Your best matches
Closest to unlocking a time limit
Hard time bars and reporting caps you have not yet passed, soonest first.
All jurisdictions, ranked for you
| # | Jurisdiction | Score | Tier | Protection now | Time-based rules |
|---|
How to read this
How scores work
Each jurisdiction gets six scores from 0 to 5: hard time bar (30%), whether violent felonies are covered (20%), strength of the substantive test (20%), timing of the inquiry (10%), procedural protections (10%), and limits on background-check reporting (10%). The composite is the weighted sum, rounded to two decimals. Tiers: 4.5+ Best, 3.5+ Excellent, 2.5+ Good, 1.5+ Moderate, below that Minimal.
Your answers change three of the six scores: the hard time bar (met or not, given your offense level and the clock the law uses), the reporting cap (met or not), and the violent-felony score where a law's time bar excludes violent felonies. Everything else is the reference score from the research workbook.
How the dates are used
Months are counted to month-end, capped at today, and years are days divided by 365.25. A time bar is met only when the elapsed years are more than the threshold. Each law starts its clock at a different point: conviction or sentencing, release from custody, or the end of probation or parole. The page uses the clock each law specifies. A time bar listed as "pending" shows the month it will be met.
What this does not cover
- Federal occupational bars (banking, securities, aviation, firearms licensing, healthcare exclusion lists) apply regardless of state or local law.
- Most laws exempt jobs with children, vulnerable adults, people 65+, law enforcement, and some regulated industries.
- Reporting caps limit what screening companies may report. They do not stop an employer from finding a record through its own courthouse search or from asking you directly where that is lawful.
- Coverage depends on employer size and the work location. Confirm both.
- Some local ordinances may be preempted or narrowed by state law (for example Texas and Michigan).
- A later conviction can restart or defeat a time limit. The exact statute of conviction controls sealing eligibility and carve-outs.
- Several rows rest on secondary sources. Each row's confidence is shown under Sources.
Helpful programs
The Federal Bonding Program provides free fidelity bonds for at-risk job seekers. The federal Work Opportunity Tax Credit has historically applied to qualifying hires of people with felony convictions; check whether it is currently in effect. Workforce-development programs under WIOA may fund training for justice-involved people.