A Record, State Jobs and Licenses
HRS 831-3.1 — a conviction alone does not disqualify, and only one in the past ten years related to the work
No one is disqualified from state or county employment, or from a state license, permit, registration or certificate for an occupation, solely because of a prior conviction.
Who handles this in Hawaii: Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center and Hawaii State Bar Association, Lawyer Referral and Information Service; and legal aid programs and the state offices, listed in the Hawaii directory.
- A conviction within the past ten years, not counting incarceration and not expunged, may be a reason to deny, suspend or revoke where it bears a rational relationship to the job or occupation.
- An older conviction counts only where it directly relates to the work and, after investigation, the person is found not sufficiently rehabilitated to warrant the public trust.
- A felony may be a reason to deny a liquor license.
- An applicant denied a civil service job for a conviction may appeal to the civil service commission or merit appeals board within twenty days after the notice.
These limits do not apply to, among others, the licensing of care facilities, jobs in youth, detention and correctional facilities, and positions with access to federal tax information.
Sources for this section (1)
- HRS 831-3.1 — Prior convictions; criminal records; noncriminal standards
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Hawaii attorney.