How Long Does a Felony Stay on Your Record?

Published: 02/04/2026By: Claire Young

A felony on your record means that you’ve committed a crime, which can make you look unfavorable when applying for a job and other aspects of life. It surely isn’t a pleasant thing to have on your record, though there are actions a handful of individuals who meet their state’s requirements can take to remove a felony record from their criminal history.

Nevertheless, a felony conviction is something that can appear on your personal criminal record, and in this article, we will answer how long does a felony stay on your record. Whether you’ve had a felony conviction in the past and are simply wondering how long it stays on the record, read to the end to get your answers.

What Is a Felony in Legal Terms?

A felony refers to a serious criminal offense that’s typically punishable by more than one year in prison. It might also include heavy fines, depending on how serious the crime is. In extreme cases, such as capital murder, a felony can even lead to the death penalty.

Therefore, felonies represent the most serious crime category in the legal system. Common examples of a felony include murder, sexual assault, drug trafficking, armed robbery, and large-scale fraud.

However, felonies are also broken down into different classes/degrees. Class A/first-degree felonies are the most severe out of all, such as murder. Class B/second-degree felonies are what follow class A/first-degree felonies, covering serious crimes like robbery or aggravated assault.

Class D/third-degree and Class E/fourth-degree felonies are typically less serious, such as fraud or embezzlement, but they are still considered felonies and often punished by prison time longer than a year.

Note that this classification affects the total sentence length and fines someone might be subjected to due to the crime committed. For example, Washington State Legislation rules that the maximum sentence for a Class B/second-degree felony is ten years, whereas the maximum sentence is 25 years in Texas.

Felony vs. Misdemeanor vs. Infraction

Now, you know that a felony is the most serious category of crime. These crimes involve significant harm to others or property, and the offenders face severe punishments.

A misdemeanor, on the other hand, is a less serious crime than a felony but still serious enough that the offender can face up to one year in jail. However, those convicted of a misdemeanor serve in a local or county jail rather than the state prison, which is where people who are convicted of a felony complete their sentence.

Common examples of misdemeanors include petty theft, first-time DUI, simple assault, and disorderly conduct. Even though these are much less serious compared to the given examples for felonies, misdemeanors still go on someone’s record. Therefore, it will appear on a background check, which can affect employment, immigration status, and other aspects of life.

Lastly, infractions are the least serious type of offense – they are also known as petty offenses or violations. Infractions typically don’t carry any jail time, and instead, they usually result in a fine. If it is related to traffic, however, which many infractions are, it can lead to a warning or negative points on the offender’s driver’s license.

Common examples of infractions are speeding, noise ordinance violations, littering, and running a red light. Due to their nature, infractions are the least serious type of offense. Infractions aren’t considered a crime. So, they don’t affect the offender’s criminal record. This means that if you’ve had an infraction in the past, it won’t appear on your criminal history.

How Long Does a Felony Stay on Your Record After the Offense?

As for how long a felony stays on your record, it will be on your criminal record permanently unless it is expunged or sealed. That means that even years after you’ve served your sentence, completed probation, and paid any of the related fines, the felony will still appear on your criminal history.

Your felony record will be accessible to the public for anyone who’s running a criminal records check on you, such as employers, landlords, and credit companies.

Due to this, there’s a lifetime or at least long-term consequences of having a felony on your record. This can affect finding a job, renting a residential property, and even certain rights, such as the right to vote and owning a firearm.

While having been convicted of a felony will certainly make life more difficult in many aspects, note that some states allow for expunging the records or sealing the records under certain conditions. These are typically available only for non-violent and lower-level felonies. The exact rules and eligibility requirements vary by state, though there’s always a set waiting period that the individual must not commit any crime.

For instance, Washington State requires that five years must pass after a Class C conviction in order for the individual to become eligible for filing a petition to seal the records. There are also other requirements, like completing any of the required treatment programs after serving the prison sentence.

Once again, all the requirements vary by state, and it is important for those with a past felony conviction to get legal help from a criminal defense attorney to know their options.

What About State Felonies?

Most felony crimes, such as assault, drug possession, and burglary, are considered state felonies, and as such, they are handled by the court system where the crime occurred. In terms of how long a state felony appears on the offender’s record, it is the same as federal felonies – it will stay on their record permanently.

Just because a felony is a state felony doesn’t mean that it is treated differently in terms of how long it stays on someone’s criminal record. Additionally, state felonies must also follow the same rules for expungement and record sealing.

Expungement/Record Sealing Process for Felonies

As mentioned, you can initiate the legal process for a felony conviction to be expunged or sealed. Here’s an overview of the process.

Eligibility Requirements: First and foremost, learn if you’re eligible to file a formal petition to request your felony conviction to be expunged or sealed. You can check your state’s rules and regulations on this or consult a criminal defense attorney.
Gather Documents: If you’re eligible, start gathering your documents, such as court records, sentencing documents, and proof that all terms of your felony conviction have been satisfied. You can also include additional documents to prove that you’ve been rehabilitated and living crime-free for the entire duration your state requires.
File the Petition: With your documents, file a formal petition with the court that handled your case. After filing the petition, there might be a court hearing, which you (or your representative) must attend to answer any of the questions about your case directed by the court. If the court rules in favor of expunging or sealing your records, they will issue the order.

While the above explains the standard process, note that there’s no guarantee that the court will accept the request. Also, sealed felony records might still appear on checks conducted by law enforcement and immigration, though they won’t appear on a background check.

How Long Does a Felony Stay on Your Record After Expungement or Sealing?

After a record is sealed or expunged, it doesn’t instantly disappear from the person’s record. Once the court orders for the record to be sealed, it typically sends the order to relevant government agencies for the change to take effect. Therefore, there’s a processing time, which takes anywhere between a few days and several weeks to be fully reflected across all systems.

If you’re applying for a job, for example, and there’s a background check, you might want to wait until the sealing or expungement is fully complete and the records have been updated before you authorize the background check.

Check if a Felony Appears on Your Record Online

We’ve answered how long does a felony stay on your record, along with additional information on how you can start the process to get it removed from your criminal history if you qualify for it.

Whether you’ve already gone through this process or are wondering whether the felony stays on your record, you can check if a felony appears on your record online.

All you need to do is use our people search to get your criminal records online – simply enter your full name and the city and state you live in to get started. Our people search tool will then scan public records and put together a detailed list of your criminal records.

Since you will discover this information through public records via USPeopleSearch, you can think of this as running a background check on yourself.

The information you find out in the end about your criminal history will be essentially the same as what an employer running a background check on you will see. This can help you be better prepared in case you are questioned because of your past, which will likely come up if you’ve had a felony conviction.