The petition for asking the President to shorten a federal sentence is still the one on the Pardon Attorney's website. On November 2, 2026, that office sent a proposed revision to the Office of Management and Budget. As of November 4, 2026, the budget office's record lists the filing as received, and it does not list an approval. The office's own description says the edits are small and would add one item about the applicant's support system.
What was filed on November 2
A commutation is the President's reduction of a federal sentence that is still being served. Only the President can grant it (U.S. Const. art. II, § 2, cl. 1). The form is the Petition for Commutation of Sentence, OMB Control Number 1123-0015.
The Department of Justice submitted that collection to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, the part of the Office of Management and Budget that reviews forms. The record is ICR 202611-1123-001. On November 4, 2026, its status was "Received in OIRA." The certification date on the same page is November 2, 2026. The page does not show an approval.
Two Federal Register notices came first. A 60-day notice was published on July 2, 2026 (91 FR 40594). A 30-day notice was published on September 23, 2026 (91 FR 60418). The supporting statement uploaded on November 2 says neither notice drew a public comment.
A different form is moving on its own track. The notice about the pardon application covers the Application for Pardon After Completion of Sentence, OMB Control Number 1123-0016.
What the submission says would be added
The short statement on the OMB record, and item 15 of the supporting statement, say:
This change is an update to PARDON's existing application for commutation form. The changes are minimal and intended to: improve readability and understanding, provide clarity to applicants, and collect only one additional piece of information regarding an applicant's support system.
That sentence is the public description of the new item. It does not print the question. There is no approved wording to answer until a revised petition is posted.
The same statement says race and ethnicity stay in the shorter categories the form already uses, rather than a longer list. It treats those categories as something kept, and the support-system item as the addition.
The hour estimate in the notice
The September 23 notice and the submission's burden table use the same figures:
- 5,000 to 6,000 petitions a year
- 2 hours for an average petition
- 10,000 to 12,000 hours a year
Those totals are two hours times 5,000 to 6,000 petitions. One later sentence in the supporting statement says the average is three hours, and then repeats the 10,000 to 12,000 hour total. That sentence does not match the table or the notice. The figures in the notice and the table are the ones the submission uses.
A knowingly false statement on a petition can be a federal crime (18 U.S.C. § 1001).
Rules that stay in place
The filing does not amend the clemency rules in 28 C.F.R. part 1. Those rules advise the Department. They do not limit the President (28 C.F.R. § 1.11).
A person seeking a commutation still executes a formal petition addressed to the President and submitted to the Pardon Attorney (28 C.F.R. § 1.1). A commutation petition, including one that asks to release an unpaid fine, should be filed only when no other court or agency relief is available, unless the circumstances are exceptional (28 C.F.R. § 1.3).
The OMB record lists November 30, 2026, as the expiration of the approval now in effect. The revision, if approved, would run 36 months from the approval date. That expiration date is not itself an approval of the new text.
What this means for you
Use the petition on the Pardon Attorney's apply page until that page posts a newer one. In federal prison, ask the case manager for the form the institution is using. How prison staff send a commutation petition explains the 30-day packet.
A pending petition stays the open file. The Pardon Attorney's FAQ says updated information can be sent to that file, and a second petition is not required just to add it. The clemency case status search shows whether the case is still open. How to ask for a commutation covers the petition in use now. What a commuted sentence means explains what a grant changes.
Request a consultation and tell us what happened. We'll listen, tell you whether we can help, and explain what comes next.