The Federal Sentencing Table: How to Read the Guidelines Chart

The federal sentencing table is the grid in the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines that turns two scores into a recommended prison range. The offense level (1 to 43) runs down the side. The criminal history category (I to VI) runs across the top. The box where they meet gives the guideline range in months (USSG Ch. 5, Pt. A).

People also call it the federal sentencing guidelines chart, the USSG sentencing table, or the felony sentencing chart. It applies only in federal court. States that use sentencing grids have their own, with different numbers.

This page reproduces the table from the Guidelines Manual in effect today, the November 1, 2025 edition. It explains how to read it. It does not calculate anyone's range. That depends on the facts, the guidelines that apply, and the judge's rulings.

What is the federal sentencing table?

It is the last step in scoring a federal case under the Sentencing Guidelines. The probation officer, the lawyers and the judge first work out two numbers:

• The offense level. It starts with the base level for the crime and goes up or down for specific facts, such as the amount of loss, the drug quantity, a weapon, the person's role, or acceptance of responsibility. The range is 1 to 43. A total below 1 is treated as 1, and a total above 43 is treated as 43 (USSG Ch. 5, Pt. A, comment. (n.2)).
• The criminal history category. It comes from points for prior sentences under Chapter Four of the Manual. Category I is 0 or 1 point. Category VI is 13 points or more. The career offender and armed career criminal guidelines can set the category directly (USSG Ch. 5, Pt. A, comment. (n.3)).

The table then gives the range. The low number is the bottom of the range and the high number is the top. "Life" means life imprisonment.

How do you read the federal sentencing table?

Follow three steps:

1. Find the offense level in the left column.
2. Find the criminal history category across the top. The points for each category are shown in the header.
3. Read across the row and down the column. The box where they meet is the guideline range in months.

A made-up example. Say a person's total offense level is 22 and the criminal history category is II. Go down to row 22, then across to column II. The box reads 46–57. That means a guideline range of 46 to 57 months. Because the bottom of that range is 15 months or more, it sits in Zone D (see the zones section below).

The example only shows how to read the grid. It is not a prediction for anyone's case. Small changes in the offense level or the points can move the range a lot, which is why the presentence report and any objections to it matter.

The sentencing table (2025 Guidelines Manual)

Ranges are in months of imprisonment. The header shows each criminal history category and the points it covers.

Offense level	I (0 or 1 point)	II (2 or 3)	III (4, 5, 6)	IV (7, 8, 9)	V (10, 11, 12)	VI (13 or more)
1	0–6	0–6	0–6	0–6	0–6	0–6
2	0–6	0–6	0–6	0–6	0–6	1–7
3	0–6	0–6	0–6	0–6	2–8	3–9
4	0–6	0–6	0–6	2–8	4–10	6–12
5	0–6	0–6	1–7	4–10	6–12	9–15
6	0–6	1–7	2–8	6–12	9–15	12–18
7	0–6	2–8	4–10	8–14	12–18	15–21
8	0–6	4–10	6–12	10–16	15–21	18–24
9	4–10	6–12	8–14	12–18	18–24	21–27
10	6–12	8–14	10–16	15–21	21–27	24–30
11	8–14	10–16	12–18	18–24	24–30	27–33
12	10–16	12–18	15–21	21–27	27–33	30–37
13	12–18	15–21	18–24	24–30	30–37	33–41
14	15–21	18–24	21–27	27–33	33–41	37–46
15	18–24	21–27	24–30	30–37	37–46	41–51
16	21–27	24–30	27–33	33–41	41–51	46–57
17	24–30	27–33	30–37	37–46	46–57	51–63
18	27–33	30–37	33–41	41–51	51–63	57–71
19	30–37	33–41	37–46	46–57	57–71	63–78
20	33–41	37–46	41–51	51–63	63–78	70–87
21	37–46	41–51	46–57	57–71	70–87	77–96
22	41–51	46–57	51–63	63–78	77–96	84–105
23	46–57	51–63	57–71	70–87	84–105	92–115
24	51–63	57–71	63–78	77–96	92–115	100–125
25	57–71	63–78	70–87	84–105	100–125	110–137
26	63–78	70–87	78–97	92–115	110–137	120–150
27	70–87	78–97	87–108	100–125	120–150	130–162
28	78–97	87–108	97–121	110–137	130–162	140–175
29	87–108	97–121	108–135	121–151	140–175	151–188
30	97–121	108–135	121–151	135–168	151–188	168–210
31	108–135	121–151	135–168	151–188	168–210	188–235
32	121–151	135–168	151–188	168–210	188–235	210–262
33	135–168	151–188	168–210	188–235	210–262	235–293
34	151–188	168–210	188–235	210–262	235–293	262–327
35	168–210	188–235	210–262	235–293	262–327	292–365
36	188–235	210–262	235–293	262–327	292–365	324–405
37	210–262	235–293	262–327	292–365	324–405	360–life
38	235–293	262–327	292–365	324–405	360–life	360–life
39	262–327	292–365	324–405	360–life	360–life	360–life
40	292–365	324–405	360–life	360–life	360–life	360–life
41	324–405	360–life	360–life	360–life	360–life	360–life
42	360–life	360–life	360–life	360–life	360–life	360–life
43	life	life	life	life	life	life

Source: U.S. Sentencing Commission, Guidelines Manual (Nov. 1, 2025), Ch. 5, Pt. A, Sentencing Table. Every cell above was checked against that official PDF. For court filings, use the official table.

What are the zones in the sentencing table?

The table is divided into four zones, A through D. The zone depends on the bottom number of the range, and it controls what kinds of sentences the guidelines allow (USSG §5C1.1 and comment. (nn.2–4, 8)):

• Zone A (the minimum is 0 months). Prison is not required. The judge may impose probation, and in some cases a fine alone.
• Zone B (the minimum is 1 to 9 months). The minimum can be met with prison, with probation that includes home detention, community confinement or intermittent confinement, or with a "split sentence" that includes at least one month in prison.
• Zone C (the minimum is 10 or 12 months). The minimum can be met with prison, or with a split sentence in which at least half of the minimum is served in prison and the rest in community confinement or home detention.
• Zone D (the minimum is 15 months or more). The minimum must be served in prison.

Here is where each zone falls, by offense level, in each criminal history category:

Zone	I	II	III	IV	V	VI
A	1–8	1–5	1–4	1–3	1–2	1
B	9–11	6–10	5–9	4–7	3–6	2–5
C	12–13	11–12	10–11	8–9	7	6
D	14–43	13–43	12–43	10–43	8–43	7–43

A statute can override the zone. For example, some offenses make probation unavailable by law, and a mandatory minimum sentence that is higher than the range becomes the guideline sentence (USSG §5G1.1(b)).

Is the sentencing table mandatory?

No. Since United States v. Booker, 543 U.S. 220 (2005), the guidelines, including the table, are advisory. But the judge must still calculate the range correctly and use it as the "starting point and the initial benchmark" (Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38 (2007)). A mistake in the range is a legal error that can be raised on appeal.

Statutes are different. A mandatory minimum or a statutory maximum binds the judge no matter what the table says (USSG §5G1.1).

What happens after the range is found?

Since November 1, 2025, the Guidelines Manual uses a two-step process (USSG §1B1.1; amendment 836):

1. Step one: find the range. The judge calculates the offense level and criminal history category, reads the range from this table, and works out the sentencing options for that zone.
2. Step two: choose the sentence. The judge weighs the factors in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a), such as the nature of the offense, the person's history and characteristics, and the need to avoid unwarranted differences between similar cases, and picks a sentence "sufficient, but not greater than necessary."

The 2025 amendment removed the old middle step, "departures." A judge who wants to go above or below the range now does so as a variance under § 3553(a). The Commission said facts that once supported a departure can still support a variance. One provision inside the Manual still allows a sentence below the range: a government motion for substantial assistance under USSG §5K1.1. See departures and variances.

Will the table change on November 1, 2026?

The numbers will not. Guideline amendments sent to Congress on April 30, 2026 take effect November 1, 2026, unless Congress acts. One of them moves the table into a new guideline, §5A1.1, and adds a list of the sentencing options in each zone. The Commission says the table itself is "unchanged by the amendment" (2026 amendments, "Sentencing Options").

Other 2026 amendments do change how some offense levels are scored, such as the dollar amounts in the fraud loss table. Those changes affect which row of the table applies, not the table itself. The judge generally uses the Manual in effect on the day of sentencing, unless that Manual would give a higher range than the one in effect when the offense was committed (USSG §1B1.11; Peugh v. United States, 569 U.S. 530 (2013)).

For more on how the range is built, see how a federal judge decides a sentence and the meaning of the sentencing guidelines.

Common questions

What is a sentencing table?

A sentencing table is a grid that gives a recommended sentence range based on how serious the offense is and the person's criminal record. In federal court it is the Sentencing Table in Chapter Five, Part A of the Guidelines Manual: 43 offense levels by six criminal history categories, with ranges in months (USSG Ch. 5, Pt. A).

How do you read the federal sentencing table?

Find the total offense level in the left column and the criminal history category across the top. The box where the row and the column meet is the guideline range in months. For example, the Commission's own example is offense level 15 and category III, which gives 24 to 30 months (USSG Ch. 5, Pt. A, comment. (n.1)).

What are the zones in the sentencing table?

Zones A through D group the ranges by their bottom number: 0 months (A), 1 to 9 months (B), 10 or 12 months (C), and 15 months or more (D). The zone decides whether probation, home detention or community confinement can satisfy the minimum, or whether the minimum must be served in prison (USSG §5C1.1).

Is the sentencing table mandatory?

No. The guidelines have been advisory since United States v. Booker, 543 U.S. 220 (2005). The judge must calculate the range correctly and consider it, then may sentence inside or outside it after weighing the factors in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a). Mandatory minimum sentences set by statute still bind the judge.

Facing a federal sentence? Book a consultation and tell us what happened.