Cite as: 503 U. S. 140 (1992)
Opinion of the Court
petitioning inmate's individual interests. In contrast, while the Bureau has a substantial interest in encouraging internal resolution of grievances and in preventing the undermining of its authority by unnecessary resort of prisoners to the federal courts, other institutional concerns do not weigh heavily in favor of exhaustion. The Bureau's alleged failure to render medical care implicates only tangentially its authority to carry out the control and management of the federal prisons, and the Bureau does not bring to bear any special expertise on the type of issue presented for resolution here. Nor are the interests of judicial economy advanced substantially by the grievance procedure, which does not create a formal factual record of the type that can be relied on conclusively by a court for disposition of a prisoner's claim on the pleadings or at summary judgment without the aid of affidavits. Pp. 149-156. 914 F. 2d 1411, reversed.
Blackmun, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which White, Stevens, O'Connor, Kennedy, and Souter, JJ., joined. Rehnquist, C. J., filed an opinion concurring in the judgment, in which Scalia and Thomas, JJ., joined, post, p. 156.
Paul M. Smith argued the cause and filed briefs for petitioner.
Deputy Solicitor General Mahoney argued the cause for respondents. With her on the brief were Solicitor General Starr, Assistant Attorney General Mueller, Amy L. Wax, Victor D. Stone, and William D. Braun.
Justice Blackmun delivered the opinion of the Court. The issue in this case is whether a federal prisoner must resort to the internal grievance procedure promulgated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons before he may initiate a suit, pursuant to the authority of Bivens v. Six Unknown Fed. Narcotics Agents, 403 U. S. 388 (1971), solely for money damages. The Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ruled that exhaustion of the grievance procedure was required. 914 F. 2d 1411 (1990). We granted certiorari to resolve a conflict among the Courts of Appeals.1 499 U. S. 974 (1991).
1 Compare Hessbrook v. Lennon, 777 F. 2d 999 (CA5 1985) (exhaustion required), and Brice v. Day, 604 F. 2d 664 (CA10 1979) (same), cert. denied, 444 U. S. 1086 (1980), with Muhammad v. Carlson, 739 F. 2d 122 (CA3
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