Jobs for Felons in New Hampshire

As far as we can find, New Hampshire has no ban-the-box law for private employers. A private employer can ask about your record on the application, but only about records that have not been annulled. Annulment is your strongest tool.

Once a record is annulled, you are treated in all respects as if you were never arrested, convicted or sentenced (a later court can still consider it if you are convicted again). On a job or license application, you can only be asked in terms like “Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime that has not been annulled by a court?” The State Police remove the annulled record from their file and tell the right state and federal agencies.

The wait starts after you complete every term of the sentence, with no new convictions:

• Violation: 1 year
• Class B misdemeanor: 2 years
• Class A misdemeanor: 3 years
• Class B felony: 5 years
• Class A felony: 10 years
• Sexual assault, felony indecent exposure, and domestic violence misdemeanors: 10 years

Some records cannot be annulled: violent crimes (such as murder, first degree assault, felonious sexual assault, kidnapping, robbery and class A arson), felony obstruction of justice, and any offense with an extended prison term. If you have several convictions, all of them must be eligible and every waiting period met. If a petition is denied, you must wait 3 years to try again.

The Department of Corrections charges $100 to investigate your petition, and the Department of Safety charges $100 to correct your record if you win. Either fee is waived if you show you cannot afford it. The court filing fee is separate.

If your case ended on or after January 1, 2019 in a not-guilty finding, a dismissal or no prosecution, the arrest and court records are annulled automatically, 30 days later if there is no appeal. A 2026 law adds that, starting January 1, 2027, there is no filing fee for these petitions.

Under federal law, a background check company can report a conviction no matter how old it is. Arrests that did not lead to a conviction generally drop off after seven years (the limit does not apply to jobs paying $75,000 a year or more). We found no New Hampshire law that shortens that for convictions. Annulment is what removes a record from the State Police file.

A New Hampshire board cannot deny you over a conviction “in and of itself.” It must weigh your circumstances and rehabilitation, and find by clear and convincing evidence that the conviction has a substantial and direct relationship to the work and that denying you protects public safety. You can ask a board for a decision at any time, even before training. It must answer in writing within 90 days, and the fee is capped at $100.

Federal EEOC guidance from 2012 warns employers that blanket “no felons” policies can violate Title VII, but since April 2025 a federal executive order has told agencies to deprioritize this kind of case. We found no New Hampshire law that stops a private employer from using a record that has not been annulled, so your leverage is annulment and picking the right employer.