Benefits of Expungement for Employment in NC

This guide is for you if a background check cost you a job, or an offer is waiting on one. It also helps if you have an old conviction or a dismissed charge you want off your record.

Whether you qualify, and how soon, depends on the exact charge, the dates and the rest of your record. We handle clearing a charge from your record in North Carolina courts.

Have a job offer waiting on a background check? Call (336) 379-0539 and Jason Aycoth’s team will check what you can clear.

How Hard Is It to Get a Job With a Criminal Record in NC?

A conviction can follow you on background checks for your whole working life.

Under section 1681c of the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, background-check companies may not report an arrest more than seven years old, or until the statute of limitations expires, whichever is longer. Convictions have no time limit at all.

North Carolina has no statute of limitations for felonies, so an old felony arrest can stay reportable under that rule. Most misdemeanors must be charged within two years under G.S. 15-1(a).

The arrest limit does not apply at all to a job paying $75,000 a year or more. So a 20-year-old record can still appear when you apply for a better-paid role.

Waiting alone does not clear a record. An expunction order makes state agencies purge the entries from their files.

In 2020, then-Governor Roy Cooper signed Executive Order 158, a fair chance hiring order. It told state agencies to wait until after a first job interview before asking about criminal history or running a background check.

State HR guidance issued in July 2025 still applies the order to state agency hiring.

The order was aimed at state agencies, not private employers. Under G.S. 15A-153(a), a private employer may still ask about charges and convictions that are public and not expunged.

What Employers Can and Cannot Ask After an Expunction

An employer may not require you to disclose an expunged arrest, charge or conviction, in an application, an interview or any other way. The employer also may not knowingly ask about a record it knows was expunged.

“An employer or educational institution shall not, in any application, interview, or otherwise, require an applicant for employment or admission to disclose information concerning any arrest, criminal charge, or criminal conviction of the applicant that has been expunged.” G.S. 15A-153(c)

Leaving the record off is not perjury or a false statement under G.S. 15A-153(b). The one exception is police certification, shown below.

State and local government employers must first tell you that state law lets you leave expunged records out. They cannot deny your application only because you left one out (G.S. 15A-153(d)).

What if an employer asks anyway? The Commissioner of Labor issues a written warning for a first violation, then a civil penalty of up to $500 for each later one (G.S. 15A-153(f)).

The statute does not give you a private lawsuit against the employer. A lawyer can tell you what to do if a question crosses the line.

Who Can Still See an Expunged Record

Expunction hides the record from most employers, but not from everyone. The court system keeps a confidential file, and a short list of agencies can still reach it under G.S. 15A-151.

Who Is Asking	What They Can See or Ask	NC Law
Private employers	May not require it or knowingly ask about it	G.S. 15A-153(c)
State and local government (non-police)	Must tell you that you may leave it out	G.S. 15A-153(d)
Police and sheriff’s office employers	Can get it from the confidential court file (form AOC-CR-280)	G.S. 15A-151(a)(4)
Police officer and deputy certification	You must disclose expunged convictions	G.S. 15A-153(e)
Private security and protective services licensing boards	Can get it for licensing	G.S. 15A-151(a)(10)
Prosecutors	Can see it. For expunctions granted on or after July 1, 2018, the conviction may be considered a prior conviction if you are charged again	G.S. 15A-151.5(b)

Background Check Companies After an Expunction

After the order, state agencies must tell the private companies that buy their criminal record data to delete the record. That duty comes from G.S. 15A-150(d).

A company that sells criminal history must then delete it within the time in its license. If no license term applies, the deadline is 10 business days after notice under G.S. 15A-152(a).

A company that keeps selling the record can owe damages, court costs and attorney fees. Companies covered by the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act fall under that law’s remedies instead (G.S. 15A-152(c)).

You can also ask the Administrative Office of the Courts for a certificate verifying the expunction (G.S. 15A-152(d)).

It helps to see how Greensboro background checks read your record before you apply.

Expungement and Its Employment Benefits

A granted expunction restores you, in the eyes of the law, to where you stood before the arrest. G.S. 15A-145.5 calls it being “restored, in the contemplation of the law, to the status the petitioner occupied before the arrest.”

That is why the record no longer has to be listed on most applications. For the basics, read how expungement works in North Carolina.

The job benefits are practical: a cleaner background check, the right to leave the record off, and a better shot at licensed roles. The table shows the earliest point you can ask for one.

What Is on Your Record	Earliest You Can Ask	NC Law
All charges in the case dismissed or not guilty, on or after Dec. 1, 2021	Cleared by law 180 to 210 days after the case ends, with exceptions (a felony dismissed in a plea deal; a court dismissal for incapacity to proceed on or after Dec. 1, 2025)	G.S. 15A-146(a4); S.L. 2025-93
One nonviolent misdemeanor	3 years (when the 3 years starts if you had probation or an active sentence is unsettled; see the note below)	G.S. 15A-145.5(c)(1)a
More than one nonviolent misdemeanor	7 years	G.S. 15A-145.5(c)(1)b
One nonviolent felony	10 years (15 for breaking or entering under G.S. 14-54(a))	G.S. 15A-145.5(c)(2)
Two or three nonviolent felonies	20 years	G.S. 15A-145.5(c)(2)b

Older cases need a petition; see clearing dismissed and not guilty charges.

Each conviction row counts from your conviction date and the end of any sentence. That is why expunging an old conviction starts with your exact court dates.

A single Class 3 conviction is a common example; see how a Class 3 misdemeanor affects your record.

Impaired driving is never eligible, which is why how long a DWI stays on your record matters for any job. The same is true of sex offenses that can never be cleared, including the Class C statutory rape tier.

Not sure which row fits your record? Call (336) 379-0539 and we will check.

From Petition to a Clean Background Check

For a conviction, the petition is filed in the county where you were convicted. The filing fee is $175, unless you are indigent (G.S. 15A-145.5(c), (g)).

For a Guilford County conviction, that is the Guilford County court, which has courthouses in Greensboro and High Point.

Two people who are not related to you, or to each other, sign affidavits saying your character and reputation are good.

The petition is served on the district attorney’s office, which gets a 30-day window to file any objection. A judge can allow 30 more days for good cause.

If there was a victim, the victim may ask to be present and be heard. For one or more nonviolent misdemeanors, the judge must grant the petition when every requirement is met.

For felonies, the judge has discretion. After an order, the clerk sends it to state agencies, and those agencies notify their data buyers.

The protection on applications begins with the order, not with the filing. Until a judge signs, an employer may still ask about the public record.

If You Cannot Expunge Yet: The Certificate of Relief

A Certificate of Relief does not erase a conviction, but it can help with jobs and licenses. Under G.S. 15A-173.2, it is not a pardon either.

You may qualify with up to three Class H or I felonies plus any misdemeanors. Twelve months must have passed since you completed your sentence.

You must be working or seeking work, training or school, or have another lawful source of support. The fee is $50, and it does not apply to an indigent petitioner.

An employer who relied on the certificate is shielded from a negligent-hiring claim under G.S. 15A-173.5.

Government agencies and officials “shall consider” a certificate favorably, including licensing agencies. A later conviction for anything other than a traffic violation revokes it automatically.

A lawyer can tell you which path fits, depending on the facts of your record.

How a Lawyer Helps You Clear Your Record for a Job

The order you file in, and the date you file, can decide what you are able to clear for the rest of your life. A misdemeanor petition even asks you to sign that you understand this rule (G.S. 15A-145.5(c1)(7)).

Under that rule, a single-misdemeanor expunction granted before the seven-year mark rules out more misdemeanor expunctions.

A lawyer pulls your full record across counties and checks each waiting date. The lawyer then prepares the affidavits and petition, answers any objection, and follows up with background-check companies after the order.

Good results come from that groundwork, depending on the facts of your record. If a new charge is what stands between you and a job, our Greensboro criminal defense lawyers can help first.

Call today if a job offer is waiting on a background check, or if a 3-year or 7-year date has passed. If your case was dismissed, call and we will confirm whether the court has already cleared it.

Before your next application, talk to us about an expunction. Call (336) 379-0539 today for a record check.

Frequently Asked Questions

This article explains North Carolina law in general terms. It is not legal advice about your case, and laws, penalties and court procedures change. Contact an attorney about your specific situation.