REDUCTION OF SENTENCES

Iowa Code tit. XVI, ch. 903A

in effect

Iowa Code § 903A.1 Conduct review.

903A.1. Conduct review. The director of the Iowa department of corrections shall appoint independent administrative law judges whose duties shall include but are not limited to review, as provided in section 903A.3, of the conduct of inmates in institutions under the department. Sections 10A.801 and 17A.11 do not apply to administrative law judges appointed pursuant to this section. 83 Acts, ch 147, §2, 14, 15; 88 Acts, ch 1109, §31; 98 Acts, ch 1202, §44, 46

Iowa Code § 903A.2 Earned time.

903A.2. Earned time. 1. Each inmate committed to the custody of the director of the department of corrections is eligible to earn a reduction of sentence in the manner provided in this section. For purposes of calculating the amount of time by which an inmate’s sentence may be reduced, inmates shall be grouped into the following three sentencing categories: a. (1) Category “A” sentences are those sentences which are not subject to a maximum accumulation of earned time of fifteen percent of the total sentence of confinement under section 902.12 or 902.13 and are not category “C” sentences. To the extent provided in subsection 5, category “A” sentences also include life sentences imposed under section 902.1. An inmate of an institution under the control of the department of corrections who is serving a category “A” sentence is eligible for a reduction of sentence equal to one and two-tenths days for each day the inmate demonstrates good conduct and satisfactorily participates in any program or placement status identified by the director to earn the reduction. The programs include but are not limited to the following: (a) Employment in the institution. (b) Iowa state industries. (c) An employment program established by the director. (d) A treatment program established by the director. (e) An inmate educational program approved by the director. (2) However, an inmate required to participate in a sex offender treatment program shall not be eligible for any reduction of sentence until the inmate participates in and completes a sex offender treatment program established by the director. (3) An inmate serving a category “A” sentence is eligible for an additional reduction of sentence of up to three hundred sixty-five days of the full term of the sentence of the inmate for exemplary acts. In accordance with section 903A.4, the director shall by policy identify what constitutes an exemplary act that may warrant an additional reduction of sentence. b. (1) Category “B” sentences are those sentences which are subject to a maximum accumulation of earned time of fifteen percent of the total sentence of confinement under section 902.12 or 902.13 and are not category “C” sentences. An inmate of an institution under the control of the department of corrections who is serving a category “B” sentence is eligible for a reduction of sentence equal to fifteen eighty-fifths of a day for each day of good conduct by the inmate. (2) An inmate required to participate in a domestic abuse treatment program shall not be eligible for any reduction of sentence until the inmate participates in and completes a domestic abuse treatment program established by the director. c. Category “C” sentences are those sentences for attempted murder described in section 707.11, subsection 5. Notwithstanding paragraphs “a” or “b”, an inmate serving a category “C” sentence is ineligible for a reduction of sentence under this section. 2. Earned time accrued pursuant to this section may be forfeited in the manner prescribed in section 903A.3. 3. Time served in a jail, municipal holding facility, or another facility prior to actual placement in an institution under the control of the department of corrections and credited against the sentence by the court shall accrue for the purpose of reduction of sentence under this section. Time which elapses during an escape shall not accrue for purposes of reduction of sentence under this section. 4. Time which elapses between the date on which a person is incarcerated, based upon a determination of the board of parole that a violation of parole has occurred, and the date on which the violation of parole was committed shall not accrue for purposes of reduction of sentence under this section. 5. Earned time accrued by inmates serving life sentences imposed under section 902.1 shall not reduce the life sentence, or any mandatory minimum sentence imposed under section 902.1, except that earned time accrued shall be credited against the inmate’s life sentence if the life sentence is commuted to a term of years under section 902.2, but shall not reduce any mandatory minimum sentence imposed under section 902.1. 83 Acts, ch 147, §3, 14, 15; 90 Acts, ch 1251, §67; 96 Acts, ch 1151, §4; 97 Acts, ch 131, §2, 4; 98 Acts, ch 1100, §88; 2000 Acts, ch 1173, §4, 10; 2003 Acts, 1st Ex, ch 2, §52, 2092005 Acts, ch 158, §32; 2011 Acts, ch 22, §2; 2015 Acts, ch 65, §3 – 5; 2016 Acts, ch 1011, §119; 2017 Acts, ch 83, §6, 7; 2017 Acts, ch 122, §18 – 21; 2018 Acts, ch 1172, §64, 65

Iowa Code § 903A.3 Loss or forfeiture of earned time.

903A.3. Loss or forfeiture of earned time. 1. Upon finding that an inmate has violated an institutional rule, has failed to complete a sex offender or domestic abuse treatment program as specified in section 903A.2, or has had an action or appeal dismissed under section 610A.2, the independent administrative law judge may order forfeiture of any or all earned time accrued and not forfeited up to the date of the violation by the inmate and may order forfeiture of any or all earned time accrued and not forfeited up to the date the action or appeal is dismissed, unless the court entered such an order under section 610A.3. The independent administrative law judge has discretion within the guidelines established pursuant to section 903A.4, to determine the amount of time that should be forfeited based upon the severity of the violation. Prior violations by the inmate may be considered by the administrative law judge in the decision. 2. The orders of the administrative law judge are subject to appeal to the superintendent or warden of the institution, or the superintendent’s or warden’s designee, who may either affirm, modify, remand for correction of procedural errors, or reverse an order. However, sanctions shall not be increased on appeal. 3. The director of the Iowa department of corrections or the director’s designee may restore all or any portion of previously forfeited earned time for acts of heroism or for meritorious actions. The director shall establish by rule the requirements as to which activities may warrant the restoration of earned time and the amount of earned time to be restored. 4. The inmate disciplinary procedure, including but not limited to the method of awarding or forfeiting time pursuant to this chapter, is not a contested case subject to chapter 17A. 83 Acts, ch 147, §4, 14, 15; 84 Acts, ch 1244, §3; 88 Acts, ch 1109, §32; 95 Acts, ch 167, §5; 2000 Acts, ch 1173, §5, 10; 2003 Acts, 1st Ex, ch 2, §53, 209; 2018 Acts, ch 1172, §66

Iowa Code § 903A.4 Policies and procedures.

903A.4. Policies and procedures. The director of the Iowa department of corrections shall develop policy and procedural rules to implement sections 903A.1 through 903A.3. The rules may specify disciplinary offenses which may result in the loss of earned time, and the amount of earned time which may be lost as a result of each disciplinary offense. The director shall establish rules as to what constitutes “satisfactory participation” for purposes of a reduction of sentence under section 903A.2, for programs that are available or unavailable. The rules shall specify that earned time shall be calculated on a monthly basis as it accrues. The department shall generate an earned time report for each inmate which shall include the amount of actual time served, the number of earned time credits which have not been lost or forfeited, and the amount of time remaining on an inmate’s sentence. 83 Acts, ch 147, §5, 14, 15; 2000 Acts, ch 1173, §6, 10

Iowa Code § 903A.5 Time to be served — credit.

903A.5. Time to be served — credit. 1. An inmate shall not be discharged from the custody of the director of the Iowa department of corrections until the inmate has served the full term for which the inmate was sentenced, less earned time and other credits earned and not forfeited, unless the inmate is pardoned or otherwise legally released. Earned time accrued and not forfeited shall apply to reduce a mandatory minimum sentence being served pursuant to section 124.406, 124.413, or 902.8A. An inmate shall be deemed to be serving the sentence from the day on which the inmate is received into the institution. If an inmate was confined to a county jail, municipal holding facility, or other correctional or mental facility at any time prior to sentencing, or after sentencing but prior to the case having been decided on appeal, because of failure to furnish bail or because of being charged with a nonbailable offense, the inmate shall be given credit for the days already served upon the term of the sentence. However, if a person commits any offense while confined in a county jail, municipal holding facility, or other correctional or mental health facility, the person shall not be granted credit for that offense. Unless the inmate was confined in a correctional facility, the sheriff of the county in which the inmate was confined or the officer in charge of the municipal holding facility in which the inmate was confined shall certify to the clerk of the district court from which the inmate was sentenced and to the department of corrections’ records administrator at the Iowa medical and classification center the number of days so served. The department of corrections’ records administrator, or the administrator’s designee, shall apply credit as ordered by the court of proper jurisdiction or as authorized by this section and section 907.3, subsection 3. 2. An inmate shall not receive credit upon the inmate’s sentence for time spent in custody in another state resisting return to Iowa following an escape. However, an inmate may receive credit upon the inmate’s sentence while incarcerated in an institution or jail of another jurisdiction during any period of time the person is receiving credit upon a sentence of that other jurisdiction. 83 Acts, ch 147, §6, 14, 15; 90 Acts, ch 1168, §61; 95 Acts, ch 91, §8; 99 Acts, ch 12, §18; 99 Acts, ch 182, §4; 2000 Acts, ch 1173, §7, 10; 2000 Acts, ch 1204, §1; 2006 Acts, ch 1183, §23; 2011 Acts, ch 22, §3; 2011 Acts, ch 131, §77, 158; 2024 Acts, ch 1063, §1

Iowa Code § 903A.6 Good and honor time application.

903A.6. Good and honor time application. Sections 246.38, 246.39, 246.41, 246.42, 246.43, and 246.45, as the sections appear in the 1983 Code, remain in effect for inmates sentenced for offenses committed prior to July 1, 1983. 83 Acts, ch 147, §7, 13, 14

Iowa Code § 903A.7 Separate sentences.

903A.7. Separate sentences. 1. Consecutive multiple sentences that are within the same category under section 903A.2 shall be construed as one continuous sentence for purposes of calculating reductions of sentence for earned time. 2. If a person is sentenced to serve both category “A” and category “B” sentences, category “B” sentences shall be served before category “A” sentences are served, and earned time accrued against the category “B” sentences shall not be used to reduce the category “A” sentences. If an inmate serving a category “A” sentence is sentenced to serve a category “B” sentence, the category “A” sentence shall be interrupted, and no further earned time shall accrue against that sentence until the category “B” sentence is completed. 3. If a person is sentenced to serve both a category “C” sentence and another category sentence, the category “C” sentence shall be served before the other category sentence is served, and no earned time shall accrue until the category “C” sentence has been served. If an inmate serving a category sentence other than a category “C” sentence is sentenced to serve a category “C” sentence, the sentence of the other category sentence shall be interrupted, and no further earned time shall accrue against that sentence until the category “C” sentence is completed. 83 Acts, ch 147, §8, 14; 97 Acts, ch 131, §3, 4; 98 Acts, ch 1100, §89; 2000 Acts, ch 1173, §8, 10; 2017 Acts, ch 122, §22

Source: Iowa Legislature (legis.iowa.gov)URL: https://www.legis.iowa.gov/law/iowaCode/sections?codeChapter=903A&year=2026Fetched: 10/20/2026