What changed
Every new page, correction and re-check, newest first. When a fact changes, it's listed here with the date and a link to the page.
Follow by RSS · Found an error? How corrections work
How much do you have to steal for a felony?
A new page ranks every state's felony theft line from lowest to highest, with a map and each state's law. Idaho's line now reads "more than $1,000" to match its statute.
A ranking page for every state, and a new newsroom
Each state now has its own Second Chance Index page with its rank, every point it earned and missed, the states ranked near it and a quote for reporters. The rankings map and each state's card can be embedded, and the press page now leads with the rankings, adds upcoming law-change dates and a new number on where theft becomes a felony.
How we pay for the research
Our disclosures and editorial standards now explain labeled sponsorships and paid links, and a new sponsorship page sets out the rules: one labeled sponsor per page, and payment never changes a fact, a label, a ranking or a listing.
What is a felony, what is a misdemeanor, gun rights and deferred adjudication
New pages define a felony and a misdemeanor with every state's rule from its own law, answer whether you can own a gun with a felony under federal law and four state examples, and explain deferred adjudication and what other states call it. The DUI page now answers how long a DUI stays on your record. Each was checked against its sources by a second reader.
What is a felony?What is a misdemeanor?Owning a gun with a felonyDeferred adjudication
26 more employers
New employer pages cover Penske, Ryder, Jiffy Lube, Discount Tire, CarMax, Enterprise, Hertz, Love's, RaceTrac, Apple, Google, Microsoft, Tesla, Caterpillar, John Deere, Lockheed Martin, Comcast, T-Mobile, 7-Eleven, QuikTrip, Marriott, Hilton, Disney, ABM, Sodexo and Gopuff, each researched from the company's own pages and checked by a second reader.
24 more employers
New employer pages cover Pizza Hut, KFC, Buffalo Wild Wings, Waffle House, Sonic, Chili's, Denny's, Jack in the Box, IHOP, Papa John's, Menards, IKEA, Staples, BJ's, Michaels, GameStop, Macy's, Nike, Delta, American Airlines, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Kelly Services and Robert Half, each researched from the company's own pages and checked by a second reader.
State rankings, free tools and our editorial standards
The 2026 Second Chance Index scores every state on clearing a record, voting rights and where the felony line falls. Two free tools check a state's record-clearing routes and how far back a background check can go. Our editorial standards explain how every page is sourced, checked and corrected.
TWIC card fee updated to TSA's current rate
TSA raised the new-applicant TWIC fee to $125.25 (from $124.00); the $93.00 reduced rate for drivers who already hold a hazmat endorsement or FAST card is unchanged. Our hazmat endorsement fee figures were also double-checked against TSA's page and are unchanged ($86.50 new applicant, $41.00 reduced rate for TWIC holders).
Can you get a TWIC card with a felony?Can you get a CDL with a felony?
Washington: corrected a misdemeanor-vacate form number
Fixed a stale form number in the steps for vacating a Washington misdemeanor or gross misdemeanor conviction: the court's own pattern-form instructions (CrRLJ 09.0300) confirm the Notice of Hearing is CrRLJ 09.0150 and the proposed order is CrRLJ 09.0200 (an earlier pass this week had incorrectly dropped 09.0150 based on a different guide's unrelated note about a generic civil form). Replaced a county court source that had stopped loading with a statewide legal-aid guide covering the same process.
H-E-B and PepsiCo: updated wage figures from current postings
Weekly re-checks added current, sourced hourly wage figures that weren't previously listed: an H-E-B eFulfillment Center Route Driver posting in Leander, TX ($20.00/hour, non-CDL), and two current PepsiCo postings, a Fort Stockton, TX CDL beverages delivery driver ($33.75/hour) and a Torrance, CA Merchandiser - Foods role ($24.70/hour). These come from individual, live job-search postings rather than published pay scales, so the pages note the figures can change as postings turn over.
Does H-E-B hire people with records?Does PepsiCo hire people with records?
Seven more "Is it a felony?" charges
New pages cover identity theft, shoplifting, drug possession, credit card fraud, writing a bad check, harassment and evading arrest, each checked by a second reader against the current statutes. The theft page and Florida's class page now note that theft of $40 or more from a home is a felony in Florida, and the fraud, forgery and embezzlement pages now explain the one-year misdemeanor exclusion in the federal bank-job rule.
Is it a felony?Is identity theft a felony?Is drug possession a felony?
Felony classes for every state, more charges, and background check companies
Felony and misdemeanor classes now cover all 50 states and D.C., each checked by a second reader against the current statutes, with a map of how each state grades crimes and when a repeat DUI can become a felony. New "Is it a felony?" pages cover manslaughter, perjury, tax evasion, child endangerment, fake IDs, trespassing, hit and run, reckless driving, speeding and driving without a license. New guides explain expungement vs. sealing and how to check your status, get your report and dispute mistakes with First Advantage, Sterling, HireRight, Checkr, Accurate and Cisive.
Felony classes by stateIs it a felony?Expungement vs. sealingBackground check companies
New: Is it a felony? and felony classes in every state
Pages on whether common charges such as assault, theft, burglary, robbery and domestic violence are misdemeanors or felonies, with examples from state law. Each state's felony and misdemeanor classes are listed with the prison or jail range and fine the law sets, the dollar line where theft becomes a felony, and when a DUI does. Two new guides explain felony vs. misdemeanor and probation vs. parole. Every page was checked against the current statutes by a second reader; more states are being added as their checks finish.
Is it a felony?Felony classes by stateFelony vs. misdemeanorProbation vs. parole
New: a federal rule tracker and a countdown to new laws
Two pages that update themselves every day. The federal rule tracker pulls proposed and final rules on criminal records from the Federal Register, with comment deadlines first. The new laws page counts down to record clearing, voting, jobs and housing changes, each restated from a fact-checked state or guide page, and moves each law to "Now in effect" on its date.
Second chance apartments: Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio and Austin
Texas city pages covering state renting law (which doesn't limit criminal-record screening), each city's rules, the local housing authority's screening policy and review deadlines, and official free help. Houston's public housing figures come from a proposed draft policy and are marked as such.
Second chance apartments: Las Vegas, Atlanta and Indianapolis
City pages with each state's renting rules, local ordinances, the housing authority's criminal-history screening policy and lookback periods, how to ask for a review, and where to get free help. We don't list or recommend landlords.
New guide: how long an eviction stays on your record
How long evictions can show up on tenant screening reports, 15 state and D.C. laws that seal or limit eviction records, and how to dispute an eviction that's reported wrong.
New guide: how to get a pardon
What a pardon does and doesn't do, the federal process, who decides in 10 states, and certificates of rehabilitation or relief in six states, each point checked by a second reader.
New guide: getting gun rights restored after a felony
Who the federal firearms ban covers, the Justice Department's relief process under its final rule effective September 21, 2026 (public applications open November 4, 2026 for the first 5,000 applicants), and how eight states restore firearm rights, with warnings where a state restoration may not lift the federal ban.
New page: jobs for people with records and no experience
Eleven kinds of work that typically need no college degree and no past experience, with the Bureau of Labor Statistics' education, training and 2025 pay figures, each linked to what the employers who hire for that work say about records.
New answer: can you travel to Mexico with a felony?
Mexico's immigration law lets officers refuse entry when a person's record would compromise security, with no list of banned offenses and no waiver; the answer covers the 2021 change to the law, the entry form and what happens at a second review.
New guide: how long a felony or misdemeanor stays on your record
Court records don't expire on their own, so this guide explains how far back background checks can go under federal law, the 10 states that set shorter limits (and where federal law may override them), misdemeanor and felony waits in example states, and how records can be cleared.
New guide: grants and loans for people with records
What official sources say about grants to individuals, how to spot grant scams, student aid, job training and reentry programs, SBA loan rules on criminal history after the 2024 change, and help with basic needs, each point checked by a second reader.
Background check guide: what shows up on a check
A new section explains what an employment background check can include, from criminal and court records to credit, driving and fingerprint-based FBI checks, and how errors happen. The EEOC guidance facts now note that the agency is moving to rescind its 2012 guidance, with a vote set for October 30, 2026.
New guide: renting an apartment with a criminal record
What a landlord can see in a tenant screening report, federal fair housing rules after HUD's September 2025 changes, 14 state and city fair chance housing laws, how to find a landlord who will consider you and how to avoid rental scams, each point sourced and checked by a second reader.
Second Chance Hiring Report 2026
A new report counts what the 85 large employers we track say about hiring people with records, background checks and drug tests, with every number linked to the company records behind it.
Record clearing in Alaska and D.C.: all 50 states and D.C. now covered
New: Alaska, which has no expungement law but sets aside convictions after a suspended imposition of sentence and drops dismissed cases from its court website automatically; and D.C., where the Second Chance Amendment Act has applied since March 1, 2025 and automatic sealing is due by October 1, 2027. Record clearing now covers every state and D.C.
Record clearing in North Dakota, South Dakota and Rhode Island
New: North Dakota, where court records of dismissed and acquitted cases close automatically since August 1, 2025; South Dakota, where convictions can't be expunged but low-level cases leave the public record automatically after 5 years; and Rhode Island, where a June 2026 law lets people expunge two to four felony convictions after 15 years if they have no conviction for a crime of violence or another listed offense.
Record clearing in Maine and Vermont
New: Maine, where Class E convictions and some old marijuana crimes can be sealed after 4 years and an automatic-sealing bill was vetoed in April 2026; and Vermont, where a 2025 law rewrote record sealing, most misdemeanors can be sealed after 3 years and cases without a conviction are sealed automatically.
Record clearing in Montana and Wyoming
New: Montana, where one-time misdemeanor expungement is presumed after 5 conviction-free years and deferred felony sentences are dismissed and sealed; and Wyoming, where arrests, misdemeanors and a first nonviolent felony can be expunged by petition after 180 days, 5 years or 10 years.
Record clearing in Oklahoma and West Virginia
New: Oklahoma, where a 2026 law (SB 2030) replaced the state's Clean Slate plan and requires automatic sealing to begin by November 1, 2027; and West Virginia, where records are cleared only by court petition, with a one-time conviction expungement after 1 to 5 years.
Record clearing in Hawaii and New Hampshire
New: Hawaii, where arrests without a conviction are expunged through the Attorney General's Data Center and some convictions can be cleared after deferred pleas or treatment; and New Hampshire, where most convictions can be annulled after a wait set by the offense, with a no-fee rule for some dismissed cases starting January 1, 2027.
Five new answers: Section 8, food stamps, college, security clearances and federal jobs
New answers from the agencies that decide: public housing and Section 8, SNAP food stamps, college admissions and financial aid, security clearances, and federal jobs, including HUD's 2025 withdrawals of its criminal-records guidance and OPM's 2025 and 2026 suitability rule changes.
Section 8 and public housingFood stampsCollege and financial aidSecurity clearanceFederal jobs
Five new answers: Canada, pilot's license, adoption, jury duty and teaching
New answers from the agencies, courts and boards that decide: entering Canada with a felony, getting a pilot's license, adopting or fostering a child, serving on a jury, and becoming a teacher.
CanadaPilot's licenseAdoption and foster careJury dutyTeaching
Record clearing in Mississippi and Nebraska
New: Mississippi, where the wait to expunge one felony conviction dropped from 5 years to 3 on July 1, 2026; and Nebraska, where a conviction can be set aside but not sealed, and dismissals and acquittals are sealed automatically.
Record clearing in Idaho and Iowa
New: Idaho, where the Clean Slate Act lets a person ask once in a lifetime to shield one eligible misdemeanor or felony drug possession case, 5 years after the sentence; and Iowa, where completed deferred judgments are expunged and one misdemeanor conviction can be expunged after 8 years.
Compare states: what clearing a record costs
A new page lists the court filing fee for each route in every state we cover, and whether people with low incomes can ask to have it waived.
Compare states: automatic clearing and DUIs
Two new pages compare one rule across every state we cover: which states clear records automatically, and whether a DUI or DWI conviction can be cleared. Each row repeats that state's checked record and links its sources.
Which states clear records automaticallyCan you expunge a DUI
Express Employment Professionals added
New: Express Employment Professionals, a network of locally owned franchise offices. Its U.S. privacy policy says it may collect criminal history and background check results, and screening depends on the client and job; it hasn't published a policy on hiring people with records.
Record clearing in Kansas and Delaware
New: Kansas, where most convictions can be expunged by petition after 3 to 10 years, with 2026 changes in effect since July 1; and Delaware, whose Clean Slate Act has expunged eligible records automatically since August 1, 2024, with a court petition for others.
Randstad, Albertsons and Cracker Barrel added
New: Randstad USA, which runs Hire Hope and says it introduced second-chance programs in 2023; Albertsons Companies (Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco and other banners), whose postings say applicants with arrest and conviction records will be considered; and Cracker Barrel, which hasn't published a policy.
DHL, Family Dollar, Burlington and Meijer added
New: DHL, including the 2023 class-action settlement over DHL Supply Chain's background check policy (DHL denied the claims); Family Dollar, now independent of Dollar Tree, whose warehouse postings mention drug tests and criminal background checks; Burlington; and Meijer. None has published a policy on hiring people with records.
Record clearing in Nevada
New: Nevada, where most convictions can be sealed by petition after a wait of 1 to 10 years, dismissals and acquittals right away, and courts must seal cases after a deferral or treatment program is completed. Includes the 2025 special-session changes that took effect January 1, 2026.
Record clearing in New Mexico
New: New Mexico, where most convictions can be expunged by petition after the sentence and a 2- to 10-year wait, arrests without a conviction after a year, and cannabis records that are no longer crimes are expunged automatically. Includes the court rule changes for cases filed on or after December 31, 2025.
Record clearing in Louisiana and Arkansas
New: Louisiana, where expungement is by motion and a 2023 automated-expungement law takes effect only once the legislature funds it, and Arkansas, where most misdemeanors and lower-level felonies can be sealed by a free petition once the sentence is complete.
XPO, AutoZone, Verizon and General Motors added
New: AutoZone, whose postings say a criminal record is not a disqualification and is considered individually; Verizon and General Motors, both Second Chance Business Coalition members; and XPO, which hasn't published a policy. GM's hiring page says every applicant who gets an offer completes a drug screen and background check.
Adecco added
New: Adecco USA, whose job postings across the country say it will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records, and whose screening depends on each client's requirements.
PetSmart added
New: PetSmart, whose careers FAQ says it runs background checks on all associates but that a prior conviction won't keep anyone from being considered, and that it doesn't drug test before hiring.
Record clearing in Colorado and Utah
New: Colorado, which seals non-conviction records and many older convictions automatically and lets most other lower-level convictions be sealed by motion, including its 2026 changes; and Utah, where courts again expunge some records automatically since January 1, 2026 and most others need a certificate of eligibility and a petition.
Record clearing in Tennessee, Kentucky, Massachusetts and Connecticut
New: Tennessee's expunction rules after its 2025 rewrite and the 2026 pardon and recovery-court changes; Kentucky's felony and misdemeanor expungement, including a 2026 addition that takes effect April 30, 2027; Massachusetts sealing and expungement, with the Clean Slate bill still in conference; and Connecticut's automatic Clean Slate erasure.
Record clearing in Minnesota and South Carolina
New: Minnesota, where the Clean Slate Act seals many records automatically and others can be sealed by petition, and South Carolina, where only specific records can be expunged, including 2026 changes that let people use pretrial intervention again after 20 years and add a first-offense conditional discharge.
Trucking companies, JPMorganChase and Subway
New: J.B. Hunt, Werner and Knight-Swift, each with the company's own screening and drug-test rules kept apart from federal trucking rules; JPMorganChase, a Second Chance Business Coalition member, including the federal banking and lending rules its postings cite; and Subway, whose restaurants are run by franchisees.
J.B. HuntWernerKnight-SwiftJPMorgan ChaseSubwayTrucking jobs
Ten more employers: retail, food, staffing and security
New: Best Buy, TJX (T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods), Ross, Kohl's, Olive Garden, Tyson Foods, Smithfield, PeopleReady, Manpower and Securitas. Best Buy is a Second Chance Business Coalition member; TJX's and PeopleReady's postings say applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered; Ross asks about criminal history only after an offer. Kohl's and Amazon now also show California's 2024 Fair Chance Act settlements with each company.
Five more restaurant chains
New: Taco Bell, Burger King, Wendy's, Domino's and Dunkin'. None has published a policy on hiring people with records. Each record separates what the company says about its own restaurants and corporate jobs from franchise restaurants, which set their own screening.
Jobs pages: bonding, tax credit, CDL and TWIC rules
The jobs pages now explain the federal rules that come up most: the Federal Bonding Program and how to ask for a bond, the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (which, per the IRS and Labor Department, covers only people who began work by December 31, 2025, and hasn't been renewed), CDL disqualifications and drug-test checks, and TWIC disqualifying offenses and waivers. Each was checked against the federal rule or agency page by a second reader.
Embeds for every employer and state
An embed builder for reporters: pick the voting map, a state's voting or record-clearing card, or an employer's hiring card, preview it and copy the code. Every card shows the date its record was checked and updates when we update the record. State pages also now say plainly whether records clear automatically and since when.
TWIC card fee updated
TSA's TWIC page now lists $124.00 for a new applicant ($93.00 at the reduced rate). Our page said $125.25.
Voting rights after a felony conviction: all 50 states and D.C.
New: what each state's law says about voting in prison, on parole, on probation and after the sentence, how the right comes back, and whether fines must be paid first. Every state was checked against its own law and election office, then field by field by a second reader. Includes Virginia's January 2026 court order and Question 3 on the November 3 ballot, Missouri's 2026 law and Oklahoma's November 1 change.
For reporters: numbers to cite, embeds and data downloads
A press page with dated numbers counted from the records, an embeddable voting map and a card for each state, every dataset as CSV and JSON under CC BY 4.0, a "Cite this page" box on every page, and share images that show each page's answer.
How to request your Early Warning Services file
Early Warning's FAQ says its identification form isn't required. You can send your identifying information with a copy of a government ID, or request the file by phone at 1-800-745-1560.
EEOC guidance status now cited to the federal review list
The EEOC's 2012 guidance on arrest and conviction records is under White House review for rescission, received October 6, 2026. We replaced news coverage with OMB's official review list and the text of Title VII, and replaced a dead OPM link with the Federal Register rule.
Texas, Georgia and Ohio details updated
Texas's charges-not-filed expunction petition is now form CV-EXPU-100, and its Fresh Start eligibility tool has moved. Georgia's record-restriction questions now go to GBI's GCIC helpline, (404) 244-2639, option 1. Ohio's Senate Bill 418 description now uses the bill's name for the agency.
First weekly source check: 42 pages re-checked
Our weekly check opens every source we cite. It flagged 42 pages whose sources had moved or changed. We re-opened them, updated the links that moved, and fixed the facts that changed, listed above. Sysco's driver note now cites Sysco's driver jobs page because the job posting it cited no longer exists, and the leave-the-country answer notes that the EU's ETIAS isn't in operation yet.
Record-clearing guides for Indiana, Oregon, Alabama and Washington
Each was researched from the state's statutes and court self-help pages, then checked by a second reader, who corrected Alabama's rule on violent felony charges and added Oregon's automatic sealing of drug-possession records.
“How did your case end?” on every state guide
Pick how your case ended and the page shows the routes that state's law offers for it, with the wait and the cost. Which routes fit which outcome was read from each route's own eligibility rules and checked by a second reader.
Record-clearing guides for Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania and North Carolina
The fact-check corrected how Michigan treats third-degree child abuse convictions and removed an exception from the North Carolina guide.
Record-clearing guides for Virginia, Ohio, Illinois and Maryland
Fact-check corrections included Ohio's 2025 change for dismissed charges and its new marijuana-possession route, and Maryland's 2026 HB 187.
Record-clearing guides for Georgia, Wisconsin, Arizona and Missouri
Missouri's automatic relief is dated from Amendment 3, effective December 8, 2022.
Twelve “Can I, with a felony?” answers
Passports, travel abroad, the military, TWIC cards, CDLs, and licenses for nurses, nurse aides, doctors, lawyers, real estate agents, firefighters and police officers.
Record-clearing guides for Texas, California, Florida and New Jersey
The first four state guides, each checked by a second reader before publishing.
Employer fact-check corrections
Goodwill and Coca-Cola moved to “hasn't published a policy”, Uber's 2016 White House pledge is noted, and drug tests are listed only where the company says so.
Second Chance Index launched
What large employers have said about hiring people with records, low-cost bank accounts and what each provider checks, and guides to background check rights and ChexSystems.