Can an Employer Reject You for a Record in PA?

Last updated October 4, 2026.

For many people, the hardest part of an old case is not the sentence but the job applications that come years later. Pennsylvania has specific rules about what employers may do with criminal history, and even stronger rules for records that have been sealed. This page explains both, and what you can do to change what an employer sees. My general approach to criminal cases is on the main criminal defense page.

How do I handle an old record when applying for jobs, step by step?

A practical order that follows the law:

See your record first. Request your own Pennsylvania criminal history from the State Police (details below), so you know what an employer's check will show.
Sort each entry. Note how each case ended: no conviction, a summary conviction, a misdemeanor or a felony, and the date.
Check what is already sealed. Many old records are placed under limited access automatically by Clean Slate; others need a petition.
File what qualifies. Expungement and limited access petitions for Lawrence County cases are filed with the Clerk of Courts at 430 Court Street, New Castle (Pa.R.Crim.P. 790, 791), in the building described in what to expect at the Lawrence County Courthouse.
Apply, and keep the paperwork. If an employer turns you down based on your record, it must tell you so in writing (18 Pa.C.S. 9125(c)).
Use local help. People with felony convictions who live in Lawrence County may qualify for the District Attorney's Employment Reentry Program.

How a case reaches a conviction in the first place, and where a record is easiest to protect, is covered in what to expect after a first offense.

What does Pennsylvania law let an employer consider?

Section 9125 of the Criminal History Record Information Act sets three rules for an employer that receives information from an applicant's criminal history record:

The employer may use that information in deciding whether to hire "only in accordance with this section" (9125(a)).
"Felony and misdemeanor convictions may be considered by the employer only to the extent to which they relate to the applicant's suitability for employment in the position for which he has applied" (9125(b)).
If the decision not to hire is based "in whole or in part" on criminal history record information, the employer must notify the applicant in writing (9125(c)).

The section speaks only of felony and misdemeanor convictions. It does not list arrests that did not lead to a conviction, or summary offenses, as things an employer may weigh. A retail theft conviction may relate to a cashier's job in a way that an old citation for disorderly conduct does not, and the written notice gives you a chance to see what the decision rested on.

What happens when a record is sealed?

Pennsylvania's limited access and Clean Slate laws change the picture completely for the records they cover. Under 18 Pa.C.S. 9122.5:

You may not be required or requested to disclose a record that has been expunged or placed under limited access, and if you are asked, you "may respond as if the offense did not occur" (9122.5(a)(1)).
Except where federal law requires it, an expunged or limited access record may not be used by any individual or noncriminal justice agency for employment, housing or school admission (9122.5(a.1)).
A limited access record may not be treated as a conviction that would bar employment under Pennsylvania law (9122.5(b)).

The State Police must remove limited access records before releasing a criminal history to an individual or employer, and courts may not show them to the public or online (18 Pa.C.S. 9121(b)(2), (b)(3)). The law also protects employers who hire people with sealed records: an employer is immune from liability for misconduct related to the sealed part of the record (9122.6). Exceptions remain for some requests, including federally required checks and certain child custody, child protective services and court-related matters (9121(b.1), (b.2)).

Which old records can be sealed?

Common routes to limit what employers see (18 Pa.C.S. 9122, 9122.1, 9122.2)
Record	Route	When
Charges that ended without a conviction	Automatic limited access (Clean Slate)	After the disposition and payment of any restitution
Summary conviction	Automatic limited access	Five years after the conviction, restitution paid
Second or third-degree misdemeanor, and most misdemeanors punishable by up to two years	Automatic limited access, with exceptions	Seven years free of conviction for an offense punishable by a year or more, restitution paid
Many other misdemeanors, and ungraded offenses with a maximum of five years or less	Petition for limited access	Seven years free of conviction
Certain lower-level felonies, including many theft, criminal mischief and drug offenses	Petition for limited access	Ten years free of conviction

Each route has exceptions, especially for offenses involving danger to the person and for people with several serious convictions. Whether a particular record qualifies, and how expungement differs from limited access, is explained in clearing a criminal record in Pennsylvania. The felony theft grades that the 10-year petition can reach are set out in how Pennsylvania grades theft by unlawful taking. One example of a special route: an underage drinking conviction can be expunged on petition once the person is 21, as described in what happens after an underage drinking citation.

What about professional and trade licenses?

State licensing boards follow a separate rule, 18 Pa.C.S. 9124. They may consider convictions, but a conviction does not by itself bar a license, and a board may not use arrests without a conviction, convictions that have been expunged or placed under limited access, summary convictions, pardoned convictions, or convictions that do not relate to suitability for the license. A board must give written reasons if a decision is based on a conviction. Boards under the Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs also follow additional rules in Title 63.

How do I see what an employer will see?

The Pennsylvania State Police run the state's criminal history checks. According to the State Police, an individual check through the PATCH website costs $22 (and can be notarized for $5 more), while a mail-only "individual access and review" request for your own record costs $20. Those checks cover Pennsylvania records only, not federal ones. Reviewing your own record first lets you find errors and see whether anything already qualifies for sealing.

Is there help for job seekers in Lawrence County?

The Lawrence County District Attorney's office runs an Employment Reentry Program, launched in February 2014, to help eligible people with felony convictions find work. The office says it is open to people convicted of felonies who live in Lawrence County and apply through the District Attorney's office, at 430 Court Street, and lists disqualifiers, including pending charges, pending revocation hearings, pending warrants, a pending protection from abuse hearing, current incarceration, and convictions for sexual offenses involving a child. A pending revocation is its own process, described in probation violation hearings in Pennsylvania.

What changes the answer?

Conviction or not. Section 9125 lets an employer weigh felony and misdemeanor convictions; it does not list arrests without a conviction or summary offenses (9125(b)).
The link to the job. A conviction counts only to the extent it relates to suitability for the specific position (9125(b)).
Whether the record is sealed. An expunged or limited access record may not be required, requested or used, except where federal law requires it (9122.5).
The grade and the time since. Summary convictions seal after five years; many misdemeanors after seven conviction-free years; some felonies only by petition after ten (9122.1, 9122.2).
The kind of offense. Offenses involving danger to the person, such as some assaults, face exceptions in the sealing laws (9122.1(b), 9122.3); the grades are covered in simple assault in Pennsylvania.
A license instead of a job. Licensing boards follow 18 Pa.C.S. 9124, which bars use of summary, sealed and pardoned convictions.

A worked example

For example, take a hypothetical applicant (not a real case) with a 2016 conviction for a second-degree misdemeanor in Lawrence County, all restitution paid, and no later convictions, now applying for a warehouse job.

Because more than seven years have passed without a conviction for an offense punishable by a year or more, and restitution is paid, Clean Slate places the record under limited access automatically (9122.2(a)(1)), unless an exception applies. A State Police check then omits it (9121(b)(2)), and if the application asks about it, the applicant may respond as if the offense did not occur (9122.5(a)(1)). If instead the record had not been sealed, for example because of an exception, the employer could consider the conviction only to the extent it relates to the warehouse job, and would have to say in writing if it played any part in a decision not to hire (9125(b), (c)). Before applying, the applicant can confirm which situation applies by requesting their own record from the State Police.

Common mistakes with old records

Disclosing a sealed record without being required to. The law lets you answer as if a sealed offense did not occur (9122.5(a)(1)).
Assuming Clean Slate caught everything. Unpaid restitution, an exception or a later conviction can keep a record public.
Not checking your own record. Errors and unsealed entries are easier to fix before an employer finds them.
Ignoring the written notice. A rejection letter under 9125(c) shows what the decision rested on.
Forgetting old DUI ARD records. A completed DUI ARD is expunged, but the court order is kept, not public, for 12 years for use in a later DUI case, as explained in DUI following diversion under Act 58.

What to do this week

Request your own Pennsylvania record from the State Police, online or by mail.
List every case with its outcome, grade and date, and whether restitution is paid.
Mark which entries should already be sealed under Clean Slate and which need a petition.
Gather the docket numbers for anything that needs a petition.
If you have a felony conviction and live in Lawrence County, call the District Attorney's office about the Employment Reentry Program.
Keep every written rejection that mentions your record.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to tell an employer about an arrest that did not lead to a conviction?

Section 9125 does not list arrests without convictions among the things an employer may consider. Charges that ended without a conviction are also placed under limited access automatically (9122.2), and you may not be required to disclose a limited access record (9122.5).

Can an employer see a case that is under limited access?

Not through a State Police check: limited access records are removed before a history is released to an individual or employer, and courts may not display them publicly (9121(b)(2), (b)(3)). Exceptions remain for federally required checks.

Do these rules apply to federal background checks?

The State Police checks cover Pennsylvania records only, and the sealing rules include exceptions where federal law requires disclosure (9122.5(a.1)). Federal requirements are outside these Pennsylvania rules.

Can a licensing board deny me because of a summary conviction?

No. Section 9124 bars licensing boards from using summary convictions, arrests without a conviction, and sealed or pardoned convictions.

Does a drug conviction ever qualify for sealing?

Many do. A drug offense that meets the law's definition of a "qualifying offense" can be placed under limited access automatically after 10 conviction-free years (9122.2(a)(1.1)) or by petition (9122.1(a.1)). The charges themselves are explained in possession versus possession with intent to deliver.

How much does it cost to check my own record?

The State Police list $22 for an online PATCH check, $5 more for notarization, and $20 for a mail-only individual access and review request.

What did my shoplifting conviction count as?

It depends on the value and on prior offenses, which set whether it was a summary offense, a misdemeanor or a felony. The grading is explained in whether shoplifting is a felony in Pennsylvania.

If an old conviction is costing you jobs in Ellwood City, New Castle or anywhere in Western Pennsylvania, I can review your record and tell you which options fit. You work directly with me, and the first consultation is always free and confidential.

Can a Pennsylvania employer refuse to hire me because of an old conviction?