Can you be a firefighter with a felony?

The rules

• Whether a record keeps you out of firefighting is decided by your state's laws and your local department's hiring rules, not by one national standard.^1,2

  Civil service commissions that run firefighter exams can screen out applicants for criminal conduct under state law. In New York, for example, the state civil service department and municipal commissions may refuse to examine an applicant, or to certify an eligible candidate, who 'has been guilty of a crime' (Civil Service Law 50(4)(d)), but must first give a written statement of the reasons and a chance to respond. State certification agencies may set their own criminal-history standards on top of that.

• Whether a state fair-chance law protects you depends on the state: some cover every public employer, including fire departments, and some specifically exclude fire department hiring.^3,4,5

  New York's Correction Law Article 23-A applies to applications for employment at any public or private employer and bars denial based on a prior conviction unless there is a direct relationship to the job or an unreasonable risk to property or safety (Correction Law 751-752). Florida's general law limiting the use of convictions in public employment (Florida Statutes 112.011) says it does not apply to the employment practices of any fire department relating to the hiring of firefighters (112.011(2)(b)).

• Some states require state firefighter certification and set criminal-history bars for it that can be stricter than a department's own rules.²

  Florida, for example, requires an applicant for firefighter certification to not have been convicted of a felony or any crime punishable by a year or more in prison (or a misdemeanor relating to the certification or to perjury or false statements), and it counts a guilty or no-contest plea or a finding of guilt even if no judgment of conviction was entered (Florida Statutes 633.412(2)). Applicants are also fingerprinted for state and FBI checks and must pass a good-moral-character investigation.

• If the job requires EMT or paramedic certification, that license comes from your state's EMS office, which does its own criminal-history review.⁶

  Louisiana's Bureau of EMS, for example, requires EMT, AEMT and paramedic applicants who answer yes to its criminal-history disclosure question to submit state and federal background checks through the Louisiana State Police.

• The National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT) has moved away from evaluating criminal convictions for its own certification, leaving fitness-to-practice decisions to state EMS offices.^7,8,9

  NREMT Board Resolution 21-08 ('Fit to Practice'), enacted June 2021, supports 'the elimination of eligibility requirements that require evaluation of criminal convictions' and says state government processes are where public protection belongs, with implementation no sooner than two and no more than three years after adoption. NREMT continues to refer reported convictions to state officials for possible licensure action. Its Reconsideration of Eligibility policy (81.04) was revised in August 2024 (approved September 26, 2024) for this 'criminal convictions project.' Your state EMS office, not NREMT, is the place to ask how a record affects an EMT license.

What can stand in the way

• In a state with a felony bar on firefighter certification, a felony conviction, even a no-contest plea where no judgment of conviction was entered, can keep you from being certified.²

  Florida Statutes 633.412(2) (Florida example). The statute as published states no time limit or restoration-of-rights exception.

• Certification and licensing agencies may run fingerprint background checks and character investigations, so old cases are likely to surface.^2,6

  Florida requires fingerprints for state and FBI checks and a good-moral-character investigation; Louisiana EMS requires state and federal checks for applicants who disclose a record.

Waivers and exceptions

• In New York, a certificate of relief from disabilities or a certificate of good conduct can remove a legal bar to employment, and you have the right to a written reason and a chance to respond before a civil service commission disqualifies you.^1,3

  Correction Law 751 (mandatory bars removed by pardon or certificate); Civil Service Law 50(4).

How states handle it

Firefighter hiring is local, and certification (firefighter and EMT) is by the state. The common pattern we could source: civil service commissions may screen for criminal conduct, state certification agencies may set their own bars, state EMS offices review records for EMT licenses, and state fair-chance laws may or may not apply to fire departments. Check both the department and your state's certifying agencies.

• Florida

  Florida won't certify a firefighter who has been convicted of a felony or of a crime punishable by a year or more in prison, counting guilty and no-contest pleas even without an entered judgment, and its general law limiting conviction-based public employment decisions does not apply to fire department hiring (Florida Statutes 633.412(2) and 112.011(2)(b)).²

• New York

  New York's Correction Law Article 23-A covers public employers, so a fire department generally can't reject you for a past conviction unless it has a direct relationship to the job or would pose an unreasonable risk; civil service commissions can still disqualify someone 'guilty of a crime' after giving written reasons and a chance to respond (Correction Law 752; Civil Service Law 50(4)).⁴

• Louisiana

  Louisiana's Bureau of EMS requires EMT, AEMT and paramedic applicants who disclose a criminal history to submit Louisiana State Police state and federal background checks ($39.25); applicants can get a provisional license while results are pending, and the application is canceled if the check isn't received within 90 days.⁶

What to do next

1. Read the job posting or civil service exam announcement for the department you want, including its background standards.
2. Find out whether your state requires firefighter certification and look up the certifying agency's criminal-history rules (often the state fire marshal or fire training commission).
3. If the job requires EMT or paramedic certification, contact your state EMS office and ask how it reviews criminal records.
4. Gather certified court records for every case and proof that your sentence is complete.
5. Look into record-clearing or certificates of rehabilitation available in your state, and ask the certifying agency how it treats a cleared record, before you apply.
6. Answer every background question truthfully; a misstatement can be a separate reason to reject you.

Where to ask

• NREMT Resolution 21-08 (Fit to Practice)

  Why criminal-record questions for EMT licenses go to your state EMS office, not the National Registry.

• Florida Statutes § 633.412 (firefighter certification)

  Example of a state certification statute with a felony bar.

• New York Correction Law Article 23-A (§ 752)

  Example of a state fair-chance law that covers public employers.

Felony or misdemeanor?

Some of the rules on this page treat felonies and misdemeanors differently, and each state decides which crimes are which. See how your state grades crimes, or check a specific charge on Is it a felony?.

Could clearing your record help?

In many states a sealed or expunged record no longer shows up on most background checks, though agencies and licensing boards can often still see it. See how record clearing works in your state.