Does County Jail Wait Time Count Toward a Prison Sentence?

Yes. Every day spent in county jail while waiting for transfer to a state prison counts toward the sentence. Time does not stop accumulating just because the transfer has not happened yet.

This is sometimes called jail credit or presentence credit depending on the state, and it applies to time served both before and after sentencing. If your family member has been sitting in county jail for months waiting for a bed to open up at the state facility, all of that time is being credited against the total sentence.

Good time credits also begin accumulating from the point of custody in most state systems, not from the point of arrival at the state facility. So the wait, frustrating as it is, is not wasted time from a sentence calculation standpoint.

There is no way to speed up the transfer process from the outside. State prison systems manage their own intake schedules based on bed availability and security classification, and county jails have no control over when the state comes to collect. The only thing to do is stay patient and stay connected.

The end date is getting closer every day regardless of where he is physically housed.