Felony records don’t close off work the way most people fear. Jobs for felons are widely available in construction and the skilled trades, manufacturing and warehousing, trucking, food service, and self-employment, and federal law both limits what employers can see on a background check and pays them a tax credit for hiring you. The real restrictions are narrower than the rumors: firearms-related work, most positions at FDIC-insured banks, and some licensed healthcare roles.
Industries That Hire
Construction is one of the most accessible fields for anyone with a record. Contractors care whether you can run equipment safely and show up consistently. HVAC, electrical, carpentry, and general labor emphasize hands-on skill over paperwork, and the chronic labor shortage in the trades means employers can’t afford to screen out capable workers over old convictions. Entry-level labor also opens a path into apprenticeships and licensed trades that pay well over time.
Manufacturing and warehouse operations follow the same pattern. Assembly lines, welding shops, and machine-operation floors have steady turnover and constant demand for reliable people. Forklift driving, inventory, and logistics roles are filled on mechanical aptitude and attendance. Hiring managers in these environments tend to care more about whether you can hit production targets than about a background check from years ago.
Trucking is a viable long-term career for anyone who can get a commercial driver’s license. The industry has faced a persistent driver shortage, so companies are often willing to look past criminal history as long as you hold the right credentials and have a clean driving record. Food service is the fastest way to earn income immediately after release: restaurants hire line cooks, dishwashers, and prep staff on speed and reliability.
Self-Employment and Gig Work
Working for yourself eliminates the corporate background check entirely. Freelance writing, graphic design, and web development let clients evaluate portfolios instead of records. Trade-based businesses like landscaping, residential cleaning, and handyman services let you build a client base through homeowners and small businesses, which bypasses large corporate HR departments.
Ride-sharing is a partial exception. Uber and Lyft run background checks, and certain serious felony convictions can permanently disqualify applicants regardless of when they occurred. Local regulations in some areas may require an individualized review that accounts for rehabilitation. Check the specific platform’s eligibility rules before investing time in the application.
One financial reality catches new freelancers and business owners off guard: the tax burden. When you work for yourself, you pay both the employer and employee portions of Social Security and Medicare taxes. The self-employment tax rate is 15.3% of net earnings, which is 12.4% for Social Security on earnings up to $184,500 in 2026, plus 2.9% for Medicare on all net income with no cap.1Social Security Administration. Update 2026 That is on top of regular income tax. Set aside roughly 25-30% of what you earn and file quarterly estimated payments to avoid penalties.
Jobs That Are Restricted
Some careers are genuinely closed, and others require extra paperwork. Knowing the difference saves time.
Firearms-Related Work
Federal law prohibits anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year of imprisonment from possessing a firearm or ammunition.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 922 – Unlawful Acts That removes law enforcement, armed security, corrections, and any job requiring you to carry a weapon. It also reaches jobs where you’d handle firearms as part of your duties even if carrying one isn’t the primary role. Some states allow restoration of firearm rights after a waiting period and petition, but the federal ban is a hard barrier for most people with felony convictions.
Banking and Financial Services
Section 19 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act bars anyone convicted of a crime involving dishonesty, breach of trust, or money laundering from working at any FDIC-insured bank or participating in its operations without the FDIC’s written consent.3eCFR. Subpart L – Section 19 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act “Participating in operations” is broad enough to cover tellers, loan processors, and back-office staff.
There is an exception most people don’t know about. The FDIC’s de minimis rule removes the need for a consent application in certain cases. If your offense carried a maximum possible sentence of one year or less and a maximum fine of $2,500 or less, and you served three days of jail time or less, no application is required. For people whose offenses occurred at age 21 or younger and who otherwise meet the de minimis criteria, only an 18-month waiting period applies after the most recent conviction. Small-dollar thefts under $1,000 and fake-ID offenses committed before age 21 also qualify for automatic exemption.4Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Your Guide to Section 19 For more serious offenses, you’ll need to file a formal consent application with the FDIC demonstrating rehabilitation.
Healthcare and Other Licensed Professions
Healthcare roles involving direct contact with vulnerable populations are among the most heavily screened. Nursing, physical therapy, home health aide, and similar positions require occupational licenses, and the licensing boards review criminal history as part of a moral character evaluation. Convictions involving violence, abuse, or drug offenses most commonly lead to denials, but boards have discretion and often consider how long ago the offense occurred and what rehabilitation efforts you’ve made.
Teaching, real estate, and cosmetology also conduct criminal history reviews, though they tend to be less restrictive than healthcare. In any licensing situation, full disclosure matters. Licensing boards almost universally treat an undisclosed conviction more harshly than the conviction itself.
What Shows Up on a Background Check
The Fair Credit Reporting Act limits what background check companies can report. For jobs paying less than $75,000 per year, most criminal records older than seven years cannot appear on the consumer report an employer receives.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 U.S. Code 1681c – Requirements Relating to Information Contained in Consumer Reports Some states impose stricter limits. The $75,000 threshold hasn’t moved since 2003, which means it covers a wide swath of the job market. For positions above that salary threshold, there is no federal time limit on reporting.
The rule governs what the background check company puts in its report, not what an employer can ask you directly on an application or in an interview. Even so, the seven-year cutoff is one of the most underused protections available to people with older records.
If an employer runs a background check and finds something that might cause them to reject you, they must first send you a pre-adverse action notice that includes a copy of the report and a summary of your FCRA rights.6Federal Trade Commission. Using Consumer Reports: What Employers Need to Know You then have a chance to dispute errors. Background reports frequently mix up people with similar names, report dismissed charges as convictions, or list records from the wrong jurisdiction. If you receive one of these notices, review every line.
Ban the Box and Fair Chance Hiring
Ban the Box laws remove the criminal history checkbox from job applications, delaying background inquiries until later in the hiring process. More than 150 cities and numerous states have adopted some form of these policies. In about a dozen states the law reaches private employers; in others it covers only government jobs.
The federal Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act goes further for anyone applying to a federal agency or a federal contractor involved in hiring. Criminal history questions are prohibited at every stage before a conditional offer, including the application, interviews, and any communication from recruiters acting on the agency’s behalf.7Defense Finance and Accounting Service. Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act Notification The restriction does not apply to positions requiring security clearances, sensitive national security roles, or federal law enforcement positions.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has also made clear that blanket policies rejecting every applicant with a record can violate federal civil rights law. Employers are expected to weigh the nature of the offense, how much time has passed, and whether the crime has a direct relationship to the specific job duties.8U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Criminal Records A decade-old drug possession conviction has no reasonable connection to a warehouse inventory position. If you suspect an employer applied a blanket exclusion without any individualized review, you can file a complaint with the EEOC.9U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Enforcement Guidance on the Consideration of Arrest and Conviction Records in Employment Decisions Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
Programs That Make Employers Want to Hire You
The Work Opportunity Tax Credit
Employers who hire people with felony records can claim a federal tax credit worth up to $2,400 per employee in the first year. The Work Opportunity Tax Credit equals 40% of the first $6,000 in wages paid to a qualifying hire who works at least 400 hours. Workers logging between 120 and 399 hours still generate a credit at 25%.10Internal Revenue Service. Work Opportunity Tax Credit
To qualify as a “qualified ex-felon,” you must be hired within one year of your felony conviction or your release from prison for that felony.11Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 8850 The employer files Form 8850 with the state workforce agency within 28 days of your start date. Mention this during interviews. Many employers don’t know the credit exists, and raising it turns your record into a concrete financial benefit for the company.
One caveat: the WOTC was authorized through December 31, 2025. Congress has renewed it multiple times, but confirm on the IRS website whether it has been extended into 2026 before relying on it as a selling point.10Internal Revenue Service. Work Opportunity Tax Credit
The Federal Bonding Program
The Federal Bonding Program provides free fidelity bond insurance to employers who hire people considered high-risk, including those with felony records. The bond reimburses the employer for losses caused by employee dishonesty, covering theft, forgery, and embezzlement. Coverage starts at $5,000 per employee and can be issued in $5,000 increments up to $25,000.12U.S. Department of Labor. US Department of Labor Awards $725K to Help At-Risk Workers The initial bond lasts six months at no cost to either side, with the option to request another six months of free coverage before the first period ends.
The program exists to solve a real problem: private insurers often refuse to bond workers with records, which blocks them from retail, finance, and any role that handles cash or inventory. The federal bond covers the trial period when the employer is most nervous about risk. If you demonstrate honesty during the bonded period, you become commercially bondable on the private market, which removes the barrier permanently. Request a bond through your local American Job Center or state workforce agency.
Clearing Your Record
The most permanent fix for employment barriers is getting the record cleared. Most states allow people to petition a court to expunge or seal certain criminal records after a waiting period. Eligibility varies widely: some states limit expungement to misdemeanors, while others allow certain nonviolent felonies to be cleared after a set number of conviction-free years. Court filing fees typically range from nothing to a few hundred dollars, though attorney costs can add more. Once a record is expunged or sealed, you can generally deny the conviction ever existed on most job applications. Common exceptions include applications for law enforcement and military positions.
A growing number of states have passed Clean Slate laws that automatically seal eligible records once a person completes their sentence and remains crime-free for a specified period. As of 2025, roughly 13 states had enacted some version of automatic record clearing. These laws remove the burden of filing a petition, which historically meant that the vast majority of people eligible for expungement never actually applied.
Several states also offer certificates of rehabilitation or certificates of relief as an intermediate step for people who aren’t eligible for full expungement. These are court orders declaring that you’ve been rehabilitated, and they carry real weight with licensing boards and employers. In some states, a certificate is the only way someone with a felony record can be considered for certain government jobs or professional licenses. The specific effect varies by state: some certificates provide broad relief across multiple licensing schemes, while others are limited to particular occupations.