                 TITLE 18--CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
 
                       PART II--CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
 
                CHAPTER 229--POSTSENTENCE ADMINISTRATION
 
                       SUBCHAPTER C--IMPRISONMENT
 
Sec. 3624. Release of a prisoner

    (a) Date of Release.--A prisoner shall be released by the Bureau of 
Prisons on the date of the expiration of the prisoner's term of 
imprisonment, less any time credited toward the service of the 
prisoner's sentence as provided in subsection (b). If the date for a 
prisoner's release falls on a Saturday, a Sunday, or a legal holiday at 
the place of confinement, the prisoner may be released by the Bureau on 
the last preceding weekday.
    (b) Credit Toward Service of Sentence for Satisfactory Behavior.--
(1) Subject to paragraph (2), a prisoner who is serving a term of 
imprisonment of more than 1 year \1\ other than a term of imprisonment 
for the duration of the prisoner's life, may receive credit toward the 
service of the prisoner's sentence, beyond the time served, of up to 54 
days at the end of each year of the prisoner's term of imprisonment, 
beginning at the end of the first year of the term, subject to 
determination by the Bureau of Prisons that, during that year, the 
prisoner has displayed exemplary compliance with institutional 
disciplinary regulations. Subject to paragraph (2), if the Bureau 
determines that, during that year, the prisoner has not satisfactorily 
complied with such institutional regulations, the prisoner shall receive 
no such credit toward service of the prisoner's sentence or shall 
receive such lesser credit as the Bureau determines to be appropriate. 
In awarding credit under this section, the Bureau shall consider whether 
the prisoner, during the relevant period, has earned, or is making 
satisfactory progress toward earning, a high school diploma or an 
equivalent degree. Credit that has not been earned may not later be 
granted. Subject to paragraph (2), credit for the last year or portion 
of a year of the term of imprisonment shall be prorated and credited 
within the last six weeks of the sentence.
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    \1\ So in original. Probably should be followed by a comma.
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    (2) Notwithstanding any other law, credit awarded under this 
subsection after the date of enactment of the Prison Litigation Reform 
Act shall vest on the date the prisoner is released from custody.
    (3) The Attorney General shall ensure that the Bureau of Prisons has 
in effect an optional General Educational Development program for 
inmates who have not earned a high school diploma or its equivalent.
    (4) Exemptions to the General Educational Development requirement 
may be made as deemed appropriate by the Director of the Federal Bureau 
of Prisons.
    (c) Pre-Release Custody.--The Bureau of Prisons shall, to the extent 
practicable, assure that a prisoner serving a term of imprisonment 
spends a reasonable part, not to exceed six months, of the last 10 per 
centum of the term to be served under conditions that will afford the 
prisoner a reasonable opportunity to adjust to and prepare for the 
prisoner's re-entry into the community. The authority provided by this 
subsection may be used to place a prisoner in home confinement. The 
United States Probation System shall, to the extent practicable, offer 
assistance to a prisoner during such pre-release custody.
    (d) Allotment of Clothing, Funds, and Transportation.--Upon the 
release of a prisoner on the expiration of the prisoner's term of 
imprisonment, the Bureau of Prisons shall furnish the prisoner with--
        (1) suitable clothing;
        (2) an amount of money, not more than $500, determined by the 
    Director to be consistent with the needs of the offender and the 
    public interest, unless the Director determines that the financial 
    position of the offender is such that no sum should be furnished; 
    and
        (3) transportation to the place of the prisoner's conviction, to 
    the prisoner's bona fide residence within the United States, or to 
    such other place within the United States as may be authorized by 
    the Director.

    (e) Supervision After Release.--A prisoner whose sentence includes a 
term of supervised release after imprisonment shall be released by the 
Bureau of Prisons to the supervision of a probation officer who shall, 
during the term imposed, supervise the person released to the degree 
warranted by the conditions specified by the sentencing court. The term 
of supervised release commences on the day the person is released from 
imprisonment and runs concurrently with any Federal, State, or local 
term of probation or supervised release or parole for another offense to 
which the person is subject or becomes subject during the term of 
supervised release. A term of supervised release does not run during any 
period in which the person is imprisoned in connection with a conviction 
for a Federal, State, or local crime unless the imprisonment is for a 
period of less than 30 consecutive days. No prisoner shall be released 
on supervision unless such prisoner agrees to adhere to an installment 
schedule, not to exceed two years except in special circumstances, to 
pay for any fine imposed for the offense committed by such prisoner.
    (f) Mandatory Functional Literacy Requirement.--
        (1) The Attorney General shall direct the Bureau of Prisons to 
    have in effect a mandatory functional literacy program for all 
    mentally capable inmates who are not functionally literate in each 
    Federal correctional institution within 6 months from the date of 
    the enactment of this Act.
        (2) Each mandatory functional literacy program shall include a 
    requirement that each inmate participate in such program for a 
    mandatory period sufficient to provide the inmate with an adequate 
    opportunity to achieve functional literacy, and appropriate 
    incentives which lead to successful completion of such programs 
    shall be developed and implemented.
        (3) As used in this section, the term ``functional literacy'' 
    means--
            (A) an eighth grade equivalence in reading and mathematics 
        on a nationally recognized standardized test;
            (B) functional competency or literacy on a nationally 
        recognized criterion-referenced test; or
            (C) a combination of subparagraphs (A) and (B).

        (4) Non-English speaking inmates shall be required to 
    participate in an English-As-A-Second-Language program until they 
    function at the equivalence of the eighth grade on a nationally 
    recognized educational achievement test.
        (5) The Chief Executive Officer of each institution shall have 
    authority to grant waivers for good cause as determined and 
    documented on an individual basis.

(Added Pub. L. 98-473, title II, Sec. 212(a)(2), Oct. 12, 1984, 98 Stat. 
2008; amended Pub. L. 99-646, Secs. 16(a), 17(a), Nov. 10, 1986, 100 
Stat. 3595; Pub. L. 101-647, title XXIX, Secs. 2902(a), 2904, Nov. 29, 
1990, 104 Stat. 4913; Pub. L. 103-322, title II, Secs. 20405, 20412, 
Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 1825, 1828; Pub. L. 104-66, title I, 
Sec. 1091(c), Dec. 21, 1995, 109 Stat. 722; Pub. L. 104-134, title I, 
Sec. 101[(a)] [title VIII, Sec. 809(c)], Apr. 26, 1996, 110 Stat. 1321, 
1321-76; renumbered title I, Pub. L. 104-140, Sec. 1(a), May 2, 1996, 
110 Stat. 1327.)

                       References in Text

    The date of enactment of the Prison Litigation Reform Act, referred 
to in subsec. (b)(2), probably means the date of enactment of the Prison 
Litigation Reform Act of 1995, section 101[(a)] [title VIII] of Pub. L. 
104-134, which was approved Apr. 26, 1996.
    The date of the enactment of this Act, referred to in subsec. 
(f)(1), probably means the date of enactment of Pub. L. 101-647, which 
enacted subsec. (f) and was approved Nov. 29, 1990.


                            Prior Provisions

    For a prior section 3624, applicable to offenses committed prior to 
Nov. 1, 1987, see note set out preceding section 3601 of this title.


                               Amendments

    1996--Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 104-134, Sec. 101[(a)] [title VIII, 
Sec. 809(c)(1)(A)], struck out at beginning ``A prisoner (other than a 
prisoner serving a sentence for a crime of violence) who is serving a 
term of imprisonment of more than one year, other than a term of 
imprisonment for the duration of the prisoner's life, shall receive 
credit toward the service of the prisoner's sentence, beyond the time 
served, of fifty-four days at the end of each year of the prisoner's 
term of imprisonment, beginning at the end of the first year of the 
term, unless the Bureau of Prisons determines that, during that year, 
the prisoner has not satisfactorily complied with such institutional 
disciplinary regulations as have been approved by the Attorney General 
and issued to the prisoner.''
    Pub. L. 104-134, Sec. 101[(a)] [title VIII, Sec. 809(c)(1)(B)], in 
second sentence substituted ``Subject to paragraph (2), a prisoner'' for 
``A prisoner'', struck out ``for a crime of violence,'' after ``1 
year'', and struck out ``such'' after ``compliance with''.
    Pub. L. 104-134, Sec. 101[(a)] [title VIII, Sec. 809(c)(1)(C)], in 
third sentence substituted ``Subject to paragraph (2), if the Bureau'' 
for ``If the Bureau''.
    Pub. L. 104-134, Sec. 101[(a)] [title VIII, Sec. 809(c)(1)(D)], in 
fourth sentence substituted ``In awarding credit under this section, the 
Bureau shall consider whether the prisoner, during the relevant period, 
has earned, or is making satisfactory progress toward earning, a high 
school diploma or an equivalent degree.'' for ``The Bureau's 
determination shall be made within fifteen days after the end of each 
year of the sentence.''
    Pub. L. 104-134, Sec. 101[(a)] [title VIII, Sec. 809(c)(1)(E)], in 
sixth sentence substituted ``Subject to paragraph (2), credit for the 
last'' for ``Credit for the last''.
    Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 104-134, Sec. 101[(a)] [title VIII, 
Sec. 809(c)(2)], amended par. (2) generally. Prior to amendment, par. 
(2) read as follows: ``Credit toward a prisoner's service of sentence 
shall not be vested unless the prisoner has earned or is making 
satisfactory progress toward a high school diploma or an equivalent 
degree.''
    1995--Subsec. (f)(6). Pub. L. 104-66 struck out par. (6) which read 
as follows: ``A report shall be provided to Congress on an annual basis 
summarizing the results of this program, including the number of inmate 
participants, the number successfully completing the program, the number 
who do not successfully complete the program, and the reasons for 
failure to successfully complete the program.''
    1994--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 103-322, Sec. 20405(2), substituted ``the 
prisoner's'' for ``his'' after ``the expiration of'' and ``toward the 
service of''.
    Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 103-322, Sec. 20412(1), (2), designated 
existing provisions as par. (1), substituted ``Credit that has not been 
earned may not later be granted.'' for ``Such credit toward service of 
sentence vests at the time that it is received. Credit that has vested 
may not later be withdrawn, and credit that has not been earned may not 
later be granted.'', and added pars. (2) to (4).
    Pub. L. 103-322, Sec. 20405, inserted ``(other than a prisoner 
serving a sentence for a crime of violence)'' after ``A prisoner'' in 
first sentence, substituted ``the prisoner'' for ``he'' before ``has not 
satisfactorily complied with'' in first sentence and before ``shall 
receive no such credit toward'' in third sentence and ``the prisoner's'' 
for ``his'' wherever appearing in first and third sentences, and 
inserted after first sentence ``A prisoner who is serving a term of 
imprisonment of more than 1 year for a crime of violence, other than a 
term of imprisonment for the duration of the prisoner's life, may 
receive credit toward the service of the prisoner's sentence, beyond the 
time served, of up to 54 days at the end of each year of the prisoner's 
term of imprisonment, beginning at the end of the first year of the 
term, subject to determination by the Bureau of Prisons that, during 
that year, the prisoner has displayed exemplary compliance with such 
institutional disciplinary regulations.''
    Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 103-322, Sec. 20405(2), substituted ``the 
prisoner's re-entry'' for ``his re-entry''.
    Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 103-322, Sec. 20405(2), (3), substituted ``the 
prisoner'' for ``him'' in introductory provisions and ``the prisoner's'' 
for ``his'' wherever appearing in introductory provisions and par. (3).
    1990--Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 101-647, Sec. 2902(a), inserted after 
first sentence ``The authority provided by this subsection may be used 
to place a prisoner in home confinement.''
    Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 101-647, Sec. 2904, added subsec. (f).
    1986--Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 99-646, Sec. 16(a), substituted 
``beginning at the end of'' for ``beginning after''.
    Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 99-646, Sec. 17(a), substituted ``imprisonment 
and runs concurrently'' for ``imprisonment. The term runs concurrently'' 
and ``supervised released. A term of supervised release does not run'' 
for ``supervised release, except that it does not run'', struck out ``, 
other than during limited intervals as a condition of probation or 
supervised release,'' after ``person is imprisoned'', and inserted 
``unless the imprisonment is for a period of less than 30 consecutive 
days'' before the period at end of third sentence.


                    Effective Date of 1990 Amendment

    Section 2902(b) of Pub. L. 101-647 provided that: ``Section 3624(c) 
of title 18, United States Code, as amended by this section, shall apply 
with respect to all inmates, regardless of the date of their offense.''


                    Effective Date of 1986 Amendment

    Section 16(b) of Pub. L. 99-646 provided that: ``The amendment made 
by this section [amending this section] shall take effect on the date of 
the taking effect of such section 3624 [Nov. 1, 1987].''
    Section 17(b) of Pub. L. 99-646 provided that: ``The amendment made 
by this section [amending this section] shall take effect on the date of 
the taking effect of such section 3624 [Nov. 1, 1987].''


                             Effective Date

    Section effective Nov. 1, 1987, and applicable only to offenses 
committed after the taking effect of this section, see section 235(a)(1) 
of Pub. L. 98-473, set out as a note under section 3551 of this title.

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in sections 3603, 3621, 4105, 5037 of 
this title; title 28 sections 994, 1932.
