BOP Administrative Remedy Process
BP-8 through BP-11. Know the deadlines. Preserve the record.
Joseph De Gregorio · Sentencing Advocacy Group
Resource Library → · Federal Release Laws →
The Federal Bureau of Prisons Administrative Remedy Program is the formal process for seeking review of an issue concerning a person’s own confinement. A clear complaint, the correct form, timely submission, and a complete record allow each reviewing office to understand what happened and what correction is requested.
This guide explains the ordinary process, the important exceptions, and the official rules. It is based on 28 C.F.R. §§ 542.10–542.19 and BOP Program Statement 1330.18. Institution procedures and issue-specific rules must also be checked.
Read the complete official rules
Read the Complete BOP Administrative Remedy Program — Official Government PDF
Program Statement 1330.18 · January 6, 2014 · 16 pages, including BOP implementation instructions and special sexual-abuse grievance procedures.
Read 28 C.F.R. Part 542, Subpart B — Official eCFR
Read 28 C.F.R. Part 542 — Official Government PDF (2025 edition)
The dated PDF is an annual reference edition. Check the current eCFR and BOP policy listing for subsequent changes.
Who can use the program?
The program covers people in BOP-operated institutions, people designated to contract community corrections centers under BOP responsibility, and former inmates for issues arising during their confinement. The regulation does not extend this program to people confined in other non-federal facilities. Confirm the applicable system if the person is in a county jail or another agency’s custody.
Possible subjects include sentence-computation concerns, First Step Act credit records, programming, conditions, medical care, and reentry-placement decisions. A remedy requests review; it does not guarantee a different outcome. Tort claims, inmate accident compensation, and FOIA or Privacy Act requests have separate statutory procedures. An administrative remedy is not a substitute for those filings or their deadlines.
The ordinary four-step process
1. Informal resolution — commonly called BP-8
First present the concern informally to staff using the institution’s procedure. The local informal-resolution form is commonly called a BP-8; the governing regulation refers to informal resolution rather than prescribing that form number. Ask the correctional counselor or unit team for the current form and institution supplement.
Explain the facts, identify the record or decision at issue, and state the specific correction requested. Keep a dated copy and record the staff response. The ordinary 20-day initial filing period includes both informal resolution and submission of the BP-9. Starting a BP-8 does not automatically restart or pause that deadline.
Informal resolution is not required for community corrections center residents or for the direct regional/Central Office submissions authorized by § 542.14(d). The Warden or institution Administrative Remedy Coordinator may waive it for an acceptable reason. Sexual-abuse grievances have separate protections below.
2. BP-9 — formal request to the Warden
Ordinary filing deadline: 20 calendar days following the date the basis for the request occurred. Obtain the BP-9 from staff, complete the identifying information, sign and date it, and submit it to the institution staff member designated to receive requests, ordinarily the correctional counselor.
Use one complaint or a reasonable number of closely related issues. Unrelated complaints belong on separate forms. For disciplinary appeals, each incident-report number requires a separate appeal. State the complaint in the form’s space. If necessary, use no more than one letter-size continuation page; include one additional copy of that page and one copy of supporting exhibits. Retain your own exhibits because they are not returned with the response.
Ordinary BOP response: 20 calendar days after filing, with one possible 20-day extension. Keep the receipt, remedy number, response, and any extension notice.
3. BP-10 — appeal to the Regional Director
Ordinary filing deadline: within 20 calendar days of the date the Warden signed the response. This runs from the signature date, not simply the date the response reaches the person. BOP’s program statement treats the appeal deadline as the date the regional office receives the appeal. Mail promptly and allow transit time.
Use the BP-10 and explain specifically why the response should be reconsidered. Include one complete copy or duplicate original of the BP-9 and response. Carry forward the relevant exhibits. Do not introduce an issue omitted from the lower-level filing or combine separate remedy case numbers into one appeal.
A continuation is limited to one letter-size page. Provide two additional copies of the continuation page and exhibits with the regional appeal. Sign, date, and mail it to the appropriate Regional Director. The responsible region ordinarily is the region for the institution where the person is confined when the appeal is mailed, even if another institution answered the BP-9.
Ordinary BOP response: 30 calendar days after filing, with one possible 30-day extension.
4. BP-11 — final appeal to the General Counsel
Ordinary filing deadline: within 30 calendar days of the date the Regional Director signed the response. BOP’s receipt rule applies here too. Use the BP-11 and include one complete copy or duplicate original of the institution and regional filings and their responses, together with the required supporting exhibits.
State the specific grounds for appeal. If a continuation is necessary, use no more than one letter-size page and provide three additional copies of the continuation page and exhibits. Sign, date, and mail the appeal to the National Inmate Appeals Administrator, Office of General Counsel. This is the final administrative appeal under the ordinary program.
Ordinary BOP response: 40 calendar days after filing, with one possible 20-day extension. Verify the current mailing address with staff and the official BOP directory before sending anything.
Filing deadlines and response clocks are different
All ordinary periods above are calendar days. Under § 542.18, an accepted request or appeal is considered filed on the date it is logged into the Administrative Remedy Index as received. The program statement directs staff to use the date first received and date-stamped in the clerk’s office. BOP must notify the person in writing of a response extension.
If no response arrives within the allowed response period, including an extension, § 542.18 allows the person to treat the absence of a response as a denial at that level. This does not mean the request was granted or that every later administrative step disappears. Preserve the receipt and extension notices, document the expired response date, and promptly pursue the appropriate next step. Ask counsel about a final-level nonresponse or a disputed clock.
Late filings, rejections, and resubmissions
A filing extension may be allowed for a valid reason that prevented timely submission. Examples in § 542.14(b) include an extended transfer period without necessary documents, physical incapacity, an unusually long informal-resolution process, or a staff-verified delay in obtaining requested dispositions. Explain the dates and the actual obstacle, request the extension, and obtain staff verification where possible. An extension is not automatic. Waiting for outside assistance generally does not excuse lateness unless staff caused the delay.
A procedural rejection is different from a decision denying the complaint on its merits. Read the written rejection notice. If the defect is correctable, the notice must provide a reasonable period to correct and resubmit. Missing signatures, missing copies, and missing lower-level filings are common correctable defects. Follow the deadline in the notice. Program Statement 1330.18 ordinarily contemplates five calendar days at the institution, at least ten at the community corrections or regional level, and fifteen at Central Office.
If rejection comes without an opportunity to correct and resubmit, § 542.17(c) permits an appeal of the rejection to the next level. Include the rejection notice and explain the procedural issue. Do not assume that a rejected filing completes exhaustion.
Exceptions that change the route
Sensitive issues
If a person reasonably believes disclosure at the institution would endanger their safety or well-being, § 542.14(d)(1) permits direct submission to the appropriate Regional Director. Clearly mark the request “Sensitive” and explain why it was not submitted locally. Sensitivity must be accepted by the regional coordinator. If it is not accepted, the person receives written notice and may pursue the issue with the Warden, who must allow a reasonable extension for that resubmission. The sensitive request itself is not returned. A sensitive filing is not automatically an emergency filing.
Disciplinary Hearing Officer appeals
DHO appeals begin with the Regional Director, ordinarily on a BP-10, rather than a BP-9 to the Warden. BOP guidance specifies a 20-calendar-day period from receipt of the written DHO report. Preserve the report and proof of when it was received; follow the appeal instructions and current disciplinary policy. A Unit Discipline Committee matter is not automatically a DHO appeal. Each incident report requires its own appeal.
Other direct Central Office appeals
Section 542.14(d) directs appeals of Executive Panel reviews of Control Unit placement to the General Counsel. It also permits direct General Counsel appeals of a Regional Director’s review of controlled housing status placement. These are specialized procedures; consult the applicable placement policy and decision notice.
Emergencies
If a request is determined to be an emergency threatening immediate health or welfare, § 542.18 requires the Warden to respond no later than the third calendar day after filing. Explain the immediate risk clearly. Seek urgent medical or protective assistance through staff immediately; do not wait for ordinary grievance processing when there is an immediate danger.
Sexual-abuse grievances: separate PREA protections
Under 28 C.F.R. § 115.52 and section 16 of Program Statement 1330.18, there is no initial filing time limit for a grievance alleging sexual abuse, and informal resolution is not required. A person must be able to submit without giving the grievance to the staff member accused, and it must not be referred to that staff member. Ordinary appeal deadlines still matter after filing; unrelated issues remain subject to their own rules.
A final agency decision on the sexual-abuse allegation is generally due within 90 days of the initial filing, excluding time the person spends pursuing an administrative appeal. A written extension of up to 70 days may be allowed. Third parties may help and may submit the initial sexual-abuse grievance on the person’s behalf, subject to the consent and processing requirements; BOP’s policy requires the person to file subsequent appeals personally.
For an emergency grievance alleging a substantial risk of imminent sexual abuse, § 115.52(f) requires immediate referral to a level able to act, an initial response within 48 hours, and a final agency decision within five calendar days. Review section 16’s routing instructions carefully, including its separate treatment of sensitive submissions. The ordinary BP-9 response schedule should not be substituted for these PREA emergency requirements.
Telephone billing claims
Section 8 of Program Statement 1330.18 describes a special 120-day initial period for specified telephone billing or reimbursement disputes for as long as the referenced Washington v. Reno settlement remains effective. It does not apply generally to telephone access or privilege complaints. Confirm applicability before relying on that special period; do not assume every telephone issue has a longer deadline.
Build a record the next reviewer can use
Keep a single organized file containing the underlying decision, dated chronology, informal request and response, every signed form, supporting exhibits, submission or mailing evidence, receipts, remedy numbers, extensions, rejection notices, and all responses. Record both the date a response was signed and the date it was received. Document transfers, denied access to forms, delayed mail, and other barriers as they occur.
For a First Step Act credit dispute, identify the exact dates or entries in question and preserve the credit assessment, sentence computation, participation records, and relevant risk assessments. For reentry placement, retain the recommendation, stated reasons, proposed address, release plan, and correspondence. Request a specific correction or review rather than asserting a release date unsupported by the record.
A useful factual outline: “On [date], [specific decision or event] occurred. I requested informal resolution on [date], with [response or result]. The attached [record] shows [specific discrepancy]. I request [specific correction or review] and a written explanation identifying the rule applied.” Adapt this outline truthfully to the form; it is not an official form or an individualized legal argument.
Help from family, advocates, and counsel
Section 542.16 permits help from other inmates, staff, family, attorneys, and other outside sources. Under the ordinary process, the affected person must submit the request or appeal personally; an outside letter, telephone call, or advocacy email does not replace it. The PREA third-party exception is described above. BOP must provide assistance for people who are illiterate, disabled, or not functionally literate in English, including reasonable accommodations.
Joseph De Gregorio and Sentencing Advocacy Group help organize records, timelines, release-planning evidence, and clear factual communications. Legal claims, court filings, and case-specific exhaustion questions should be reviewed by counsel. BOP decides administrative requests.
Administrative exhaustion and court review
Completing administrative review can be essential before seeking relief in court. Different claims and forms of relief can have different exhaustion requirements. A BP-9 denial alone should not be treated as permission to skip the regional and Central Office stages. Nor does a completed BP-11 guarantee access to a particular court remedy or success on the merits.
If forms are withheld, deadlines are disputed, or the process is inaccessible, preserve detailed evidence and obtain legal advice promptly. A family complaint or a separate misconduct investigation does not automatically substitute for the required remedy process. This guide does not determine whether an individual has legally exhausted available remedies.
Official forms, addresses, and source links
Obtain current BP-9, BP-10, and BP-11 forms from institution or community corrections staff, ordinarily the correctional counselor. Use the local procedure for informal resolution. Confirm the correct regional office and Central Office address before mailing, particularly after a transfer. General BOP contact emails are not an alternative filing channel.
Complete Administrative Remedy Program — Official BOP PDF
28 C.F.R. §§ 542.10–542.19 — Official eCFR
28 C.F.R. Part 542 — Official Government PDF (2025 edition)
BOP Official Directory — Institutions, Regional Offices and Central Office
BOP Policy Listing — Check Administrative Remedy Program Updates
BOP Rochester Handbook — Published DHO Appeal Guidance (PDF)
The Rochester handbook supplies an official example of DHO appeal instructions; it does not replace the person’s own institution supplement or current disciplinary policy. PREA rules are reproduced in section 16 of the complete program statement linked above.
Related release-planning resources
First Step Act: Credits and Eligibility →
Second Chance Act: Halfway Houses and Home Confinement →
Early Release & Reentry Planning →
For Attorneys →
Request a Private Case Review →
Reviewed October 3, 2026. General educational information, not legal advice. Sentencing Advocacy Group is not a law firm. Verify the applicable rule, institution procedure, and deadline for the specific matter.