First Step Act FAQs: What the Law Means for Federal Prisoners Today

The First Step Act is a 2018 federal law. It shortened some drug and gun sentences, let people with older crack cocaine sentences ask for a reduction, created earned time credits, increased good time, and let prisoners file for compassionate release themselves. Most of the sentencing changes are not retroactive, so who benefits depends on when and how the person was sentenced. Below are plain-English answers to the questions families ask most.

Update (October 2026): We first wrote these FAQs in November 2018, before the First Step Act passed. We have rewritten them to reflect the law as it stands now, including Supreme Court decisions through May 2026.

Q: Is the First Step Act law?

Yes. President Trump signed the First Step Act on December 21, 2018 (Pub. L. 115-391). It applies to federal cases only, not state cases.

Q: What are the main sentencing changes?

There are four:

1. Gun "stacking" (§ 403). Under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c), using or carrying a gun during a drug or violent crime adds prison time. The 25-year penalty for a "second or subsequent" conviction now applies only if an earlier § 924(c) conviction was already final (18 U.S.C. § 924(c)).
2. A wider safety valve (§ 402). The safety valve lets a judge go below a drug mandatory minimum (the lowest sentence normally allowed). More people with prior records now qualify (18 U.S.C. § 3553(f)). But in Pulsifer v. United States, 601 U.S. 124 (2024), the Supreme Court held that you are shut out if you have any one of the three listed criminal-history problems (opinion).
3. Lower repeat-drug penalties (§ 401). For the most serious drug cases, one qualifying prior now means a 15-year minimum instead of 20. Two or more means a 25-year minimum instead of mandatory life. Fewer prior convictions count (21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(A)).
4. Crack cocaine relief (§ 404). People convicted of certain crack offenses committed before August 3, 2010, can ask for a lower sentence under the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 (First Step Act § 404(a)). This does not apply if the sentence was already imposed or reduced under the 2010 law, or if an earlier § 404 motion was denied on the merits (§ 404(c)).

Q: Are these changes retroactive?

Mostly no. The § 924(c) and repeat-drug changes help only people who had not been sentenced by December 21, 2018. The safety valve change applies only to convictions entered on or after that date.

One exception: in Hewitt v. United States, No. 23-1002 (2025), the Supreme Court held that the § 924(c) fix applies if your old sentence is thrown out and you are resentenced after that date (opinion).

The crack cocaine change (§ 404) is retroactive by design.

Q: Who qualifies for crack cocaine resentencing?

Only crack offenses that carried a mandatory minimum, under 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(A) or (B), qualify. That is the holding of Terry v. United States, 593 U.S. 486 (2021).

The judge does not have to lower your sentence. But under Concepcion v. United States, 597 U.S. 481 (2022), the judge may consider later changes in the law and in your life, such as your record in prison.

Q: What are earned time credits?

If you are eligible, you earn 10 days of credit for every 30 days you successfully take part in approved programs or "productive activities." If you are rated minimum or low risk, and your risk has not gone up over two assessments in a row, you earn 5 more days per 30 (18 U.S.C. § 3632(d)(4)).

Credits can move you to a halfway house or home confinement sooner. They can also start your supervised release (supervision after prison) up to 12 months early (18 U.S.C. § 3624(g)). The Bureau of Prisons (BOP) put out its final rule on time credits in January 2022.

Q: Can everyone earn time credits?

No. People convicted of many offenses listed in 18 U.S.C. § 3632(d)(4)(D), including § 924(c) gun offenses, cannot earn them. People with a final order of removal (deportation) cannot use credits to get out early. Check your exact statute of conviction against the full list.

Q: Did the Act change good conduct time?

Yes. You can now earn up to 54 days of good conduct time for each year of the sentence the judge imposed, not just the time you served (18 U.S.C. § 3624(b)). This fix applied to people already in prison. When it took effect in July 2019, the Justice Department said about 3,100 people were released.

Q: What changed for compassionate release?

Compassionate release is a court order that cuts a prison sentence short for "extraordinary and compelling reasons," such as serious illness or old age. Before 2018, only the BOP could ask the judge. Now the prisoner can file the motion directly.

First, you must ask the warden in writing. Then you can go to court after 30 days pass from when the warden receives your request, or after you finish the BOP's appeals, whichever comes first (18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)). Keep a copy of the request and a record of the date the warden received it. You will need both to show the court you met this step.

If the request is based on health, start gathering BOP medical records early, along with the judgment and docket number for the case. Those records often take time to get.

The Sentencing Commission's policy statement, USSG § 1B1.13, lists the reasons that can qualify. It was rewritten effective November 1, 2023 (amendments).

Q: Are there limits on compassionate release?

Yes. On May 28, 2026, the Supreme Court held that a sentencing gap created by a change in law that Congress did not make retroactive, such as the § 924(c) fix, cannot be an "extraordinary and compelling reason" (Rutherford v. United States, No. 24-820, opinion).

The same day, it held that a claim that your conviction or sentence is invalid belongs in a § 2255 motion, not a compassionate release motion (Fernandez v. United States, No. 24-556, opinion).

Q: What else does the Act do?

It also requires the BOP to place people closer to home when it can, limits restraints on pregnant prisoners, and requires free pads and tampons. Read our section-by-section summary or our post on the Act's prison reforms.

The original FAQ from November 2018

Below is our original FAQ, written before the Act passed. It is kept for the record. Where it is now out of date, a note says so.

On November 14, 2018, criminal justice and prison reform advocates finally heard what they had wanted to hear for almost a year: President Donald Trump was "thrilled to announce his support" for the bipartisan First Step Act.

With the President's support, the last real obstacle to the First Step Act passing Congress was gone. All signs from key congressional leaders, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan, pointed to the Act being signed into law before the end of 2018.

It was the first significant federal criminal justice reform to become law in almost ten years, since the Second Chance Act. It was expected to make big changes right away in the lives of prisoners and their families. We broke it down in plain language to answer our readers' most pressing questions.

Q: Is the First Step Act already a law? If not, can changes be made before it takes effect?

A (2018): No, the First Step Act was still pending in Congress. It first needed approval from at least 51 senators. After that, it had to go back to the House for a final vote before going to the President to sign. Until the bill was final, changes could be made.

2026 note: The Act became law on December 21, 2018.

Q: The House already approved the First Step Act in the spring. Once it passes the Senate, shouldn't it go straight to the President?

A (2018): Unfortunately, no. The Senate made big changes to the bill after the House passed it. So the House had to vote again on the revised version after the Senate acted. Then it would go to President Trump to sign.

Q: How did the Senate version change?

A (2018): At a high level, the Senate version added four key sentencing changes that were not in the House version: § 924(c) stacking reform, changes to the § 841/851 repeat-offender enhancements, a wider "safety valve" under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(f), and retroactive application of the Fair Sentencing Act.

Q: What do the sentencing reforms mean in practice?

A (2018): It is a bit complicated. For more detail, see our section-by-section analysis. Here were the highlights:

1. The bill would make clear that § 924(c) stacking (extra prison time for having a gun while committing another crime, such as drug dealing) applies only to people with a prior § 924(c) conviction. That conviction must be final, and not from the same case.
2. The bill would give judges much more room to avoid mandatory minimum sentences through the "safety valve."
3. The bill would change the § 841/851 enhancements, often called "three strikes" penalties, so that in some cases the mandatory minimum drops from life in prison to a 25-year floor.
4. The bill would make retroactive the 2010 reduction in the gap between crack and powder cocaine sentences that President Obama championed. This could affect thousands of federal prisoners serving long sentences for crack offenses, which were punished more harshly than powder cocaine offenses.

2026 note: See the answers above for how these changes work today, including the Supreme Court's later decisions.

Q: What else does the First Step Act do?

A (2018): It makes a number of changes to prisoner incentives, compassionate release, and other BOP issues. We described them in our post on the Act's prison reforms.

Q: Come on! Tell me what the biggest changes are!

A (2018): Not yet! First, we are going to dive into the actual text of the First Step Act. We will go through the reforms in detail over the coming days.

For the developments that followed, read our First Step Act prison reform bill update.

Facing a federal sentence? Book a consultation to talk it through with Brandon Sample.