Sentencing Guidelines Calculator

Federal sentencing range from offense level and criminal history.

Legal Disclaimer

This calculator provides general estimates only and does not constitute legal advice. Laws, regulations, and court procedures vary significantly by jurisdiction. Consult a licensed attorney in your area for advice specific to your situation.

Inputs

Base Offense Level

Specific Offense Adjustments

Role in Offense Adjustment

Acceptance of Responsibility Reduction

Criminal History Points

Obstruction of Justice

Tab to move between fields

Results

Final Offense Level

Guideline Minimum (months)

Criminal History Category1

Guideline Maximum (months)12

Guideline Minimum (years)0.5

Guideline Maximum (years)1

Sentencing Zone2

Supervised Release (months)36

Good Time Credit (months)1

How to Use This Calculator

Enter Base Offense Level from the applicable guidelines section for the conviction.
Set Specific Offense Adjustments (e.g. for loss amount in fraud, drug quantity, weapon use).
Enter Role in Offense Adjustment: positive for leader/organizer, negative for minor participant.
Set Acceptance of Responsibility Reduction — typically -2 or -3 points for timely guilty plea.
Enter Criminal History Points from the defendant's criminal history worksheet.
Review Final Offense Level and Criminal History Category to find the guideline sentencing range.

How the result changes with Base Offense Level

Base Offense Level	Final Offense Level	Guideline Minimum (months)
5.2	5	0
16	16	21
28	28	78
39	39	264

What each input means

Base Offense Level: Base offense level from USSG Chapter 2 (1-43). Each federal crime has a specific base level.
Specific Offense Adjustments: Net adjustments for specific offense characteristics (e.g., +2 for weapon use, +4 for leadership role).
Role in Offense Adjustment: Aggravating: +2 to +4 for organizer/leader. Mitigating: -2 to -4 for minimal/minor participant.
Acceptance of Responsibility Reduction: 2-3 level reduction for accepting responsibility (typically via guilty plea). 0=contested, 2=accepted, 3=early plea + cooperation.
Criminal History Points: Points from prior sentences: 3pts per sentence >13 months, 2pts per sentence 60 days-13 months, 1pt per other sentence. Total determines category I-VI.
Obstruction of Justice: 0=No, 1=Yes. Adds 2 levels for perjury, witness tampering, or other obstruction.

What each result means

Final Offense Level: Calculated offense level after all adjustments (1-43).
Criminal History Category: Category I-VI based on criminal history points.
Guideline Minimum (months): Minimum imprisonment recommended by guidelines. 470 = life.
Guideline Maximum (months): Maximum imprisonment recommended by guidelines. 470 = life.
Guideline Minimum (years): Minimum sentence in years. 99 = life sentence.
Guideline Maximum (years): Maximum sentence in years. 99 = life sentence.
Sentencing Zone: Zone A(0)=probation eligible, B(1)=probation w/ conditions, C(2)=split sentence, D(3)=imprisonment required.
Supervised Release (months): Typical supervised release term following imprisonment.
Good Time Credit (months): Potential sentence reduction for good behavior (~15% of minimum).

How this is calculated

Worked example, using the default values

Identify Input Parameters
4 parameters
Base Offense Level = 10, Specific Offense Adjustments = 0, Role in Offense Adjustment = 0, Acceptance of Responsibility Reduction = 0 = 6 input(s) provided
Calculate Final Offense Level
Final Offense Level
10 = 10
Calculate Guideline Minimum
6 = 6
Calculate Criminal History Category
1 = 1
Calculate Guideline Maximum
12 = 12