Jobs for Felons in West Virginia

As far as we can find, West Virginia has no ban-the-box law for private or public employers, and no bill to add one appears in the 2025 or 2026 sessions. An employer can ask about your record on the application, so plan a short, honest answer.

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 West Virginia law that shortens that for convictions. Expungement is what takes a case off the record.

You can petition the circuit court to expunge a nonviolent felony (or felonies from the same incident) 5 years after the conviction, your release, or the end of supervision, whichever is later. One misdemeanor: 1 year. More than one misdemeanor: 2 years after the last one.

Not eligible: violent felonies, felonies against a child, sex offenses, anything where a deadly weapon was used, domestic violence offenses, and DUI (though a DUI at least 5 years old does not block an unrelated felony). You have to prove you have been rehabilitated by clear and convincing evidence, and you can get this relief only once.

The circuit clerk charges the same fee as filing a civil case, and if you win you pay $100 to the State Police for processing.

The case is treated as never having happened, and you do not have to disclose it on a job application. The exceptions: jobs in law enforcement, prosecution or corrections, where you must disclose it, and employers that state or federal law requires to run a background check, which can still learn about it.

If you were found not guilty, your charges were dismissed (not as part of a plea deal), or you finished pretrial diversion or deferred adjudication, you can file a civil petition to expunge the arrest and charge records. Some domestic violence offenses are excluded from the diversion path.

A 2026 law in effect since June 10, 2026 changed the rules for licenses issued by the West Virginia Labor Commissioner. A conviction can block your first license only if it directly and specifically relates to the work and poses a direct and substantial risk because you have not been rehabilitated.

After 5 years from conviction or release, with no new crime, a conviction that was not violent or sexual cannot disqualify you. Arrests with no conviction cannot be considered. The same law also amended the plumbing, HVAC, electrician and fire protection license sections. Ask for a decision before you pay for training.

For most other professional boards, a board cannot deny your first license over a conviction unless it bears a “rational nexus” to the job, and it cannot rely on the label “moral turpitude.” After 5 years from conviction or release with no new crime, a conviction that was not violent or sexual must not keep you from applying. You can ask a board at any time for a decision on your record, and it must answer within 60 days. Some professions are excluded, so check with your board.

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 West Virginia law that stops a private employer from using a record, so your leverage is expungement and picking the right employer.