1. (a) A claimant who wishes to appeal a decision or remedy issued by an Office of Grievances shall do so in writing by submitting a CDCR Form 602-2, (Rev. 01/25) Appeal, hereby incorporated by reference, directly to the Office of Appeals by regular mail sent to the address indicated on the form or by electronic kiosk or tablet, if available. Correspondence directed to this address shall not be opened by any departmental staff other than those in the Office of Appeals. If a written appeal is received by any other staff, then it shall be forwarded to the Office of Appeals.

2. (b) Time Constraints.

   1. (1) A claimant who wishes to appeal a decision or remedy issued by an Office of Grievances shall submit an appeal no later than 60 calendar days after the date at the top of the decision letter issued by the Office of Grievances or the date the decision was discovered by the claimant, whichever occurs later in time. Discovery occurs when a claimant knew or should have reasonably known of the decision or remedy.

   2. (2) The time constraint to submit an appeal shall be extended for the period of time that a claimant is:

      1. (A) in the custody of another authority for court proceedings;
      2. (B) in the care of an outside hospital;
      3. (C) temporarily housed in a medical or mental health crisis bed; or
      4. (D) actively and directly engaged in fire suppression.

3. (c) To submit an appeal, a claimant shall:

   1. (1) type or print legibly on the appeal form (CDCR Form 602-2, (Rev. 01/25), Appeal, hereby incorporated by reference) or complete the form electronically, if available;
   2. (2) describe in detail why the decision issued by the Office of Grievances is inadequate; and
   3. (3) sign and date the CDCR Form 602-2, (Rev. 01/25), Appeal, hereby incorporated by reference.

4. (d) When submitting an appeal, a claimant shall not:

   1. (1) use threatening, obscene, demeaning, or abusive language, except when quoting persons involved in the claim;
   2. (2) include information or accusations known to the claimant to be false;
   3. (3) contaminate the submission by including organic, toxic, or hazardous materials that may threaten staff safety or institutional security, in which case the submission shall be safely discarded and disallowed. The claimant may re-submit the same claim or claims so long as it is submitted within the time constraints set forth in section 3484(b); or
   4. (4) include a new claim that was not included in the original grievance or reasonable accommodation request, in which case the new claim shall be referred to the appropriate Office of Grievances.
5. (e) The CDCR Form 602-2, (Rev. 01/25), Appeal, hereby incorporated by reference, shall contain a notification to the claimant that the Office of Appeals has access to all of the documents previously submitted by the claimant to the Office of Grievances so re-submitting those documents is not necessary and that any documents attached to the form will not be returned.
6. (f) The entire submission from the claimant shall be stored electronically by the department.

Note: Authority cited: Section 5058, Penal Code. Reference: Section 5054, Penal Code.

History

1. New section filed 9-13-2005; operative 9-13-2005 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4 (Register 2005, No. 37).

2. Amendment of section and Note filed 10-18-2007 as an emergency; operative 10-18-2007 (Register 2007, No. 42). Pursuant to Penal Code section 5058.3, a Certificate of Compliance must be transmitted to OAL by 3-26-2008 or emergency language will be repealed by operation of law on the following day.

3. Certificate of Compliance as to 10-18-2007 order transmitted to OAL 2-4-2008 and filed 3-18-2008 (Register 2008, No. 12).

4. Renumbering of former section 3484 to section 3475 and new section 3484 filed 3-25-2020 as an emergency; operative 6-1-2020 (Register 2020, No. 13). Pursuant to Penal Code section 5058.3, a Certificate of Compliance must be transmitted to OAL by 11-9-2020 or emergency language will be repealed by operation of law on the following day.

5. Emergency filed 3-25-2020 and operative 6-1-2020 extended 60 days pursuant to Executive Order N-40-20 and an additional 60 days pursuant to Executive Order N-66-20 (Register 2020, No. 42). A Certificate of Compliance must be transmitted to OAL by 3-9-2021 or emergency language will be repealed by operation of law on the following day.

6. Renumbering of former section 3484 to section 3475 and new section 3484 refiled 2-25-2021 as an emergency; operative 3-10-2021 (Register 2021, No. 9). Emergency expiration extended 60 days (Executive Order N-40-20) plus an additional 60 days (Executive Order N-71-20). A Certificate of Compliance must be transmitted to OAL by 10-8-2021 or emergency language will be repealed by operation of law on the following day.

7. Renumbering of former section 3484 to section 3475 and new section 3484 refiled 10-4-2021 as an emergency; operative 10-8-2021 pursuant to Government Code section 11346.1(d) (Register 2021, No. 41). A Certificate of Compliance must be transmitted to OAL by 1-6-2022 pursuant to Government Code section 11346.1(h) or emergency language will be repealed by operation of law on the following day.

8. Certificate of Compliance as to 10-4-2021 order, including amendment of section heading and repealer and new section, transmitted to OAL 12-7-2021 and filed 1-5-2022; amendments operative 1-5-2022 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4(b)(3) (Register 2022, No. 1).

9. Change without regulatory effect amending subsection (b)(2) filed 7-1-2024 pursuant to section 100, title 1, California Code of Regulations (Register 2024, No. 27).

10. Amendment filed 12-26-2024 as an emergency; operative 1-1-2025 (Register 2024, No. 52). Pursuant to Penal Code section 5058.3, a Certificate of Compliance must be transmitted to OAL by 6-10-2025 or emergency language will be repealed by operation of law on the following day.

11. Amendment refiled 6-10-2025 as an emergency; operative 6-11-2025 (Register 2025, No. 24). Pursuant to Penal Code section 5058.3, a Certificate of Compliance must be transmitted to OAL by 9-9-2025 or emergency language will be repealed by operation of law on the following day.

12. Amendment refiled 9-2-2025 as an emergency; operative 9-10-2025 (Register 2025, No. 36). A Certificate of Compliance must be transmitted to OAL by 12-9-2025 or emergency language will be repealed by operation of law on the following day.

13. Certificate of Compliance as to 9-2-2025 order, including amendment of subsections (a), (b), (c)(1), (c)(3) and (e), transmitted to OAL 12-8-2025 and filed 1-22-2026; amendments operative 1-22-2026 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4(b)(3) (Register 2026, No. 4).