Ban the Box Laws by State: The Complete 2026 Guide
Ban the Box laws limit when employers can ask about criminal history. Here is which states and cities have them, what they require, and what they do not cover.
You have seen the checkbox. "Have you ever been convicted of a crime?" It appears on job applications, rental forms, and licensing applications. For millions of people with criminal records, that box is where the process ends — checked, and then the application goes in the rejection pile before anyone reads the rest.
Ban the Box laws address this by limiting when an employer can ask about criminal history. The core idea: delay the criminal history question until later in the hiring process — after the applicant has had a chance to be evaluated on their qualifications first. The box is not banned permanently. It is moved to a later stage.
This is not legal advice.
This guide explains how the law works in general terms. Whether you qualify depends on your specific record, and a judge makes the final call. If your situation is complicated — multiple convictions, charges in multiple states, or a previous denial — consulting a lawyer who handles expungement is worth the cost of a consultation.
What Ban the Box actually does
Ban the Box is not an expungement law. It does not erase, seal, or hide your criminal record. What it does is change the timing of the criminal history inquiry in the hiring process. In states and cities with Ban the Box laws, employers cannot ask about criminal history on the initial job application. They can still ask — but only after a conditional offer of employment, or after the first interview, depending on the jurisdiction.
The theory is that if employers evaluate candidates on their skills and qualifications first, they are more likely to consider the whole person rather than making an automatic rejection based on a checkbox. Research supports this: studies have found that Ban the Box laws increase callback rates for people with criminal records.
However, Ban the Box laws have limitations. They do not prevent employers from running background checks entirely — they just change when in the process that happens. And the laws vary enormously in their scope, enforcement, and strength.
The federal standard: EEOC guidance
There is no federal Ban the Box law that applies to all private employers. However, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has issued enforcement guidance on the use of criminal records in employment decisions. Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the EEOC takes the position that blanket policies of excluding applicants with criminal records may constitute disparate impact discrimination, because criminal records disproportionately affect Black and Hispanic applicants.
The EEOC guidance recommends that employers conduct an "individualized assessment" that considers the nature of the offense, the time elapsed since the conviction, and the nature of the job. This is not a binding law — it is guidance. But it influences how federal enforcement agencies handle discrimination complaints, and many employers follow it to reduce legal risk.
For federal contractors and federal agencies, there is a more concrete rule. The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act (2019) prohibits most federal agencies and federal contractors from requesting criminal history information before making a conditional offer of employment.
States with Ban the Box laws
- California — prohibits criminal history inquiry before conditional offer. Applies to employers with 5+ employees. Cal. Gov. Code 12952.
- Colorado — prohibits criminal history inquiry on initial application. Applies to employers with 11+ employees. C.R.S. 24-5-101.
- Connecticut — prohibits criminal history inquiry on initial application. Applies to all employers. Conn. Gen. Stat. 31-51i.
- Hawaii — prohibits criminal history inquiry until after conditional offer. Applies to all employers. HRS 378-2.5.
- Illinois — prohibits criminal history inquiry until after interview or conditional offer. Applies to employers with 15+ employees. 820 ILCS 75.
- Massachusetts — prohibits criminal history inquiry on initial application. Applies to all employers. Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 151B, 4(9.5).
- Minnesota — prohibits criminal history inquiry on application. Applies to all employers. Minn. Stat. 364.021.
- New Jersey — prohibits criminal history inquiry during initial application process. Applies to employers with 15+ employees. N.J.S.A. 34:6B-11 et seq.
- New York — prohibits criminal history inquiry before conditional offer (statewide under correction law). N.Y. Correct. Law 752.
- Oregon — prohibits criminal history inquiry on application or before first interview. Applies to employers with 6+ employees. ORS 659A.360.
- Rhode Island — prohibits criminal history inquiry on initial application. Applies to all private employers. R.I. Gen. Laws 28-5.1-14.
- Vermont — prohibits criminal history inquiry on initial application. Applies to all employers. 21 V.S.A. 495j.
- Washington — prohibits advertising that excludes people with criminal records. Applies to employers with 1+ employees. RCW 49.94.
This list covers states with laws specifically addressing private employers. Many additional states have Ban the Box laws that apply only to public (government) employers — over 35 states have some form of public-sector Ban the Box.
Cities and counties with Ban the Box
In addition to state laws, over 150 cities and counties have enacted their own Ban the Box ordinances. Many of these local laws are stronger than the state versions — some apply to all employers regardless of size, and some include enforcement mechanisms with penalties for violations.
- New York City — Fair Chance Act. Prohibits inquiry until after conditional offer. Applies to all employers with 4+ employees. Strong enforcement through NYC Commission on Human Rights.
- San Francisco — Fair Chance Ordinance. Prohibits inquiry until after conditional offer. Applies to employers with 5+ employees.
- Los Angeles — Fair Chance Initiative. Prohibits inquiry until after conditional offer. Applies to employers with 10+ employees.
- Philadelphia — Ban the Box Ordinance. Prohibits inquiry until after conditional offer. Applies to all employers.
- Seattle — Fair Chance Employment Ordinance. Prohibits advertising, applications, and inquiry until after screening. Applies to all employers.
- Austin, TX — Ban the Box applies to city employment and city contractors.
- Chicago — Ban the Box Ordinance. Applies to employers with 15+ employees.
- Washington, D.C. — Fair Criminal Record Screening Act. Prohibits inquiry until after conditional offer. Applies to all employers with 11+ employees.
- Portland, OR — Ban the Box applies to employers with 6+ employees.
- Baltimore, MD — applies to all employers with 10+ employees.
Local ordinances often have stronger protections than state laws. If both a state and local Ban the Box law apply, the stricter rule typically governs.
What Ban the Box does not do
May qualify
- Prevents employers from asking about criminal history on the initial application form
- Delays the background check inquiry until later in the hiring process
- Gives you a chance to be evaluated on qualifications before criminal history is considered
- Applies to most private employers in covered states and cities (varies by size threshold)
- Some versions require employers to conduct an individualized assessment before rejecting based on criminal history
Generally does not qualify
- Does NOT erase, expunge, or seal your criminal record
- Does NOT prevent employers from running background checks at all — just delays when
- Does NOT apply in most states to law enforcement, childcare, healthcare, financial services, and other regulated positions
- Does NOT override federal requirements for security clearances, FDIC-regulated positions, or other federally mandated background checks
- Does NOT guarantee you will be hired — employers can still reject based on criminal history after the conditional offer stage
- Does NOT apply to housing applications in most jurisdictions (some cities have separate fair housing rules)
Ban the Box is a timing rule, not a prohibition. It gives people with records a fairer shot at being considered, but it does not clear the record or prevent the employer from ultimately seeing it.
How to use Ban the Box protections
- 1.Do not volunteer criminal history on the initial application. If the application does not ask, do not disclose. Ban the Box means you have no obligation to bring it up first.
- 2.If an application still has the criminal history question and your jurisdiction has a Ban the Box law, you may leave it blank. Some attorneys advise writing "will discuss at interview." Do not lie — but you are not required to answer questions that the employer is not allowed to ask.
- 3.Prepare a brief, honest explanation for when the question does come up — typically at the conditional offer stage. Keep it short: what happened, what you have done since, and why you are the right person for the job.
- 4.Know your rights. If you are rejected after a conditional offer based on a background check, the employer must follow FCRA procedures: provide a copy of the report, give you time to dispute errors, and send a final adverse action notice.
- 5.File a complaint if an employer violates the law. In states and cities with Ban the Box enforcement, there are typically agencies that accept complaints — state labor departments, human rights commissions, or city agencies.
Ban the Box gives you a fair start. Expungement gives you a clean record. The two work together — if you can expunge your record, the Ban the Box question becomes irrelevant entirely.
Ban the Box plus expungement: the strongest combination
Ban the Box gives you a fairer shot at the interview. Expungement goes further — it removes the conviction from the background check entirely. If you can expunge your record, the criminal history question becomes moot. You do not need to worry about when the employer asks because there is nothing to find.
For people who are eligible for expungement, that is the stronger path. Ban the Box is a protection you can use while your record still exists. Expungement is the solution that makes the protection unnecessary.
Use the free options guide to see if your conviction qualifies for expungement in your state. If it does, the DIY Kit guides you through the filing process. If it does not, know your Ban the Box rights and use them.
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