Segregation and Restricted Housing in California Prisons

California renamed it. What families still call ad-seg, the SHU, or "the hole" is now a Restricted Housing Unit (RHU) under 15 CCR §3335. Being moved there is not a finding of guilt and does not require a criminal charge — one of the listed reasons is that he needs protection. A classification committee must hold a hearing within 10 calendar days of the placement, and under 15 CCR §3340 that clock cannot be extended.

The vocabulary changed in 2023

CDCR rewrote this entire body of regulations, with amendments operative November 1, 2023 and further changes filed July 31, 2024. Staff, older guides and long-timers still use the old words, so both sets are in circulation:

• Administrative Segregation Unit (ASU) is now the Restricted Housing Unit (RHU).
• The CDCR Form 114-A placement notice is now the Restricted Housing Unit Placement Notice (RHUPN).
• Determinate SHU terms are now Determinate RHU terms (15 CCR §3337).

If you are reading anything written before late 2023 — including handbooks and self-help packets still in circulation — the section numbers and form names in it will not match what staff are using now.

Why someone gets placed there

15 CCR §3335 allows placement when his presence in general population is an immediate threat to his own safety or someone else's, endangers institution security, or would jeopardize an investigation into serious misconduct, criminal activity or safety concerns. He can also be held there while a serious rule violation charge is pending.

Two of those grounds matter enormously to a family and get overlooked. Placement can be entirely protective — for his own safety, because of a threat against him, or because he is the victim of an assault. And placement to protect an investigation is exactly the situation in which staff will tell you nothing. Silence from the institution is not evidence that he did something.

CDCR uses a separate category, Non-Disciplinary Segregation, when the placement has nothing to do with his conduct: a safety investigation, being a relative or associate of staff, or being a victim of sexual abuse. People on that status keep more privileges.

The procedure and the deadlines

These are the checkpoints to write on a calendar the day you learn he has been moved.

• At placement. The order and the reasons go on the RHUPN, and he should be handed a copy when he is moved (15 CCR §3335).
• First business day. A staff member at captain level or above reviews the placement — and it cannot be the person who authorized it. If continued placement is not necessary, he is released back to general population (15 CCR §3336).
• 72 hours to prepare. He must be given at least 72 hours before the hearing, and all supporting documentation at least 24 hours before it (15 CCR §3340). Both can be waived, but he should not waive them.
• Within 10 calendar days. The Institution Classification Committee (ICC) must hold the hearing. The regulation does not permit him to voluntarily extend it (15 CCR §3340).
• Within 30 days of the hearing. If the ICC keeps him there, the case must go to a Classification Staff Representative for review and approval (15 CCR §3340).

He can have a Staff Assistant, who must meet with him at least 24 hours before the hearing, and an Investigative Employee if he asks in writing for witnesses or evidence in a non-disciplinary placement (15 CCR §3344). A Staff Assistant is required, not optional, for people who meet the mental health or developmental disability criteria.

One more provision is worth knowing. If the original reason for holding him resolves but staff want to keep him in restricted housing anyway, they cannot simply leave him there on the old paperwork. An updated placement notice must be prepared and the matter taken back to the ICC (15 CCR §3342).

Determinate RHU terms: the set-length punishment

After a guilty finding on certain serious rule violations, the ICC can impose a Determinate RHU term if he is found to pose a threat to safety or security (15 CCR §3337). Unlike the old low/expected/high ranges, the current regulation uses a fixed matrix — a set term attached to each offense, running up to 24 months for the most serious conduct.

The start date is favorable to him and often miscounted: the term runs from the date he was placed in restricted housing or the date staff discovered the information leading to the charge, whichever came first (15 CCR §3337). Time already spent there counts. Every ICC decision to assess a term must be reviewed and approved by a Classification Staff Representative.

Terms are not necessarily served to the end. The ICC can suspend or commute a Determinate RHU term when he no longer poses a threat, or when inpatient medical or mental health treatment requires it. Time already served is suspended, and the remaining time keeps running while he is out of restricted housing and still in CDCR custody. If he paroles while a term is open, the remainder is automatically suspended (15 CCR §3338).

Indeterminate placement

Administrative RHU is the open-ended version and is much harder to get. It requires the Departmental Review Board, and applies to people with a substantial disciplinary history — the regulation names no fewer than three RHU or SHU terms in the past five years — or an overwhelming ongoing threat to safety or security (15 CCR §3339).

The reviews that can get him out

Nobody is supposed to be left there without someone looking at the file again (15 CCR §3341):

• People on a Determinate RHU term are reviewed by the ICC at least every 180 days.
• People on Administrative RHU status are reviewed by the ICC at least every 180 days for release to less-restrictive housing, and referred to the Departmental Review Board annually.
• A Pre-RHU MRD hearing is held 90 days before his Maximum Release Date from restricted housing, to decide where he goes next.

Separately, 15 CCR §3343 requires release from restricted housing at the earliest possible time consistent with his case factors. If a review date passes with nothing happening, that is a concrete, documentable thing to grieve.

What it costs him in time credits

Restricted housing does not itself take credits away. The credit loss comes from the rule violation, under 15 CCR §3323. What restricted housing does is slow or stop future earning through his work group (15 CCR §3044). People in segregated housing are generally placed in Work Group D-1. Work Group D-2 is a zero-credit status that applies to some people who received both a credit forfeiture and a restricted housing term.

That combination is the reason a single serious violation can move a release date much further than families expect: credits already banked are forfeited, and the rate at which he earns new ones drops at the same time.

What a family can actually do

Be clear-eyed about the limits. You cannot file his grievance, attend his classification hearing, or see the confidential material — under 15 CCR §3321(d) not even an attorney representing him can view the confidential folder. What you can do is real, though:

• Keep the timeline. Write down the date he was moved. From that date the 72-hour, 10-day and 30-day checkpoints above are all measurable. Missed deadlines are the most winnable kind of grievance.
• Ask him for specific documents: his copy of the RHUPN, the classification committee chrono from the ICC hearing, whether a Staff Assistant or Investigative Employee was assigned, and — if a term was imposed — his RHU Maximum Release Date.
• Call the visiting office before you drive. Visiting in restricted housing is generally non-contact and scheduled differently from general population. Confirm the day, the hours and the dress code with that institution before making the trip.
• Keep writing. Mail is one of the few things restricted housing does not meaningfully change.
• Get him the free materials. The Prison Law Office sends self-help packets to people in California prisons at no charge: Prison Law Office, General Delivery, San Quentin, CA 94964, or (510) 280-2621. Everything is also free at prisonlaw.com.

To challenge the placement itself, he files a grievance on CDCR Form 602-1 within 60 calendar days (15 CCR §3482(b)(1)), then appeals on CDCR Form 602-2 within 60 calendar days of the decision letter (15 CCR §3484(b)). He must finish that process before any court will hear a habeas petition about it.

Common questions

Why won't anyone tell me why he was moved?

Protecting the integrity of an investigation is one of the enumerated grounds for placement under 15 CCR §3335, and staff will not discuss an open investigation with family. It may also be protective custody, which they will not describe over the phone either. He should receive a written placement notice stating the reason — ask him to send you a copy.

How long can they keep him there before a hearing?

Ten calendar days. The Institution Classification Committee must hold the hearing within 10 calendar days of the placement, and 15 CCR §3340 does not allow him to extend that even voluntarily. Before it, a captain or higher must review the placement on the first business day, and he is entitled to 72 hours to prepare plus his documents 24 hours in advance.

Does being in the hole take away his good time credits?

Not by itself. Credit forfeiture comes from a guilty finding on a serious rule violation under 15 CCR §3323, not from the housing assignment. What restricted housing changes is his work group under 15 CCR §3044, which can slow or stop future credit earning. When both happen together, the release date moves considerably.

Can I still visit him?

Usually yes, but expect non-contact visiting, different scheduling and different rules than general population. Policies vary by institution and by his status, and people in non-disciplinary segregation typically keep more privileges. Call that prison's visiting office and confirm the day, hours, approval status and dress code before you travel.

He has been there for months. Is that allowed?

It can be, but reviews are mandatory. The ICC must review both Determinate and Administrative RHU status at least every 180 days, and 15 CCR §3343 requires release at the earliest time his case factors allow. If scheduled reviews are not happening, that is a specific, documentable failure he can raise on a CDCR Form 602-1 grievance.

This page is general information, not legal advice. For anything specific to his case, contact the Prison Law Office or a criminal defense attorney.

Last updated: August 2026.