An Analysis of Certificates of Rehabilitation in the United States

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

An impediment to offender reintegration and rehabilitation is so-called collateral consequences—restrictions imposed by state and/or federal laws that apply to people who have been arrested, convicted, or incarcerated. Some laws limit formerly incarcerated individuals’ eligibility for certain occupations and professional licensure and substantially restrict employment opportunities. In this paper, we examine bars on employment and licensure and the ways states are addressing issues that impact an individual’s ability to obtain lawful employment or licensure. We examine each state’s process related to either a restoration of civil rights or a judicial administrative certificate that enables those with a criminal record to have a significantly better chance of obtaining employment or licensure. In particular, we focus on certificates of rehabilitation (COR). These certificates provide the recipient with the right not to be denied employment or licensure solely based on their criminal record. Findings reveal that only 16 states and the District of Columbia have CORs. States with CORs vary considerably in their process for obtaining a certificate, and only one state allows for interstate reciprocity of CORs. We discuss the policy implications of these results.