A conviction alone cannot disqualify you
§ 28-5.1-14(d): no person shall be disqualified from practicing an occupation for which a state license, permit, certificate or registration is required "solely or in part, because of a prior conviction of a crime or crimes unless the underlying crime or crimes substantially relate to the occupation to which the license applies."
The subsection then adds a sentence that is easy to skim past and does a great deal of work: "Any other state law to the contrary will be superseded by this provision." § 28-5.1-14(e) applies the same rule to suspending or revoking a license you already hold.
"License" is defined broadly — the whole or part of any agency permit, certificate, approval or similar permission required by law. A driver's license under chapter 10 of title 31 is the one thing expressly carved out.
An expunged conviction may not be used at all
§ 28-5.1-14(h) lists criminal records that "may not be used in connection with any application for a license, permit, certificate, or registration." There are five, and the third is the reason this page exists:
- Juvenile adjudications
- Records of arrest not followed by a valid conviction
- Convictions that have been, pursuant to law, annulled or expunged
- Misdemeanor convictions for which no jail sentence can be imposed
- A conviction that is not related to the occupation, as determined under subsection (f)
What "substantially relate" means
Where a conviction has not been expunged, subsection (f) tells the licensing authority what to weigh in deciding whether it substantially relates to the occupation:
- The state's legitimate interest in equal access to employment for people who have had past contact with the criminal justice system
- The state's legitimate interest in protecting the property, safety and welfare of specific individuals or the general public
- The relationship of the crime to the ability, capacity and fitness required to perform the duties of the occupation
And even then, rehabilitation answers it
§ 28-5.1-14(g): a person convicted of a crime that does substantially relate to the occupation still shall not be disqualified if they can show "competent evidence of sufficient rehabilitation and present fitness."
The statute tells the board what to consider, including completion of at least two years after release from imprisonment — or at least two years after the sentencing date on a probation sentence without incarceration — with no subsequent conviction or pending charge; the nature and seriousness of the offense; mitigating circumstances; the applicant's age at the time; and letters of reference from people who have been in contact with the applicant since release.
The board has to show its work
Subsections (i) to (k) are procedural and they are worth knowing, because a board that skips them has not followed the statute. Before a final decision to deny, suspend or revoke on the basis of a conviction, the licensing authority must notify you in writing of:
- The specific convictions relied on, and its rationale for calling them substantially related
- A copy of the conviction history report, if there is one, that it is relying on
- A statement that you may provide evidence of mitigation or rehabilitation
- Instructions on how to respond — and you then have thirty business days
If it still says no
A final decision must be in writing and must address each of the subsection (f) factors, identify the convictions relied on, set out the appeal process under chapter 35 of title 42, and state the earliest date you may reapply — which "shall not be longer than two (2) years from the date of the final decision."
Each licensing body also has to publish an annual report of how many applicants it denied, and how many it denied solely or in part because of a criminal conviction.
Where the expungement statute meets the licensing statute
§ 12-1.3-4(b) lets you state on any application for a license that you have never been convicted of the crime. § 28-5.1-14(h)(3) approaches the same result from the board's side: it may not use an expunged conviction at all. Two statutes, both pointing the same way.
But note carefully who is carved out. § 12-1.3-4(b) requires disclosure anyway for admission to the bar of any court, a teaching certificate under chapter 11 of title 16, a coaching certificate under § 16-11.1-1, an early childhood education facility under chapter 48.1 of title 16, and a law enforcement position.
§ 12-1.3-4(c) is a separate and narrower list, and it is easy to misread as the same one. It lets the custodian of the record disclose an expunged conviction to a bar admission, character and fitness, or disciplinary committee, board, agency or court, and to the commissioner of elementary and secondary education.
The two are not the same five. Subsection (b) says who you must tell. Subsection (c) says who may be told by the office that holds the record. Where they overlap — bar admission above all — expect the conviction to be visible whatever you write on the form, and plan on speaking to it.
Before you apply
Get the BCI report so you are working from the official record rather than memory, and find out whether the conviction is expungeable at all — the eligibility checker takes about two minutes and names the statute behind every answer.
If the license you want is not one of the five carve-outs, an expungement takes the conviction out of the board's reach entirely under § 28-5.1-14(h)(3). That is a materially better position than arguing about whether it substantially relates to the occupation.
