance with institutional disciplinary regulations.”6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3624 – Release of a Prisoner Before the First Step Act of 2018, the BOP calculated the credit based on time actually served, which produced about 47 days per year. The Act changed the formula so the full 54 days applies to each year of the sentence the judge handed down.7Federal Bureau of Prisons. An Overview of the First Step Act Partial years are prorated at roughly 0.148 days per day served.
Good conduct time is not guaranteed. The BOP can deny some or all of a year’s credit when an inmate receives disciplinary sanctions, and once denied, the credit cannot be restored.
First Step Act Earned Time Credits
Separately, the First Step Act created earned time credits for participating in approved programs and productive activities. Eligible inmates earn 10 days of credit for every 30 days of successful participation. Those classified as minimum or low risk for reoffending, and who hold that rating across two consecutive assessments, earn an additional 5 days per 30-day period.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3632 – Development of Risk and Needs Assessment System These credits apply toward earlier placement in prerelease custody, meaning a halfway house or home confinement, not straight release.
Eligibility is the catch. People convicted of violent offenses, terrorism, espionage, human trafficking, sex offenses, or high-level drug crimes cannot earn these credits, though they can still participate in programs for other reasons.7Federal Bureau of Prisons. An Overview of the First Step Act
Work and Pay Inside
Most inmates are assigned a job within the facility, from food service to grounds maintenance to tutoring in the education department. Institutional pay is minimal.
UNICOR, the trade name for Federal Prison Industries, is the higher-paying option. It is a government corporation operating factories inside federal prisons that make goods and provide services sold primarily to federal agencies. Pay typically runs between $0.23 and $1.15 per hour. Despite the demand, only about 8 percent of work-eligible inmates have a UNICOR slot, and about 25,000 are on a waiting list.9Federal Bureau of Prisons. UNICOR UNICOR work also counts as a productive activity for First Step Act earned time credits if the inmate is eligible for them.
Staying in Touch: Calls, Messaging, and Visits
Federal regulations at 28 C.F.R. Part 540 govern how inmates communicate with people outside the walls.10eCFR. 28 CFR Part 540 – Contact With Persons in the Community
Phone Calls
Inmates get 300 minutes of monitored phone calls per calendar month, usable for any mix of collect or direct-dial calls. The BOP ordinarily adds 100 extra minutes in November and December, and wardens can grant additional minutes for good cause. Unmonitored legal calls to attorneys do not count against the 300-minute cap.11Federal Bureau of Prisons. Program Statement 5264.08 – Inmate Telephone Regulations
Phone rates are now regulated by the FCC under the Martha Wright-Reed Act. As of April 2026, providers cannot charge more than $0.09 per minute for audio calls in prisons, with up to an additional $0.02 per minute allowed to cover facility costs.12Federal Register. Implementation of the Martha Wright-Reed Act; Rates for Incarcerated Peoples Communication Services That’s a steep drop from what the rates had been for decades.
Electronic Messaging
The BOP’s electronic messaging system, TRULINCS, lets inmates exchange written messages with outside contacts through a service called CorrLinks. The inmate adds a contact to their list, staff approves the request, and the contact gets an email invitation that must be accepted within 10 days. All messages are monitored. The system is paid for entirely from the Inmate Trust Fund, which is funded by commissary profits and inmate fees rather than taxpayer dollars.13Federal Bureau of Prisons. TRULINCS Topics
Visitation
Visiting requires advance approval. The inmate fills out part of a visitor information form and mails it to each prospective visitor, who completes the rest and returns it to the institution. The BOP may run law enforcement background checks before approving a visitor.14Federal Bureau of Prisons. How to Visit a Federal Inmate Wardens can deny or restrict visits for security reasons or behavior problems, and the BOP does not always share the specific reason for a denial.
Money and the Commissary
Every federal inmate has a trust fund account that functions like a basic bank account. Work pay and deposits from family and friends go in, and commissary purchases come out.
Family members deposit money by sending negotiable instruments like money orders, cashier’s checks, or government checks to a centralized lockbox in Des Moines, Iowa. Personal checks and cash are not accepted. Western Union and MoneyGram deposits typically post within two hours during business hours.15Federal Bureau of Prisons. Trust Fund/Deposit Fund Manual Third-party vendors like ConnectNetwork also process deposits online, by phone, or at kiosks, with fees that vary by facility.
The commissary sells food, hygiene products, clothing, stamps, and over-the-counter medications beyond what the institution issues. Monthly spending is capped at $360 for regular items, resetting on the first of the month. Stamps, phone credits, and certain medical items generally don’t count against the cap.
Filing a Complaint: The Administrative Remedy Process
When an inmate has a complaint about any aspect of confinement, the BOP requires them to exhaust a formal grievance process before going to federal court. The process under 28 C.F.R. Part 542 has four steps:16eCFR. 28 CFR Part 542 – Administrative Remedy
- Informal resolution. The inmate raises the issue with staff and tries to resolve it without paperwork.
- BP-9. A formal written request to the warden, filed within 20 calendar days of the event.
- BP-10. An appeal to the Regional Director within 20 calendar days of the warden’s response.
- BP-11. A final appeal to the General Counsel in Washington within 30 calendar days of the regional response.
The BP-11 decision ends the administrative road. Only after completing all three formal levels can an inmate sue in federal court. Skipping a step or missing a deadline can get a later lawsuit dismissed for failure to exhaust, and the deadlines are tight.
Getting Out: Halfway House and Home Confinement
The BOP begins planning for release well before the actual date. Under the Second Chance Act and the First Step Act, eligible inmates can spend up to 12 months in community custody before their release date, meaning either a Residential Reentry Center (a halfway house) or home confinement.17Federal Bureau of Prisons. Residential Reentry Management Centers
Placement length depends on five factors: the resources of the facility, the nature of the offense, the inmate’s history and characteristics, the sentencing court’s recommendations, and relevant Sentencing Commission policy. In recent practice, BOP guidance has capped most halfway house stays at around 60 days and pushed direct home confinement for inmates with stable housing, support networks, and completed programming. Halfway house beds are limited, and the BOP has moved toward reserving them for people who need transitional services like substance abuse treatment or job placement.
Home confinement involves a monitoring device and conditions set by the supervising Residential Reentry Management Office. The inmate has to show they are not a public safety risk and provide a detailed release plan with stable housing and community support. First Step Act earned time credits combined with good conduct time set the “conditional placement date” that triggers the transfer to community custody.18Federal Bureau of Prisons. First Step Act – Frequently Asked Questions