High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The safety valve is a provision in the Sentencing Reform Act and the United States Federal Sentencing Guidelines that authorizes a sentence below the statutory minimum for certain nonviolent, non-managerial drug offenders with little or no criminal history. The Federal Sentencing Guidelines are rules that set out a uniform sentencing policy for those convicted of felonies and serious (Class A) misdemeanors[1] in the United States federal courts system. The Guidelines do not apply to less serious misdemeanors.