Can you be a police officer with a felony?

The rules

• Texas: you can't be licensed as a peace officer if you've ever been convicted of, or put on court-ordered community supervision or probation for, any offense above a Class B misdemeanor, which includes every felony.¹

  37 TAC 217.1(b)(4) and (b)(6) (effective April 1, 2024) also bar a Class B misdemeanor conviction or community supervision within the last ten years. (b)(7) bars anyone ever convicted of or placed on community supervision for an offense involving family violence, (b)(5) bars anyone currently charged with an offense that would be a bar, (b)(9) requires that peace officers not be prohibited by state or federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition, and (b)(13) bars a dishonorable discharge. The rule contains no waiver for these criminal-history standards, and (d) says a felony classification at the time of conviction will never be changed.

• Florida: officers must not have been convicted of any felony or of a misdemeanor involving perjury or a false statement, and a guilty or no-contest plea counts even if adjudication was withheld or the sentence suspended.²

  Florida Statutes 943.13(4) applies to pleas or findings of guilt after July 1, 1981 and also bars a dishonorable discharge. Officers must also have fingerprints on file (943.13(5)) and good moral character as determined by a background investigation under Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission procedures (943.13(7)).

• Pennsylvania: police officer candidates must be free from convictions of 'disqualifying criminal offenses,' defined as any offense for which more than one year in prison can be imposed.^3,4

  37 Pa. Code 203.11(a)(4) and the definition in 203.1. Because the test is the maximum possible sentence, it reaches every felony and can reach some misdemeanors; check the grading of your offense. 203.11(a)(10)(i) requires a background investigation with fingerprints submitted to the state Central Repository and the FBI.

• California: peace officer candidates must be free of the disqualifications in Government Code 1029, which California POST says include felony convictions, and every hiring agency must verify this.^5,6

  POST's minimum selection standards list 'Free from any disqualifications for employment, including felony convictions (GC 1029).' 11 CCR 1953(c)(3) and (e)(3) require background inquiries addressing 'all disqualifications for peace officer appointment as specified in Government Code Section 1029(a),' and 1953(a) requires verifying good moral character under Government Code 1031(d). The text of Government Code 1029 itself could not be read on the official site (see research notes), so its provisions on felonies later reduced to misdemeanors, pardons or other relief are not summarized here.

• Federal law bars anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison from possessing firearms or ammunition.^7,8,9

  18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1). The definition in 921(a)(20) excludes state offenses classified as misdemeanors and punishable by two years or less, lets the law of the convicting jurisdiction decide what counts as a conviction, and does not count a conviction that was expunged, set aside, pardoned or followed by restoration of civil rights unless the restoration expressly says you may not have firearms. Federal law has a government-use exception for firearms issued for the use of a federal or state agency (18 U.S.C. 925(a)(1)), but the state rules above bar felony convictions regardless, and Texas separately requires that officers not be prohibited from possessing firearms.

• A misdemeanor domestic violence conviction bars firearm possession under federal law, and unlike other bans this one applies even to guns issued by a police agency.^7,8,9

  18 U.S.C. 922(g)(9) covers anyone 'convicted in any court of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.' The government-use exception in 925(a)(1) expressly excludes 922(g)(9), so a qualifying domestic violence misdemeanor effectively rules out armed police work. A conviction that was expunged, set aside or pardoned (or with civil rights restored, where they were lost) doesn't count unless the relief expressly prohibits firearms (921(a)(33)(B)(ii)).

What can stand in the way

• Probation, deferred adjudication and withheld adjudication can count against you even without a formal conviction.^1,2

  Texas bars anyone who has been on court-ordered community supervision or probation for an offense above a Class B misdemeanor (37 TAC 217.1(b)(4)). Florida counts guilty and no-contest pleas 'notwithstanding suspension of sentence or withholding of adjudication' (943.13(4)).

• Some misdemeanors are disqualifying too.^1,2,4,7

  Texas: any Class A misdemeanor, a Class B misdemeanor within ten years, or any family-violence offense. Florida: misdemeanors involving perjury or a false statement. Pennsylvania: any offense carrying a possible sentence over one year. Federal: misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence.

• Pending charges can stop you, and good-moral-character reviews can screen you out even if no rule names your offense.^1,2,6

  Texas bars anyone currently charged with an offense that would be a bar (217.1(b)(5)). Florida (943.13(7)) and California (Government Code 1031(d), via 11 CCR 1953) require a good-moral-character background investigation, and Texas requires the hiring agency to complete one (217.1(b)(10)).

Waivers and exceptions

• For the federal gun bans, an expungement, set-aside, pardon or restoration of civil rights can remove the bar unless it says otherwise.⁸

  18 U.S.C. 921(a)(20) and 921(a)(33)(B)(ii). This only addresses federal firearms law; it does not by itself satisfy a state POST rule, which may still count the offense.

• Florida has one narrow exception for old false-statement misdemeanors.²

  Someone who pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor involving a false statement before December 1, 1985 and had the record sealed or expunged is not ineligible (943.13(4)). There is no comparable exception for felonies in the text read.

• Federal law provides an application to the Attorney General for relief from firearms disabilities.^9,10,11

  18 U.S.C. 925(c) lets a barred person apply for relief, which may be granted if the Attorney General finds they are unlikely to act dangerously and relief is not contrary to the public interest, with court review of a denial. The Justice Department issued a 2026 final rule setting criteria (with presumptive disqualifiers, such as violent felonies) and its firearm rights restoration page lists a staged rollout: invited candidates from September 25, 2026 and the public from November 4, 2026. Restored federal gun rights do not change state POST disqualifications.

How states handle it

Mostly state: each state's POST commission (or statute) sets the criminal-history standards for police certification, while federal firearms law (18 U.S.C. 922(g)) applies everywhere. Every state rule checked here bars felony convictions, but what else is disqualifying, and whether cleared records still count, differs. Check your state's POST standards.

• Texas

  TCOLE bars anyone ever convicted of, or on community supervision for, an offense above a Class B misdemeanor (all felonies and Class A misdemeanors), Class B offenses within ten years, and any family-violence offense, with no waiver in the rule.¹

• Florida

  Florida bars anyone who pleaded guilty or no contest to, or was found guilty of, any felony or a perjury/false-statement misdemeanor, even if adjudication was withheld.²

• Pennsylvania

  Pennsylvania requires municipal police candidates to be free of convictions for any offense punishable by more than one year in prison.³

• California

  California POST's minimum standards require peace officer candidates to be free from the disqualifications in Government Code 1029, including felony convictions, and to be of good moral character as determined by a thorough background investigation (Government Code 1031(d)).⁵

What to do next

1. Get your full criminal record and the final disposition of every case, including any probation, deferred adjudication or withheld adjudication.
2. Find your state's peace officer standards and training (POST) commission rules and read the minimum standards for certification; look for felony bars, misdemeanor bars, look-back periods and how they treat probation, expungement and pardons.
3. Check whether any conviction (including a domestic violence misdemeanor) makes you a prohibited person under federal firearms law, and whether an expungement, set-aside or pardon has removed it.
4. If you're barred, ask whether the agency has civilian or non-sworn roles your record doesn't affect, and confirm with the agency rather than assuming.
5. If your record might be cleared (expungement, set-aside, pardon), find out from the POST commission whether that clearance changes your eligibility in that state before investing in an academy.
6. Be fully honest on the personal history statement; background investigators verify everything, and false statements are themselves disqualifying in many states.

Where to ask

• Texas TCOLE licensing standards (37 TAC 217.1)

  Texas peace officer minimum standards, including criminal history.

• Florida officer qualifications (s. 943.13)

  Florida's statutory minimums for officers.

• Federal firearm prohibitions (18 U.S.C. 922)

  Who can't possess firearms under federal law.

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.