How to Get a Pardon in PA: Application, Hearing, Decision

To get a pardon in Pennsylvania, you file a free clemency application with the state Board of Pardons, sit for an investigation and a public hearing, and wait for the Board to recommend you to the Governor, who signs the pardon. Since June 2024, a signed pardon also triggers automatic expungement of the pardoned offense, so you no longer have to file a separate court petition to clear the record.¹ Plan on a few years from application to decision.

A pardon is the Governor’s official forgiveness of a Pennsylvania conviction. It restores rights you lost because of the conviction, including holding public office and serving on a jury, and once the automatic expungement finishes on its quarterly cycle under 18 Pa.C.S. Section 9122(a.1), criminal background checks will not return the pardoned case. After that, you can state on job applications and other forms that you were never convicted of the pardoned crime.¹

When You’re Ready to Apply

Anyone with a Pennsylvania conviction can apply. The rules set no formal waiting period, but the Board expects a meaningful stretch of clean living between the end of your sentence and your application. For minor, nonviolent offenses, five years after completing all sentence requirements is a reasonable floor. For serious crimes, ten years or more is more realistic. These are the informal benchmarks the Board uses when it weighs whether enough time has passed.

A clean record during that stretch matters. New arrests or convictions between your original offense and your application will hurt your chances significantly. The Board is looking for evidence that you have moved on and stayed out of trouble.

Fines, court costs, and restitution should be paid before you apply. Unpaid balances won’t automatically disqualify you, but they can slow processing or produce an unfavorable decision.²

Filling Out the Application

The application lives on the Board of Pardons pages at pa.gov. If you are not currently incarcerated and your record is relatively simple, you can use the digital application, but it has to be completed in one sitting; there is no save-and-return. The Board recommends the downloadable PDF version if your record is complex or involves more than five criminal cases. Incarcerated applicants must use the PDF.³

You will be asked for personal details, your residential history, and a complete history of every criminal charge you have ever faced, including charges that did not end in a conviction. Be honest about everything. The Board investigates, and anything you leave out will count against you.

Court Records You Need to Gather

For each offense you want pardoned, pull the following court documents and submit them with your application:

The criminal complaint, which lists the date and details of the offense.
The affidavit of probable cause, which is law enforcement’s summary of the facts supporting the charges.
The criminal information or indictment filed by the District Attorney.
The final plea or verdict document showing how the case was resolved.
The sentencing order.

Currently incarcerated applicants are exempt from the document requirement.² Start pulling the records early. Older cases can take weeks to track down.

Your Personal Statement and Support Materials

A personal statement is technically optional, but the Board encourages every applicant to include one, and skipping it would be a mistake.⁴ Use it to explain how your life has changed since the offense and why you are seeking a pardon. The statements that land are specific and honest. Focus on taking responsibility and showing growth, not on arguing you were innocent or got a bad deal.

Letters from employers, community members, and faith leaders help, as do diplomas, certificates, and documentation of volunteer work. Anything that shows concrete positive change strengthens the file.

What Happens After You File

There is no application fee at any stage.⁴ The process itself has several stages, and the whole thing typically runs a few years.

Investigation

A parole auditor from the Department of Corrections investigates your case first. That means pulling your criminal history and driving record and conducting a phone interview with you that usually takes less than an hour. The interview gives the Board a current picture of your circumstances.⁵

Merit Review

Once the investigation is done, your application goes to the five-member Board of Pardons for merit review. The Board votes on whether to grant you a public hearing. For most applicants, two of the five members must vote yes to advance.⁴

The threshold is higher for applicants serving life sentences and for anyone convicted of a violent crime, a firearm offense, or an offense that caused death or serious bodily injury. In those cases, three of the five members must approve before a hearing is scheduled.⁴

Public Hearing

Public hearings are held virtually over Zoom. At least a week before yours, public notice goes out in the county where the crime occurred, and the District Attorney, any victims, and victims’ next of kin are notified and may speak.⁶ You do not need a lawyer to apply or to appear, but you can bring one; if you do, your attorney may ask permission to speak after you do. Board members will ask you about the offense, your rehabilitation, and your plans going forward.

Board Vote and the Governor’s Decision

After the hearing, the Board votes on whether to recommend the pardon to the Governor. For most applicants, a majority (three of five) is required. For applicants with life or death sentences, the vote must be unanimous.⁴

A favorable recommendation goes to the Governor, who can approve or deny it. The Governor is not bound by any time frame, and some applicants wait months after a favorable Board vote before hearing a final decision.

Expedited Review

Pennsylvania screens every incoming application for expedited eligibility automatically. You do not have to ask for it; the Board will notify you if you qualify.⁷ Eligibility depends on time since your last contact with the criminal justice system and the number of cases on your record:

Five years since your last contact, if you have only one case and it is a misdemeanor retail theft or a marijuana-related misdemeanor possession charge.
Ten years since your last contact, if you have only one criminal case, regardless of offense type.
Fifteen years since your last contact, if you have more than one criminal case.

Some offenses disqualify you from the expedited track entirely, including crimes involving firearms, homicide, assault, sexual offenses, burglary, robbery, and certain vehicle-related felonies. Those cases go through the standard process. Even when you meet all the criteria, the Board can still move your file to the standard track at its discretion.⁷

If You Get Denied

A denial, whether at merit review or after the public hearing, is not the end. You have two paths.

You can file a reconsideration request by mail. The form asks what has changed since your last application, the date of your previous hearing, the stage at which you were denied, and the Board’s vote. Reconsideration works best when you can point to something meaningfully different: more time with a clean record, new employment, completed education, or deeper community involvement.⁸

If reconsideration doesn’t fit your situation, you can reapply. After a first denial, the waiting period is 12 months from the date of the decision. After a second denial, it doubles to 24 months.⁸

A Note on Firearm Rights

Restoring the right to possess firearms is one of the most common reasons people seek a pardon, and it is also the most legally tangled outcome. A Pennsylvania pardon restores civil rights generally, which can include firearm rights, but federal law adds its own layer. Under 18 U.S.C. 921, a pardoned conviction is generally not treated as a conviction for federal firearm restrictions unless the pardon expressly bars firearm possession or did not fully restore firearm rights under state law.⁹ ATF regulations follow the same framework.¹⁰ Because the result depends on the specific language of your pardon and the nature of your conviction, talk to a firearms attorney before you assume you can lawfully possess a gun.

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Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Apply for Clemency
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Board of Pardons | Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Documents and Requirements
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Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Board of Pardons Clemency Application
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Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Clemency Process Overview
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Board of Pardons. Investigations Process
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Board of Pardons. Prepare for Your Hearing
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Board of Pardons | Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Expedited Clemency Review
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Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Submit a Clemency Reconsideration Request
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 921 – Definitions
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eRegulations – ATF eRegulations. 27 CFR 478.142 Effect of Pardons and Expunctions of Convictions