ARTICLE 1. Commencement of Term [2900. - 2905.]

Cal. Penal Code - PEN 1.

in effect

Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 2900. Section 2900.

(a) The term of imprisonment fixed by the judgment in a criminal action commences to run only upon the actual delivery of the defendant into the custody of the Director of Corrections at the place designated by the Director of Corrections as a place for the reception of persons convicted of felonies. (b) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the place of reception shall be an institution under the jurisdiction of the Director of Corrections. (1) As an emergency measure, the Director of Corrections may direct that persons convicted of felonies may be received and detained in jails or other facilities and that the judgment will commence to run upon the actual delivery of the defendant into such place and that any persons previously received and confined for conviction of a felony may be, as an emergency, temporarily housed at such place and the time during which such person is there shall be computed as a part of the term of judgment. (2) In any case in which, pursuant to the agreement on detainers or other provision of law, a prisoner of another jurisdiction is, before completion of actual confinement in a penal or correctional institution of a jurisdiction other than the State of California, sentenced by a California court to a term of imprisonment for a violation of California law, and the judge of the California court orders that the California sentence shall run concurrently with the sentence which such person is already serving, the Director of Corrections shall designate the institution of the other jurisdiction as the place for reception of such person within the meaning of the preceding provisions of this section. He may also designate the place in California for reception of such person in the event that actual confinement under the prior sentence ends before the period of actual confinement required under the California sentence. (3) In any case in which a person committed to the Director of Corrections is subsequently committed to a penal or correctional institution of another jurisdiction, the subsequent commitment is ordered to be served concurrently with the California commitment, the prisoner is placed in a penal or correctional institution of the other jurisdiction, and the prisoner is not received by the Director of Corrections pursuant to subdivision (a), the Director of Corrections shall designate the institution of the other jurisdiction as the place for reception and service of the California term. (c) Except as provided in this section, all time served in an institution designated by the Director of Corrections shall be credited as service of the term of imprisonment. (1) If a person is ordered released by a court from the custody and jurisdiction of the Director of Corrections pursuant to Section 1272 or 1506 or any other provision of law permitting the legal release of prisoners, time during which the person was released shall not be credited as service of the prison term. (2) If a prisoner escapes from the custody and jurisdiction of the Director of Corrections, the prisoner shall be deemed an escapee and fugitive from justice, until the prisoner is available to return to the custody of the Director of Corrections or the State of California. Time during which the prisoner is an escapee shall not be credited as service of the prison term. (d) The Department of Corrections may contract for the use of any facility of the state or political subdivision thereof to care for persons received in accordance with this section.

Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 2900.1. Section 2900.1.

Where a defendant has served any portion of his sentence under a commitment based upon a judgment which judgment is subsequently declared invalid or which is modified during the term of imprisonment, such time shall be credited upon any subsequent sentence he may receive upon a new commitment for the same criminal act or acts.

Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 2900.5. Section 2900.5.

(a) In all felony and misdemeanor convictions, either by plea or by verdict, when the defendant has been in custody, including, but not limited to, any time spent in a jail, camp, work furlough facility, halfway house, rehabilitation facility, hospital, prison, juvenile detention facility, or similar residential institution, all days of custody of the defendant, including days served as a condition of probation in compliance with a court order, credited to the period of confinement pursuant to Section 4019, and days served in home detention pursuant to Section 1203.016 or 1203.018, shall be credited upon his or her term of imprisonment, or credited to any base fine that may be imposed, at the rate of not less than one hundred twenty-five dollars ($125) per day, or more, in the discretion of the court imposing the sentence. If the total number of days in custody exceeds the number of days of the term of imprisonment to be imposed, the entire term of imprisonment shall be deemed to have been served. In any case where the court has imposed both a prison or jail term of imprisonment and a fine, any days to be credited to the defendant shall first be applied to the term of imprisonment imposed, and thereafter the remaining days, if any, shall be applied to the base fine. If an amount of the base fine is not satisfied by jail credits, or by community service, the penalties and assessments imposed on the base fine shall be reduced by the percentage of the base fine that was satisfied. (b) For the purposes of this section, credit shall be given only where the custody to be credited is attributable to proceedings related to the same conduct for which the defendant has been convicted. Credit shall be given only once for a single period of custody attributable to multiple offenses for which a consecutive sentence is imposed. (c) For the purposes of this section, “term of imprisonment” includes any period of imprisonment imposed as a condition of probation or otherwise ordered by a court in imposing or suspending the imposition of any sentence, and also includes any term of imprisonment, including any period of imprisonment prior to release on parole and any period of imprisonment and parole, prior to discharge, whether established or fixed by statute, by any court, or by any duly authorized administrative agency. (d) It is the duty of the court imposing the sentence to determine the date or dates of any admission to, and release from, custody prior to sentencing and the total number of days to be credited pursuant to this section. The total number of days to be credited shall be contained in the abstract of judgment provided for in Section 1213. (e) It is the duty of any agency to which a person is committed to apply the credit provided for in this section for the period between the date of sentencing and the date the person is delivered to the agency. (f) If a defendant serves time in a camp, work furlough facility, halfway house, rehabilitation facility, hospital, juvenile detention facility, similar residential facility, or home detention program pursuant to Section 1203.016, 1203.017, or 1203.018, in lieu of imprisonment in a county jail, the time spent in these facilities or programs shall qualify as mandatory time in jail. (g) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code as it pertains to the sentencing of convicted offenders, this section does not authorize the sentencing of convicted offenders to any of the facilities or programs mentioned herein.

Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 2901. Section 2901.

It is hereby made the duty of the wardens of the State prisons to receive persons sentenced to imprisonment in a State prison, and such persons shall be imprisoned until duly released according to law.

Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 2902. Section 2902.

All criminals sentenced to prison by the authority of the United States or of any state or territory of the United States, may be received by the Director of Corrections and imprisoned in California state prisons in accordance with the sentence of the court by which they were tried. The prisoners so confined shall be subject in all respects to discipline and treatment as though committed under the laws of this State and the Director of Corrections is authorized to enter into contracts with the proper agencies of the United States and of other states and territories of the United States with regard to the per diem rate such agencies shall pay to the State of California for the keep of each prisoner.

Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 2903. Section 2903.

(a) In any case in which a woman offender can be sentenced to imprisonment in the county jail, or be required to serve a term of imprisonment therein as a condition of probation, or has already been so sentenced or imprisoned, the court which tried the offender may, with the consent of the offender and on application of the sheriff or on its own motion, with the consent of the offender, commit the offender to the sheriff with directions for placement in the California Institution for Women in lieu of placement in the county jail if the court finds that the local detention facilities are inadequate for the rehabilitation of the offenders and if the court concludes that the offender will benefit from that treatment and care as is available at that institution and the county has entered into a contract with the state under subdivision (b). The offenders may be received by the Director of Corrections and imprisoned in the California Institution for Women in accordance with the commitment of the court by which tried. The prisoners so confined shall be subject in all respects to discipline, diagnosis, and treatment as though committed under the laws of this state concerning felony prisoners. (b) The Director of Corrections may enter into contracts, with the approval of the Director of General Services, with any county in this state, upon request of the board of supervisors thereof, wherein the Department of Corrections agrees to furnish diagnosis and treatment services and detention for selected women county prisoners. The county shall reimburse the state for the cost of the services, the cost to be determined by the Director of Finance. In any contract entered into pursuant to this subdivision, the county shall agree to pay that amount which is reasonably necessary for payment of an allowance to each released or paroled prisoner for transportation to the prisoner’s county of residence or county where employment is available, and may agree to provide suitable clothing and a cash gratuity to the prisoners in the event that they are discharged from that institution because of parole or completion of the term for which they were sentenced. Each county auditor shall include in his state settlement report rendered to the Controller in the months of January and June the amounts due under any contract authorized by this section, and the county treasurer, at the time of settlement with the state in those months, shall pay to the State Treasurer upon order of the Controller, the amounts found to be due. (c) The Department of Corrections shall accept the women county prisoners if it believes that they can be materially benefited by the confinement, care, treatment and employment and if adequate facilities to provide the care are available. None of those persons shall be transported to any facility under the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections until the director has notified the referring court that the person may be transported to the California Institution for Women and the time at which she can be received. (d) The sheriff of the county in which an order is made placing a woman county prisoner pursuant to this section, or any other peace officer designated by the court, shall execute the order placing the person in the institution or returning her therefrom to the court. The expenses of the peace officer incurred in executing the order is a charge upon the county in which the court is situated. (e) The Director of Corrections may return to the committing authority any woman prisoner transferred pursuant to this section when that person is guilty of any violation of rules and regulations of the California Institution for Women or the Department of Corrections. (f) No woman prisoner placed in the California Institution for Women pursuant to this section shall thereafter be deemed to have been guilty of a felony solely by virtue of such placement, and she shall have the same rights to parole and to time off for good behavior as she would have had if she had been confined in the county jail.

Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 2905. Section 2905.

(a) For purposes of this section, a “youth offender” is an individual committed to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation who is under 22 years of age. (b) (1) The department shall, at reception, automatically grant a youth offender a lower security level than the level that corresponds with that individual’s classification score or placement in a facility that permits increased access to programs, except for a youth offender who has committed a serious in-custody offense, who shall be reviewed by a classification committee. The youth offender classification committee shall consist of the staff required by department regulations at any classification committee; however, at least one member shall be a department staff member specially trained in conducting the reviews. Training shall include, but not be limited to, adolescent and young adult development and evidence-based interviewing processes employing positive and motivational techniques. (2) The purpose of the youth offender review is to meet with the youth offender and assess the readiness of a youth offender for a lower security level or placement permitting increased access to programs and to encourage the youth offender to commit to positive change and self-improvement. (c) A youth offender shall be considered for placement at a lower security level than the level that corresponds with their classification score or placement in a facility that permits increased access to programs. When a classification committee is appropriate, it shall review factors including, but not limited to, the following: (1) Recent in-custody behavior while housed in juvenile or adult facilities. (2) Demonstrated efforts of progress toward self-improvement in juvenile or adult facilities. (3) Family or community ties supportive of rehabilitation. (4) Evidence of commitment to working toward self-improvement with a goal of being a law-abiding member of society upon release. (d) For a youth offender requiring review by classification committee, if the department determines, based on the review described in subdivisions (b) and (c), that the youth offender may be appropriately placed at a lower security level, the department shall transfer the youth offender to a lower security level facility. If the youth offender is denied a lower security level, then they shall be considered for placement in a facility that permits increased access to programs. If the department determines a youth offender may appropriately be placed in a facility permitting increased access to programs, the youth offender shall be transferred to such a facility. (e) For a youth offender requiring review by classification committee, if the youth offender demonstrates they are a safety risk to inmates, staff, or the public, and do not otherwise demonstrate a commitment to rehabilitation, the youth offender shall be reclassified and placed at a security level that is consistent with department regulations and procedures. (f) A youth offender who at their initial youth offender classification committee review is denied a lower security level than the level that corresponds with their placement score or did not qualify for a placement permitting increased access to programs due to previous incarceration history and was placed in the highest security level shall nevertheless be eligible to have their placement reconsidered pursuant to subdivisions (b) to (d), inclusive, at their annual review until reaching 25 years of age. If at an annual review it is determined that the youth offender has had no serious rule violations for one year, the department shall consider whether the youth would benefit from placement in a lower level facility or placement permitting increased access to programs. (g) The department shall review and, as necessary, revise existing regulations and adopt new regulations regarding classification determinations made pursuant to this section, and provide for training for staff. (h) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2015.

Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026