FSA / BOP record guide
Read the record before the forecast.
Each date has a different meaning. Keep the document date and release method with every figure you copy.
What do the fields on your record mean?
| Record field | Enter it as | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Projected release · GCT REL | GCT-only baseline | Already includes GCT and credited prior custody. Do not subtract either again. |
| Projected release · FSA REL | Current FSA projected release | Keep separate from the GCT-only baseline. Do not subtract the same applied FTC twice. |
| Time Credit Assessment | Worksheet date, earned FTC, factor, carry-over program days | Use the posted balance at this snapshot. Accrued program days are not the same as FTC days. |
| FTC toward release / toward RRC-HC | Separate applied-credit entries | Allocation of the earned balance, not additional credits to add. |
| FSA conditional release | BOP conditional release | Best-case future earning projection, subject to eligibility and continued participation. |
| Conditional transition / recommended placement | Community, RRC or home date and status | Placement remains BOP custody. A conditional or recommended date does not prove approval. |
| Team date / assessment period | Team date / risk assessment date | Keep distinct. A period boundary or meeting alone does not establish a 15-day factor. |
Anonymized record walkthrough
Why one case can show several dates
This example combines a June 11 credit worksheet with a June 24 program review. Only timeline facts are reproduced; identifying details and record photos are excluded.
| Snapshot | Recorded fact | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| March 11, 2026 | Start of incarceration | Entered as the example sentence start. |
| April 7 | Initial classification team; low risk assignment | April 8 appears as an assessment-period boundary on another sheet. These are different fields. |
| June 11 | 92 accrued program days; factor 10; 30 FTC; carry-over 0 | The posted anchor is 30 FTC. Do not infer a later balance from this earlier snapshot. |
| June 11 release worksheet | GCT release April 3, 2027; FSA projected release March 4, 2027; conditional release January 3, 2027 | Current earned-credit release and conditional future-credit release are separate. |
| June 11 placement worksheet | SCA maximum statutory HC days 45; maximum statutory HC date November 19, 2026; recommended HC N/A | A statutory reference is not an approved placement. |
| June 24 review | Minimum risk; home confinement date September 9, 2026 | This later entry is copied separately. The site does not infer a later earned-credit balance or verify approval from it. |
The example’s June 24 enhanced-factor change is a user-reported scenario assumption. No post-June-24 credit ledger was supplied. The calculator must not invent an earned balance of 60 or 70 days or force its forecast to match September 9.
Use the simple calculator ↗How the planning model works
No-team-sheet estimate: uses an assumed change from 10 to 15 credits per completed 30 qualifying days after 90 days when a first-pass conditional release forecast using only the 10-day rate is within 12 calendar months of sentence start; otherwise after 180 days (six 30-day periods). Exactly 12 months uses 90 days. The schedule is chosen from that first pass and held fixed for the final mixed-rate calculation and assumes qualifying risk assessments; it is not an automatic BOP award.
- Use a GCT-only BOP baseline when available. Otherwise estimate GCT with simple calendar-day proration, rounded down. BOP inclusive counting can differ.
- Start future earning from the entered posted FTC snapshot and carry-over days. Without a snapshot, all historical credits are modeled assumptions.
- Add 10 or 15 FTC for completed 30-day qualifying periods. Mixed intervals conservatively remain at 10 until an entire interval follows the entered enhanced-factor date.
- Find a conditional early-release date using credits forecast by that date, with no more than 365 FTC allocated to release. Remaining modeled FTC are separate.
- Illustrate remaining FTC plus entered SCA allowances backward from the conditional release date. SCA RRC and home allowances are separate and default to zero. Future credits in this illustration may not yet be posted at transfer.
These illustrations do not reproduce BOP’s internal conditional placement calculation. Copied BOP dates retain priority. Continued participation, risk, application requirements, record revisions, and individualized placement review can change the outcome. RDAP adjustments, aggregated sentences, detainers, and other individual exceptions require separate review.
Why dates change
A later worksheet may reflect another earning period, a new factor, carried or disallowed program days, restored or lost FTC, a revised sentence computation, or a changed placement decision. Compare equivalent fields from dated snapshots before treating a difference as an error.
FTC toward early release shorten BOP custody; RRC and home confinement remain BOP custody. GCT shown in a computation is projected rather than a guarantee of future vested time.
Official sources
Method reviewed October 6, 2026. Use current BOP records and rules for your own case.
- BOP First Step Act FAQ
- BOP FSA Time Credits policy
- BOP: conditional versus projected release dates
- BOP June 2025 FSA and SCA directive
- 28 CFR 523.42: earning FTC
- 28 CFR 523.20: Good Conduct Time
The current FTC regulation starts earning after the term of imprisonment commences, subject to qualifying requirements. Do not substitute an old designated-facility-arrival assumption for your BOP commencement record.
Educational planning, not a BOP determination or legal advice.