In most cases, a felon can hold public office in the United States. The Constitution sets no criminal-record bar for federal elected positions, so a felony conviction generally does not stop someone from running for president or Congress. State and local offices are a different story: rules vary widely by state and often by the type of felony, with some convictions triggering permanent disqualification and others no restriction at all. Whether a felon can hold public office in a specific situation comes down to which office, which state, and which crime.
Federal Elected Office: No Criminal Record Bar
The Constitution lists exactly who is eligible to serve as president, senator, or representative, and none of those lists mention a criminal record. A presidential candidate must be a natural-born citizen, at least 35 years old, and a U.S. resident for at least 14 years.1Constitution Annotated. Qualifications for the Presidency A House member must be at least 25, a U.S. citizen for seven years, and a resident of the state they represent.2Constitution Annotated. Article I Section 2 A senator must be at least 30, a citizen for nine years, and a state resident.3Constitution Annotated. Article I Section 3 Clause 3
Those lists are exhaustive. The Supreme Court held in U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton (1995) that states cannot add extra qualifications for federal candidates.4Legal Information Institute. U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton, 514 U.S. 779 Even in a state that permanently bars felons from state office, a convicted felon can still run for Congress or the presidency.
One caveat on keeping the seat: each chamber of Congress can expel one of its own members by a two-thirds vote for any reason it considers sufficient, and a criminal conviction has been treated as grounds.5Constitution Annotated. Article I Section 5 Getting elected and staying seated are separate questions.
Federal Crimes That Do Disqualify
A small number of federal criminal statutes build office-holding disqualification directly into the sentence. These bans apply to anyone convicted under the specific statute.
- Treason. A conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 2381 makes a person permanently “incapable of holding any office under the United States.”6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 2381 – Treason
- Bribery of a public official. Under 18 U.S.C. § 201, a person convicted of bribing or being bribed as a public official “may be disqualified from holding any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States.” The word “may” leaves the decision to the sentencing judge.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 201 – Bribery of Public Officials and Witnesses
- Military interference with elections. An armed forces member convicted under 18 U.S.C. § 593 of intimidating voters, pressuring election officials, or otherwise interfering with an election is disqualified from holding any federal office.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 593 – Interference by Armed Forces
- Advocating overthrow of the government. A conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 2385 bars a person from federal government employment for five years. This one hits employment rather than elected positions.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 2385 – Advocating Overthrow of Government
Most federal felony convictions, including drug offenses, fraud, and tax evasion, do not carry any office-holding disqualification at the federal level.
The 14th Amendment Insurrection Clause
Section 3 of the 14th Amendment disqualifies anyone who previously took an oath to support the Constitution and then “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” against the United States from holding any federal or state office, civil or military.10Constitution Annotated. Fourteenth Amendment, Section 3 It does not require a felony conviction to trigger, and its enforcement has been contested in recent years, with courts divided on who can invoke it and what process applies. The amendment includes its own release: Congress can remove the disqualification from any individual by a two-thirds vote of each chamber.11Constitution Annotated. Overview of the Insurrection Clause (Disqualification Clause)
State and Local Office: Where the Real Restrictions Live
For governor, state legislator, mayor, sheriff, school board, and most other positions below the federal level, state constitutions and statutes set the rules. The variation is huge, but the approaches fall into a few patterns.
Some states permanently bar anyone convicted of certain felonies from ever holding state or local office. Others disqualify a person only during the sentence itself, including incarceration, probation, and parole, with eligibility returning automatically once the sentence ends. A third group imposes waiting periods after sentence completion before someone may run again.
Voting rights and office-holding rights don’t always move together. Regaining the right to vote after a conviction does not necessarily mean regaining the right to run for office; several states treat these as separate questions with separate restoration timelines. Anyone weighing a state or local run after a conviction needs to check their state’s constitution and election code directly, and often attorney general opinions on top of that, because the details interact in non-obvious ways.
Why the Type of Felony Matters
State law commonly singles out offenses considered especially damaging to public trust. Bribery, perjury, embezzlement of public funds, and election fraud are the offenses most often targeted for harsher treatment. Someone convicted of a drug crime or a bar fight might face no office-holding restriction in many states, while a public employee convicted of taking a bribe could face a lifetime ban.
Many state constitutions also use broad categories like “infamous crime” or “crime involving moral turpitude” to define which convictions disqualify. These terms are not always well defined. Some states read “infamous crime” to cover every felony; others limit it to crimes carrying a potential prison sentence. “Moral turpitude” is hazier still, traditionally covering conduct viewed as fundamentally dishonest or morally shocking, such as fraud, theft, and certain sex offenses. Borderline cases often end up in court.
Getting Eligibility Back
Disqualification is not always the end of the road. Several mechanisms can restore a person’s eligibility to hold office, though which one applies depends on federal versus state law and on the specific offense.
Pardons
A governor’s pardon is the most common path to restoring state-level office eligibility. A pardon does not erase the conviction, but it removes the civil disabilities that came with it, which can include the office-holding bar. In many states, a pardon is the only way to overcome disqualification for offenses like bribery or embezzlement. The process typically requires a waiting period after sentence completion and a formal application to a pardons board or the governor.
At the federal level, a presidential pardon can remove disabilities from federal convictions. A pardon does not automatically hand back an office already forfeited as a consequence of the conviction, though.12Constitution Annotated. Overview of Pardon Power It can make you eligible to run again; it won’t give you back a seat you already lost.
Expungement or Record Sealing
Expungement removes a conviction from public view and, for most civil purposes including office eligibility, treats it as though it never happened. Qualifying is typically hard. Not every offense is eligible, waiting periods apply, and some states exclude violent felonies or public corruption convictions outright. Where available, expungement is powerful because it eliminates the conviction rather than simply forgiving it.
Automatic Restoration
In states that tie disqualification only to the length of a sentence, eligibility returns on its own once incarceration, probation, and parole are complete. No application, no hearing, no fee. This is the simplest route, but only in states that use this approach, and typically not for the offenses states single out for harsher treatment.
Running for Office From Prison
Nothing in federal law prevents a person from campaigning for federal office while incarcerated. Eugene V. Debs ran for president on the Socialist Party ticket in 1920 while serving a 10-year sentence for a speech opposing World War I, and received roughly one million votes. In 1798, Representative Matthew Lyon won reelection to Congress while jailed under the Sedition Act for criticizing President John Adams, and returned to his seat after his sentence.
State and local races are a harder path from behind bars. Many states require candidates to be qualified electors, and incarcerated individuals in most states cannot vote, which knocks out candidacy as a practical matter until the sentence ends.