Jobs for Felons in Tennessee

Tennessee's ban-the-box law, as passed in 2016, covers state government employers. For most state jobs, the first application cannot ask about your record. The state can ask after the first screening of applications, and if it does, it must give you a chance to explain. When it weighs a record, it has to consider things like the duties of the job, how the record bears on it, how long ago the offense was, your age at the time, and proof of rehabilitation you bring.

The law does not cover cities, counties, state contractors, the Department of Education or the TBI. We found no statewide ban-the-box law for private employers, so expect the question on private applications.

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 Tennessee law that shortens that for convictions, which is why expunction matters.

In 2025, Tennessee rewrote its expunction law. Conviction expunction is now in TCA 40-32-107 (older guides that cite 40-32-101(g) are out of date). As passed, it lets you expunge “no more than two (2) offenses” in your life: two misdemeanors, or one felony and one misdemeanor.

The wait, in the law's words: “Five (5) years have elapsed since the completion of the sentence imposed for any misdemeanor or Class E felony,” and “Ten (10) years have elapsed since the completion of the sentence imposed for any Class C or D felony offense.” Only felonies on the law's lists qualify, such as theft, forgery and some drug offenses; Class A and B felonies do not. You must have paid all fines, restitution and court costs and finished any prison or probation term, and you cannot have had an expunction granted before.

The 2025 law says that once the order is granted, “the conviction for the expunged offense never occurred,” and you must not suffer consequences from it. You are not guilty of perjury or a false statement for leaving it out when someone asks.

Finished diversion? The TBI says the charge can be expunged, “but only if the defendant returns to court to request an expungement.” It does not happen on its own.

Under Tennessee's Fresh Start Act, as passed in 2018, a state licensing board cannot deny or refuse to renew your license because of a conviction that does not directly relate to the work, unless federal law requires it. Some more serious felonies are exempt. If a board denies you over a conviction, it must explain in writing and tell you the earliest date you can reapply.

Before you apply, you can ask the board in writing whether your record disqualifies you. If it says yes, it must tell you why in writing.

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 Tennessee law that stops a private employer from using a record, so your real tools are expunction, the licensing rules, and picking the right employer.