What the law gives you, where you live.
More than 37 states have passed something called ban the box. Most of it covers government hiring only. At a private employer, real protection exists in about a dozen states, and everywhere else an employer can ask on the first form. Below is the honest version, including where the answer is that you have none.
20
states and territories where the law reaches private employers
17
where it covers government jobs only, whatever the headlines said
14
with no state law limiting when a private employer can ask
Every state
Pick yours. Each entry names the statute and the date we last checked it. None of this is legal advice, and a local ordinance in your city may give you more than your state does.
| State | Private employers | When they may ask | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|---|
| No state law | Any time | Alabama has no state law limiting when a private employer can ask about your record. No state fair chance hiring law. Record expungement: Ala. Code Title 15, Ch. 27; Act 2025-388, effective October 1, 2025 Checked September 17, 2026 | |
| No state law | Any time | Alaska has no state law limiting when a private employer can ask about your record. No state fair chance hiring law and no expungement law. Sealing: AS 12.62.180 Checked September 17, 2026 | |
| Public only | Any time | Arizona banned the box for state government jobs only, so a private employer here can still ask on the application. Arizona Executive Order 2017-07 (state agency hiring); record sealing and the right to answer no, A.R.S. § 13-911 Checked September 17, 2026 | |
| No state law | Any time | Arkansas has no state law limiting when a private employer can ask about your record. No state fair chance hiring law. Comprehensive Criminal Record Sealing Act of 2013, Act 1460 Checked September 17, 2026 | |
| Covered | After a conditional offer | A California employer with five or more workers cannot ask about your record until after they have offered you the job. California Fair Chance Act, Cal. Gov. Code § 12952 Checked September 17, 2026 | |
| Covered | Any time after the application form | A Colorado employer cannot put a criminal history question on the job application, but they can ask you about it at the interview. Colorado Chance to Compete Act, C.R.S. § 8-2-130 Checked September 17, 2026 | |
| Covered | At the interview | A Connecticut employer cannot ask about your record on the job application, but they can ask in the interview. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-51i; erased records, § 46a-80d Checked September 17, 2026 | |
| Public only | Any time | Delaware banned the box for public employers only, so a private employer here can ask about your record on the application. Delaware Ban the Box, 19 Del. C. § 711(h) (public employers only) Checked September 17, 2026 | |
| Covered | After a conditional offer | A DC employer with more than ten workers cannot ask about your record until after they have offered you the job. DC Fair Criminal Record Screening Amendment Act of 2014, D.C. Code §§ 32-1341 to 32-1346 Checked September 17, 2026 | |
| Public only | Any time | Florida protects you in government jobs only, so a private employer here can ask about your record on the application. Fla. Stat. § 112.011 (public employers and licensing only); Gainesville Ordinance 2022-617 Checked September 17, 2026 | |
| Public only | Any time | Georgia banned the box for state government jobs only, so a private employer here can still ask on the application. Georgia Executive Order, February 23, 2015 (state agency hiring); use of restricted records, O.C.G.A. §§ 42-8-63 and 35-3-37(u); Atlanta Ordinance 22-O-1748 Checked September 17, 2026 | |
| Covered | After a conditional offer | A Hawaii employer can only ask about your record after they offer you the job, and they cannot reach back more than seven years on a felony or five on a misdemeanor. Haw. Rev. Stat. § 378-2.5, as amended by Act 51 (2020) Checked September 17, 2026 | |
| No state law | Any time | Idaho has no state law limiting when a private employer can ask about your record. No state fair chance hiring law. Federal floor: EEOC Enforcement Guidance on Arrest and Conviction Records (2012) Checked September 17, 2026 | |
| Covered | After you are told you have been selected for an interview, or after a conditional offer if there is no interview | An Illinois employer cannot use a conviction against you unless it is substantially related to the job, and they have to put that in writing and hear you out first. Job Opportunities for Qualified Applicants Act, 820 ILCS 75; Illinois Human Rights Act, 775 ILCS 5/2-103.1 Checked September 17, 2026 | |
| No state law | Any time | Indiana has no ban the box law at any employer, and state law blocks Indiana cities from making one. No state fair chance hiring law. Local preemption: Ind. Code § 22-2-17-3; expunged records, Ind. Code § 35-38-9-10 Checked September 17, 2026 | |
| No state law | Any time | Iowa has no state law limiting when a private employer can ask about your record. No state fair chance hiring law. Local preemption: Iowa Code § 364.3(12), as limited by Iowa Ass’n of Business and Industry v. City of Waterloo (2021) Checked September 17, 2026 | |
| Public only | Any time | Kansas banned the box for state government jobs only, so a private employer here can still ask on the application. Kansas Executive Order 18-12 (state agency hiring); expungement and the right to answer no, K.S.A. § 21-6614(k) Checked September 17, 2026 | |
| Public only | Any time | Kentucky banned the box for state government jobs only, so a private employer here can still ask on the application. KRS Ch. 335B, Licensing and Public Employment Qualifications (public employment and licensing only); expungement, KRS 431.073 Checked September 17, 2026 | |
| Covered | Any time | A Louisiana employer can ask about your record whenever they want, but they cannot use an arrest that did not end in a conviction and they have to weigh the offense against the actual job. La. Rev. Stat. § 23:291.2 (Act 406 of 2021); public sector, La. Rev. Stat. § 42:1701 Checked September 17, 2026 | |
| Covered | At the interview, or once you have been found otherwise qualified | A Maine employer cannot ask about your record on the job application, and once they do ask they have to let you explain. 26 M.R.S. § 600-A Checked September 17, 2026 | |
| Covered | At the first in-person interview | A Maryland employer with fifteen or more workers cannot ask about your record until your first in-person interview, which is the weakest of any state that has a law at all. Maryland Criminal Record Screening Practices Act, Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. §§ 3-1501 to 3-1505 Checked September 17, 2026 | |
| Covered | At the interview | A Massachusetts employer with six or more workers cannot ask about your record on the application, and cannot ask at all about a misdemeanor more than three years behind you. M.G.L. c. 151B § 4(9) and § 4(9½); CORI access, M.G.L. c. 6 § 172 Checked September 17, 2026 | |
| Public only | Any time | Michigan banned the box for state government jobs only, and state law blocks Michigan cities from protecting you at a private employer. Local Government Labor Regulatory Limitation Act, MCL 123.1384; Michigan Executive Directive 2018-4 Checked September 17, 2026 | |
| Covered | After you are selected for an interview, or after a conditional offer if there is no interview | A Minnesota employer cannot ask about your record until they have picked you for an interview, and after that state law gives you nothing. Minn. Stat. § 364.021 Checked September 17, 2026 | |
| No state law | Any time | Mississippi has no state law limiting when a private employer can ask about your record. No state fair chance hiring law. Expungement: Miss. Code § 99-19-71 Checked September 17, 2026 | |
| Public only | Any time | Missouri banned the box for state government jobs only, but in Kansas City, St. Louis or Columbia the city ordinance does protect you at a private employer. Missouri Executive Order 16-04 (state agency hiring); Kansas City Code § 38-104; St. Louis Ord. 71074; Columbia Code Ch. 12, Art. V Checked September 17, 2026 | |
| No state law | Any time | Montana has no state law limiting when a private employer can ask about your record. No state fair chance hiring law. Misdemeanor expungement: Mont. Code Ann. § 46-18-1101 Checked September 17, 2026 | |
| Public only | Any time | Nebraska banned the box for public employers only, so a private employer here can ask about your record on the application. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 48-202 (public employers only) Checked September 17, 2026 | |
| Public only | Any time | Nevada banned the box for state government jobs only, so a private employer here can still ask on the application. Nev. Rev. Stat. §§ 284.281 and 284.283, and §§ 245.046, 268.402, 269.0802 (government employers only); enforcement, § 613.330(8) Checked September 17, 2026 | |
| No state law | Any time | New Hampshire repealed its ban the box law on July 1, 2025 and now has no state law limiting when any employer can ask about your record. RSA Ch. 275-H, repealed by 2025 N.H. Laws ch. 141, § 342, II, effective July 1, 2025 Checked September 17, 2026 | |
| Covered | After the first interview | A New Jersey employer with fifteen or more workers cannot ask about your record until after the first interview. New Jersey Opportunity to Compete Act, N.J.S.A. 34:6B-11 to 34:6B-19 Checked September 17, 2026 | |
| Covered | After they review your application, once you are discussing the job | A New Mexico employer cannot ask about your record on the job application, but they can ask as soon as they are talking with you about the job. New Mexico Criminal Offender Employment Act, N.M. Stat. § 28-2-3.1 Checked September 17, 2026 | |
| Covered | Any time | New York sets no rule about when an employer can ask, but a private employer with ten or more workers cannot turn you down over a conviction unless it is directly related to the job or would create an unreasonable risk. New York Correction Law Article 23-A, §§ 750 to 755; N.Y. Exec. Law § 296(15) and (16) Checked September 17, 2026 | |
| Public only | Any time | North Carolina removed the conviction question from state government applications only, so a private employer here can still ask. North Carolina Executive Order 158 (2020) (Governor’s agencies); expunged records, N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15A-153 Checked September 17, 2026 | |
| Public only | Any time | North Dakota banned the box for government jobs only, so a private employer here can ask about your record on the application. N.D.C.C. § 12.1-33-02.2 (public employers only); release of records, § 12-60-16.6 Checked September 17, 2026 | |
| Public only | Any time | Ohio banned the box for public employers only, so a private employer here can ask about your record on the application. Ohio Rev. Code § 9.73 (public employers only) Checked September 17, 2026 | |
| Public only | Any time | Oklahoma banned the box for state government jobs only, so a private employer here can still ask on the application. Oklahoma Executive Order 2016-03, continued by Executive Order 2019-07 (state agency hiring); expungement, 22 Okla. Stat. § 19(G) Checked September 17, 2026 | |
| Covered | At the first interview, or after a conditional offer if there is no interview | An Oregon employer cannot make you disclose your record before the first interview. Or. Rev. Stat. § 659A.360 (2015 Or. Laws ch. 559) Checked September 17, 2026 | |
| Covered | Any time | Pennsylvania sets no rule about when an employer can ask, but a conviction can only count against you if it relates to the job, and they must tell you in writing if it is why you were turned down. 18 Pa.C.S. § 9125; Philadelphia Code Ch. 9-3500, Fair Criminal Record Screening Standards Checked September 17, 2026 | |
| Covered | At the first interview | A Rhode Island employer with four or more workers cannot ask about your record on the application, but they can ask at the first interview. Rhode Island Fair Employment Practices Act, R.I. Gen. Laws § 28-5-7(7) Checked September 17, 2026 | |
| No state law | Any time | South Carolina has no state law limiting when a private employer can ask about your record. No state fair chance hiring law. Expungement: S.C. Code Ann. Title 17, Ch. 22 Checked September 17, 2026 | |
| No state law | Any time | South Dakota has no state law limiting when a private employer can ask about your record. No state fair chance hiring law. Sealing and the right to answer no: S.D. Codified Laws §§ 23A-3-27 and 23A-3-32 Checked September 17, 2026 | |
| Public only | Any time | Tennessee banned the box for state government jobs only, so a private employer here can still ask on the application. Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-50-112, 2016 Pub. Ch. 813 (state executive branch only); local preemption, 2026 Pub. Ch. 552 Checked September 17, 2026 | |
| No state law | Any time | Texas has no state law limiting when a private employer can ask about your record, and the Austin ordinance that used to protect you is no longer enforced. No state fair chance hiring law. Expunction: Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Ch. 55A Checked September 17, 2026 | |
| Public only | Any time | Utah banned the box for public employers only, so a private employer here can ask about your record on the application. Utah Code § 34-52-201 (public employers only) Checked September 17, 2026 | |
| Covered | At the interview, or once you have been found otherwise qualified | A Vermont employer cannot ask about your record on the job application, and if they ask later you have the right to explain. 21 V.S.A. § 495j Checked September 17, 2026 | |
| Public only | Any time | Virginia banned the box for state government jobs only, so a private employer here can still ask on the application. Va. Code §§ 19.2-392.15 and 19.2-392.4 (sealed and expunged records, private employers); DHRM Policy 2.10 (state agency hiring) Checked September 17, 2026 | |
| Covered | After a conditional offer | A Washington employer with fifteen or more workers cannot ask about your record until they have offered you the job, and they must hold that job open at least two business days while you respond. Washington Fair Chance Act, RCW 49.94.010, as amended by 2025 c 71 (EHB 1747) Checked September 17, 2026 | |
| No state law | Any time | West Virginia has no state law limiting when a private employer can ask about your record. No state fair chance hiring law. Expungement: W. Va. Code § 61-11-26 Checked September 17, 2026 | |
| Covered | Any time | A Wisconsin employer cannot refuse to hire you over a conviction unless the offense is substantially related to the job you applied for. Wisconsin Fair Employment Act, Wis. Stat. §§ 111.321 and 111.335 Checked September 17, 2026 | |
| No state law | Any time | Wyoming has no state law limiting when a private employer can ask about your record. No state fair chance hiring law. Expungement: Wyo. Stat. §§ 7-13-1401 and 7-13-1501 Checked September 17, 2026 |
One thing worth knowing everywhere
Even with no state law, the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act applies whenever an employer uses a background-check company. Before they turn you down over the report, they have to give you a copy of it and a summary of your rights, and give you a chance to dispute what is in it. Records are reported wrong often enough that it is worth reading.