California overhauled its prison grievance system in January 2022, and almost everything people thought they knew about filing a 602 changed. The filing window doubled from 30 to 60 calendar days. The old three-level review collapsed into a two-step formal process. The informal resolution step is now optional and does not toll your deadline. The old single 602 form is now multiple forms depending on your issue. And a brand-new Centralized Screening Team reviews every grievance before it goes anywhere, routing staff misconduct complaints on a completely different track.
If you are relying on what you knew about the old 602 process, stop. Read this article carefully before you file anything.
The governing rules are in Title 15 of the California Code of Regulations (CCR), sections 3480 through 3490, effective January 2022 with ongoing updates. As of January 2025, California also introduced a new combined form. The current process is described here.
Why the Process Matters: The PLRA
The Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1995, 42 U.S.C. section 1997e(a), requires you to exhaust all available administrative remedies before a federal court will hear a lawsuit about prison conditions. In California, that means completing the grievance process through the Office of Appeals' final response on a CDCR 602-2 Appeal of Grievance, or in certain cases receiving a specific response at the first level that itself constitutes exhaustion (see Step 4 below).
The Supreme Court in Woodford v. Ngo (2006) held that proper exhaustion requires following all procedural rules. If your grievance is rejected for missing the deadline, or you stop after the first-level response without appealing, a court can dismiss your case even if everything you said was true.
The PLRA applies to conditions of confinement claims. It does not apply to habeas corpus petitions under 28 U.S.C. section 2241 or in state court challenging your sentence. California habeas petitions also require exhaustion, but through the state court system rather than the CDCR grievance process -- two different tracks for two different types of claims.
Overview of California's Grievance System
California's system covers: any CDCR decision, action, condition, policy, or regulation that has a material adverse effect on your welfare, and for which there is no other prescribed method of departmental review.
The process now has two formal steps, not three:
Step 1: CDCR 602-1 Grievance to the Institutional or Regional Office of Grievances
Step 2: CDCR 602-2 Appeal of Grievance to the Office of Appeals (CDCR headquarters, Sacramento)
There are separate tracks for health care, disability accommodations, and staff misconduct (see below). Using the wrong form can result in your grievance being redirected and delay resolution.
No more group appeals: Each person must submit their own grievance. The old group appeal process has been eliminated.
Informal resolution is optional: You do not have to try to resolve a problem informally before filing a formal grievance. The CDCR Form 22 (Request for Interview) is no longer mentioned in the grievance rules. Any time you spend on informal resolution does NOT stop the clock on your 60-day deadline. Informal attempts do not exhaust your remedies.
The Forms: What Has Changed
As of January 2025, the current standard forms are:
CDCR 602-1/1824 (Rev. 08/2024): A two-page combined form for filing a grievance (602-1 section) or a reasonable accommodation request for a disability (1824 section). This combined form replaced the old separate 602-1 and 1824 forms. For non-disability grievances, fill out the 602-1 (Grievance) section. For disability accommodation requests, fill out the 1824 section. If you have both a grievance and a disability accommodation issue, file separate forms for each.
CDCR 602-2: The "Appeal of Grievance" form. Used if you are not satisfied with the first-level response and want to appeal to the Office of Appeals.
CDCR 602-3: A "Request to Implement Remedies" form. Used if you received a remedy in a grievance response but the remedy was not carried out. Send it to the Remedies Compliance Coordinator.
CDCR 602-HC: The "Health Care Grievance" form. Used for all issues about medical, dental, or mental health care, or about misconduct by health care staff. Do NOT use the 602-1 for health care issues.
All forms should be available in your housing unit, the law library, and on kiosks or tablets where available. Staff must provide accommodations to help you file if you have a reading or writing disability or do not write English well.
Step-by-Step: The Standard (Non-Health-Care) Grievance Process
Step 1: File the CDCR 602-1 Grievance
Deadline to file: You have 60 calendar days after you know, or reasonably should have known, about the policy, decision, action, condition, or omission you want to challenge. The deadline can be extended if you are out to court, at an outside hospital, temporarily in a medical or mental health crisis bed, or actively fighting fires. For grievances about sexual abuse, there is no filing deadline.
What to write on the 602-1:
- All issues related to your complaint (include everything now -- do not hold back issues you plan to raise later)
- What happened, when, where, and who was involved
- Names of witnesses or supporting people
- Whether you tried to resolve it informally and what happened
- Any law, regulation, or policy you believe was violated (briefly, not a legal brief)
- What remedy you want
- Copies of supporting documents (they will NOT be returned to you; attach copies not originals; if you do not have documents, list what you believe exists and when it was issued)
Where to submit: To the Institutional Office of Grievances at your facility. You can use internal prison mail, a locked drop box in your unit, or electronic kiosks or tablets where available. If you are on parole, submit to the Regional Office of Grievances.
Keep a copy: Keep a handwritten or photocopied copy of your 602-1 and all documents you submitted, and note the date and how you submitted. If CDCR loses your grievance, your copy is evidence.
What happens after you submit:
- Within 1 business day of receipt: Staff must review the form.
- Within 3 business days of receipt: The Grievance Coordinator sends your grievance to the Centralized Screening Team (CST).
- Within 4 business days of receipt: The Grievance Coordinator sends you a notice with the date received, the log number, and your response due date. Your form and documents are returned to you. CDCR keeps an electronic copy.
- Response deadline: The Office of Grievances has 60 calendar days to respond.
The Centralized Screening Team (CST): This is new. The CST is an independent unit that reports to the Office of Internal Affairs. Every grievance is screened by the CST to determine if it is a "routine claim" or a "staff misconduct" claim. If it is a staff misconduct claim, it goes on a separate track (see below). If it is a routine claim, the standard process continues.
Step 4: Understand What Your Response Means
The Office of Grievances can issue 10 types of responses. This matters enormously for exhaustion. Here is what each response means:
Denied: Reviewer found rules were followed. This is APPEALABLE. You have NOT exhausted. File a 602-2 appeal within 60 calendar days.
Granted: Reviewer found your complaint valid and ordered a remedy. This is APPEALABLE if the remedy does not resolve your concern or is not the remedy you wanted. Remedy should be carried out within 30 calendar days (90 days for money, one year if budget authorization is needed). If not, use the 602-3 Request to Implement Remedies form.
No Jurisdiction: Claim is about some other entity, not CDCR. APPEALABLE. You have NOT exhausted.
Redirected: Your claim is being sent to a different authority (for example, to health care staff if it is a medical issue, or to the ADA Coordinator if it is a disability issue). APPEALABLE.
Reassigned: Claim is about events at another facility and is being sent there, or it is being sent to the Remedies Compliance Coordinator. APPEALABLE.
Rejected: Your claim is rejected for one of these reasons: missed the 60-day deadline, claim about something that has not happened yet, substantially the same as a prior claim, about harm to someone else, or about the legality of the grievance rules. APPEALABLE.
Disallowed: Documents were contaminated with hazardous material. They will be discarded. You can appeal OR resubmit if still within the normal deadline.
Identified as Staff Misconduct: Your claim involves staff misconduct and has been referred to the appropriate authority. THIS EXHAUSTS YOUR REMEDIES. You do not need to file a 602-2 appeal.
Pending Legal Matter: Your claim concerns pending litigation (not a class action), legislation, or regulatory action. THIS EXHAUSTS YOUR REMEDIES.
Time Expired: The Office of Grievances could not respond within 60 calendar days. THIS EXHAUSTS YOUR REMEDIES.
Step 2: File the CDCR 602-2 Appeal of Grievance (If Needed)
If you received an appealable response and are not fully satisfied, you can appeal to the Office of Appeals.
Deadline to file: 60 calendar days after you know (or reasonably should have known) about the grievance response. The same exceptions (court, hospital, fire camp, mental health crisis bed) extend this deadline.
Use the CDCR 602-2 Appeal of Grievance form. For each claim, state why you are not satisfied with the response and what you want to happen. Attach a copy of your 602-1 grievance and the response you received.
Submit to: The Office of Appeals at CDCR headquarters in Sacramento. (Previously called the "Third Level" or "Chief of Inmate Appeals" -- this is the same function.)
Response deadline: The Office of Appeals has 60 calendar days to respond.
This is the final step. The response from the Office of Appeals constitutes exhaustion of administrative remedies for purposes of filing in federal court.
Deadlines at a Glance
All deadlines below are in calendar days unless noted.
CDCR 602-1 filing deadline: within 60 calendar days of the incident or when you learned of it
Office of Grievances notice with log number: within 4 business days of receipt
CST screening: within 3 business days of receipt
Office of Grievances response deadline: 60 calendar days from receipt
CDCR 602-2 appeal deadline: within 60 calendar days of receiving the 602-1 response
Office of Appeals response deadline: 60 calendar days from receipt of 602-2
Immediate danger / sexual abuse notification: within 5 business days of receiving your 602-1
Release date computation (if release within 90 days): within 30 calendar days
Missing the 60-day deadline to file your initial 602-1 can result in rejection, and a rejected grievance that is rejected for a missed deadline can bar you from federal court. File as early as possible.
Health Care Grievances: Use a Different Form
If your complaint is about medical, dental, or mental health care, or about the conduct of health care staff, you must use the CDCR 602-HC Health Care Grievance form. Do not use the 602-1 for health care issues. If you mistakenly file a health care issue on a 602-1, the Office of Grievances should redirect it to the Correctional Health Care Division, but this creates delays and complications.
The 602-HC has its own process with its own deadlines. Review the current Title 15 regulations and the California Correctional Health Care Services grievance procedures for the specific 602-HC timelines. The Prison Law Office (prisonlaw.com) publishes materials on the health care grievance process, including timelines, which are available in many CDCR law libraries.
Staff Misconduct: A Separate Track
If your grievance involves staff misconduct, you still file a CDCR 602-1. But the Centralized Screening Team will flag it and refer it to the appropriate investigative authority. You will receive a response of "Identified as Staff Misconduct." That response immediately exhausts your administrative remedies. You do not need to file a 602-2 appeal.
This is different from how most people expect the process to work. If your complaint is about a staff member and the CST determines it is a misconduct claim, exhaustion happens faster and without needing the second step.
There is no time limit on staff misconduct grievances, but file promptly: evidence gathering and witness interviews are more effective when the complaint is fresh.
What to Put in Your Grievance
California now allows multiple related claims on one 602-1 form, unlike the old process which required one issue per form. Take full advantage of this. Include every related issue at the first step. If you hold back an issue to raise later, you may waive your right to raise it at all.
Be specific: Dates, times, places, names of staff, witnesses. State the harm. State what you want done.
Attach copies of supporting documents: Do not attach originals. Your originals will not be returned. List any document you believe exists but cannot obtain.
Keep a copy of everything: CDCR returns your original documents and keeps an electronic copy. That is good news -- but keep your own copy as a backup.
When the System Fails
No response within 60 calendar days: If you receive a "Time Expired" response, you have exhausted. If you receive no response at all, you can file a new 602-1 stating the date of your original grievance, your log number, and that no timely response was received.
Rejected: You can appeal the rejection itself on a 602-2 within 60 calendar days. State why the rejection was wrong.
Disallowed for contamination: Appeal or resubmit within the normal time limit.
Retaliation: Prohibited. If you are retaliated against for filing a grievance, file a new 602-1 about the retaliation and treat it as a separate grievance. Document the date, who did it, what they did, and the harm.
Families: Families cannot file a grievance on your behalf for conditions of confinement issues under the standard CDCR process. The new process requires individual filings. Each person with a grievance files their own. Your family can help from the outside by keeping copies you send them, tracking the 60-day appeal window, and contacting outside organizations after you have exhausted.
Federal Prisons in California
California has one of the largest concentrations of BOP facilities in the country. Active BOP facilities include USP Atwater, FCI Herlong, USP Lompoc, FCI Lompoc, FCI Victorville, USP Victorville, MDC Los Angeles, and FCI Terminal Island, among others.
If you are incarcerated at any of these BOP facilities, the CDCR process described in this article does not apply to you. Federal inmates use the BOP Administrative Remedy Program running BP-8 through BP-11 under 28 CFR Part 542. All BOP facilities in California fall under the Western Regional Office at 7338 Shoreline Drive, Stockton, CA 95219.
See the InmateAid federal grievance article for the complete BOP process, all deadlines, and the critical distinction between a rejection and a denial.
After Exhaustion: Where to Go Next
Once the Office of Appeals has responded to your 602-2 Appeal of Grievance, or you received one of the three immediately-exhausting responses (Staff Misconduct, Pending Legal Matter, Time Expired) to your 602-1, you have exhausted California's administrative remedies. Federal court is now an option.
Prison Law Office (PLO): prisonlaw.com; General Delivery, San Quentin, CA 94964; (510) 280-2621. PLO is the premier California prisoners' rights legal organization. It has litigated the most significant class actions over CDCR conditions, including Coleman v. Brown (mental health) and Plata v. Newsom (medical care). PLO publishes current guidebooks on grievances, health care, and prisoner rights that are sent into CDCR facilities. If you do not have the current version, request it through the law library.
Disability Rights California (DRC): disabilityrightsca.org. California's federally mandated Protection and Advocacy organization. Has federal authority to investigate abuse and neglect and to access CDCR facilities. If your complaint involves a disability, mental illness, inadequate mental health care, or disability accommodation failures, DRC is a key resource.
ACLU of California: aclu-ca.org. Works on systemic prisoners' rights issues in California. The ACLU has litigated multiple significant cases against CDCR conditions.
Legal Services for Prisoners with Children (LSPC): prisonerswithchildren.org. Advocacy and support for incarcerated parents and their families.
Be honest about capacity: These organizations are large by the standards of prisoner rights but still cannot take every case. Have a complete, organized grievance record before contacting them.
Jails vs. Prisons: Key Differences in California
California county jails are operated by county sheriffs and are governed by Title 15 of the California Code of Regulations, Division 1 (minimum standards for local detention facilities), not by the CDCR rules that apply to state prisons. The CDCR 602-1 process does not apply to county jails.
California law (CCR Title 15, section 1073) requires all Type II, III, and IV local detention facilities to have written grievance policies that include a non-automated initial response within 15 calendar days. Beyond that, the form, the number of steps, and the appeal levels vary by county and by facility.
If you are in a county jail, ask for the jail's grievance policy in writing. Confirm the form, the deadline, the appeal levels, and the response deadlines. If the jail does not give you a written policy, submit a written complaint anyway, document your attempt, and keep that documentation. The PLRA exhaustion requirement applies to pretrial detainees in county jails just as it applies to sentenced prisoners.
Special Circumstances
Sexual abuse and PREA: No filing deadline. File on the CDCR 602-1. Special procedures apply, and the CST routes these grievances separately. You can also report through the PREA hotline. Filing a PREA report does not substitute for the grievance process if you want to preserve the right to sue. File both.
Disability accommodations: Use the 602-1/1824 combined form (1824 section) to request a reasonable accommodation for a disability, or to report denial of an accommodation or disability-based discrimination. Separate from a regular grievance. The Office of Grievances will redirect the request to the ADA Coordinator.
Immediate danger: If your grievance contains information about imminent danger to personal safety or institutional security, or about sexual abuse, staff must take immediate action and notify you within 5 business days.
Board of Parole Hearings (BPH): BPH decisions have no general grievance process. BPH has grievance procedures only for specific limited topics. If your issue is with a BPH decision, the CDCR grievance process does not cover it. Consult an attorney or the Prison Law Office for guidance on challenging BPH decisions.
Frequently asked questions
What forms do I use for California's grievance process now?
The main form is the CDCR 602-1/1824 (Rev. 08/2024), a combined two-page form for grievances and disability accommodation requests. Use the 602-1 section for non-disability grievances and the 1824 section for ADA requests. For health care issues, use the separate CDCR 602-HC. If you need to appeal a first-level response, use the CDCR 602-2 Appeal of Grievance. If a remedy was granted but not carried out, use the CDCR 602-3.
How long do I have to file my initial grievance in California?
60 calendar days from when you knew or reasonably should have known about the problem. This was doubled from 30 days in the January 2022 overhaul. There is no deadline for sexual abuse grievances or staff misconduct grievances, but file promptly.
What is the Centralized Screening Team and why does it matter?
The CST is a new, independent unit that screens every grievance within 3 business days of receipt to determine whether it is a routine claim or a staff misconduct claim. If the CST classifies your grievance as a staff misconduct claim, it is routed to the Office of Internal Affairs, and when you receive the "Identified as Staff Misconduct" response, your remedies are immediately exhausted. You do not need to file a 602-2 appeal.
What responses immediately exhaust my remedies?
Three responses at the first level immediately exhaust your remedies and do not require a 602-2 appeal: "Identified as Staff Misconduct," "Pending Legal Matter," and "Time Expired." All other responses (Denied, Granted, No Jurisdiction, Redirected, Reassigned, Rejected, Disallowed) are appealable, meaning you must file a 602-2 if you want to fully exhaust and preserve your right to federal court.
How many issues can I put on one 602-1 form?
You can include multiple related issues on one 602-1. This is different from the old system, which allowed only one issue per filing. Include all related issues now. If you have separate unrelated issues, file separate 602-1 forms with separate deadlines.
Do I have to try to resolve the problem informally first?
No. Informal resolution is optional under the 2022 rules. The CDCR Form 22 Request for Interview is no longer part of the formal grievance process. Time spent on informal efforts does NOT stop the 60-day deadline clock.
Can my family file a grievance for me?
No. Group appeals were eliminated in the 2022 overhaul. Each person must file their own grievance. Your family can help from the outside by keeping copies you send them, tracking the 60-day appeal window, and contacting organizations like Prison Law Office and Disability Rights California after you have exhausted. --- INTERNAL LINKS TO PLACE: 1. California inmate search (InmateAid California page) 2. Family rights and advocacy in California (FRA series California article) 3. How the California prison disciplinary process works (if spoke exists) 4. How Prison Works hub 5. Staying Connected hub --- SPEC NOTE / SOURCING (strip before publish): - Voice: formerly incarcerated narrator written TO the incarcerated person; family guidance woven in. No em dashes. No smart quotes. No double hyphens. Plain text. - Meta title char count: 51 (under 60). Meta description char count: 153 (in 150-160 range). All 7 FAQ headings under 60 chars, verified. - Defining hooks for California: (1) January 2022 complete overhaul -- almost everything about the old 602 process changed, including the filing window (30 to 60 days), the number of formal steps (3 to 2), and the end of group appeals; (2) Centralized Screening Team (CST) -- every grievance goes through independent screening within 3 business days; staff misconduct claims go to a completely different track and immediately exhaust remedies when classified; (3) the 10-response taxonomy at the first level, three of which immediately exhaust remedies (Staff Misconduct, Pending Legal Matter, Time Expired); (4) separate forms for separate issues (602-1/1824, 602-HC, 602-2, 602-3) -- the most complex form ecosystem in the series so far; (5) January 2025 new combined form (CDCR 602-1/1824 Rev. 08/2024); (6) massive BOP presence (USP Atwater, FCI/USP Lompoc, FCI/USP Victorville, MDC LA, FCI Terminal Island, etc.); (7) California county jail minimum standards under Title 15 CCR section 1073 (15-day initial response, individual county policies vary); (8) Prison Law Office as the preeminent California-specific legal resource. - SOURCES: Prison Law Office, "How to File CDCR Administrative Grievances and Appeals," December 2023 revised, January 2025 update (prisonlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/AdminAppeals-Dec-2023v2Jan-2025-Update.pdf) -- full text fetched. This is the authoritative, practitioner-verified current guide. Key facts sourced: 60-day filing deadline (15 CCR 3482(b)); informal resolution optional, Form 22 no longer referenced, informal attempts do NOT toll deadline (15 CCR 3481(c)); CDCR 602-1/1824 (Rev. 08/2024) combined form as of Jan 2025; CDCR 602-2 Appeal; CDCR 602-3 Request to Implement Remedies; CDCR 602-HC for health care; no group appeals; 602-1 submission to Institutional Office of Grievances; Grievance Coordinator review within 1 business day (15 CCR 3483(a)); CST referral within 3 business days (15 CCR 3483(b)); notice with log number within 4 business days (15 CCR 3483(c)); Office of Grievances 60-day response deadline (15 CCR 3483(g)); 10 response types with exhaustion implications per 15 CCR 3483(g)(1)-(10) and 3483(l); 602-2 appeal deadline 60 calendar days (15 CCR 3484(b)); Office of Appeals response deadline 60 calendar days; immediate danger notification within 5 business days (15 CCR 3483(a)); no time limit for sexual abuse grievances (15 CCR 3084(c)(1),(d)(1)); BPH no general grievance process; Ngo v. Woodford (9th Cir. 2008) 539 F.3d 1108; Harvey v. Jordan (9th Cir. 2010) 605 F.3d 681; CCR Title 15 section 1073 (county jails min standards: grievance form, instructions, 15-day initial response; current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 38 Sept 20 2024); San Quentin News May 2022 (60-day window; staff misconduct separate track; no time limit staff misconduct; CST reports to OIA; 602-3 remedy form; most remedies within 30 days; new procedures took effect Jan 2022); BOP Western Regional Office 7338 Shoreline Drive Stockton CA 95219; prisonlaw.com (PLO General Delivery San Quentin CA 94964 (510) 280-2621; Coleman v. Brown mental health; Plata v. Newsom medical care); disabilityrightsca.org (DRC = CA P&A); aclu-ca.org; prisonerswithchildren.org (LSPC). - VERIFY FLAGS for Poorwa: (1) Confirm current form designation: the PLO January 2025 update confirms CDCR 602-1/1824 (Rev. 08/2024) is the current combined form; CDCR may update forms further -- verify current version on cdcr.ca.gov before publish. (2) Confirm all current Title 15 CCR section numbers are correct (15 CCR 3480-3490 per PLO) -- these were newly enacted in 2022 and may have been amended. (3) HEALTH CARE: I directed people to CDCR 602-HC with a note to check PLO's health care grievance materials for current 602-HC timelines -- VERIFY those timelines and add specific deadlines before publish; I deliberately left HC timelines vague because the PLO packet covers them in detail in the pages I did not fetch. (4) BOP California facilities: USP Atwater, FCI Herlong, USP Lompoc, FCI Lompoc, FCI Victorville, USP Victorville, MDC Los Angeles, FCI Terminal Island -- VERIFY all are current and open per bop.gov/locations (FCI Dublin had major changes 2023-2024 involving closure/reopening; I omitted FCI Dublin pending verification of current status). (5) Confirm Western Regional Office Stockton CA 95219 covers all California BOP facilities. (6) Confirm PLO prisonlaw.com current; DRC disabilityrightsca.org; ACLU aclu-ca.org; LSPC prisonerswithchildren.org. (7) Confirm the Office of Appeals is the current name for the Sacramento-level review (previously "Third Level" / "Chief of Inmate Appeals" -- the PLO Dec 2023 packet uses "Office of Appeals" consistently). (8) Confirm no-group-appeals rule current. (9) The response deadlines (60/60/60 calendar days) are all in calendar days -- VERIFY these are still accurate in the current regulations (some were in working days in older versions; 2022 reform moved to calendar days per PLO packet). (10) County jail: CCR Title 15 section 1073 "15 calendar days" initial response -- VERIFY this is still the current minimum standard (fetched from Justia, current through Sept 2024; good, but VERIFY). The PLO packet says (p.16-17) that habeas petitions require state court exhaustion, NOT CDCR grievance exhaustion -- I noted this briefly but did not go into state habeas detail (out of scope for this article). Woodford v. Ngo and Harvey v. Jordan cited per PLO packet (correct citations verified).