What Rights Do You Lose With a Felony in California?

A felony conviction in California takes away your right to own a firearm for life, and it suspends your right to vote, sit on a jury, and hold public office while you are in state or federal prison or under felony supervision. Almost everything else stays yours, but a record quietly reshapes how you move through housing, hiring, professional licensing, and, if you are not a citizen, your ability to stay in the country at all. The rights you lose with a felony in California fall into two groups: a short list of civil rights the law formally strips, and a longer list of everyday opportunities the law lets other people weigh against your record.

Firearm Rights

This is the biggest permanent loss. A felony conviction triggers a lifetime ban on owning, buying, or possessing any firearm in California, regardless of what the felony was or how long ago it happened. The ban covers guns you receive from someone else, borrow, or simply store in your home.¹

Getting caught with a gun after a felony conviction is itself a felony, carrying up to three years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. State law is only half the problem. Federal law independently prohibits anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison from possessing a firearm or ammunition, so even if you clear the California restriction, federal liability remains unless your rights are fully restored.²

There are narrow paths back. If your felony was a “wobbler” (an offense that could have been charged as either a felony or a misdemeanor), a court can reduce it to a misdemeanor under Penal Code 17(b).³ A Governor’s pardon that specifically restores firearm rights is the other option, and pardons are rare. One thing that will not restore firearm rights is a dismissal under Penal Code 1203.4; the statute says so explicitly.⁴

Voting Rights

Your right to vote is suspended only while you are serving time in a state or federal prison for a felony. California’s Elections Code defines “imprisoned” narrowly as currently serving a prison term, so if you’re in county jail for a misdemeanor, awaiting trial, or held on a probation violation, you can still vote.⁵

Once you walk out of prison, your voting rights come back automatically. You do not need to wait until parole, probation, or any form of community supervision ends. The catch is that restoration isn’t self-executing at the ballot box. You have to re-register, either online through the Secretary of State’s website or with a paper card. Nobody will do it for you, and plenty of people assume they can’t vote when they actually can.⁶

Jury Service

California does not permanently bar everyone with a felony record from jury duty. You are disqualified only while you are incarcerated or actively under felony supervision, which includes parole, post-release community supervision, felony probation, and mandated supervision. Once that supervision ends, you become eligible again. One permanent exception: if you have to register as a sex offender based on a felony conviction, you cannot serve on a California jury at any point.⁷

Federal jury service is a separate matter. Under federal law, you are disqualified from serving on a federal grand or petit jury if you have been convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year of imprisonment and your civil rights have not been restored. A Governor’s pardon or Certificate of Rehabilitation may satisfy the civil rights requirement; a simple dismissal under Penal Code 1203.4 typically does not.⁸

Holding Public Office

California law broadly disqualifies anyone convicted of certain designated crimes from holding public office.⁹ This one is harder to shake than most. Getting your conviction dismissed under Penal Code 1203.4 does not remove the disqualification; the statute explicitly carves out public office from the relief a dismissal provides.⁴ A Governor’s pardon is generally required to regain eligibility for elected or appointed positions.

Immigration Status for Non-Citizens

For non-citizens, a California felony can carry a consequence worse than any fine or prison sentence: deportation. Federal immigration law makes any non-citizen convicted of an aggravated felony deportable, with almost no avenue for relief. The category is broader than the name suggests and includes offenses California treats as non-violent, such as certain theft crimes, fraud offenses involving losses over $10,000, and some drug trafficking convictions.¹⁰

Even felonies that don’t qualify as aggravated can trigger removal. A conviction for a crime involving moral turpitude committed within five years of admission, if the offense carries a potential sentence of one year or more, is an independent ground for deportation. Two or more such convictions at any time after admission are also grounds for removal, regardless of when they occurred. A full and unconditional pardon from a Governor or the President can eliminate these grounds, but a California dismissal under Penal Code 1203.4 generally does not erase the immigration consequences of a conviction.¹⁰

Employment and Professional Licenses

You do not lose the right to work, but California law lets employers consider your record under tight rules. The Fair Chance Act prohibits employers with five or more employees from asking about criminal history on a job application or during the interview. An employer cannot inquire about convictions until after making a conditional job offer. If the employer then wants to withdraw that offer based on your record, it has to conduct an individualized assessment weighing the nature of the offense, how much time has passed, and the duties of the job, then notify you in writing and give you a chance to respond.

Some records are off-limits at any stage: arrests that did not lead to a conviction, participation in diversion programs, and convictions that have been sealed, dismissed, or pardoned. A successful Penal Code 1203.4 dismissal gives you real protection in hiring, even though it does not restore firearm rights or office eligibility. Federal hiring has its own version. The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act bars federal agencies from asking about criminal history before a conditional job offer, with exceptions for positions involving classified information, national security, or law enforcement.¹¹

Professional licensing works on similar logic. A felony conviction does not automatically disqualify you from a California professional license. Since 2020, most state licensing boards can only deny an application based on a conviction that occurred within the last seven years and is substantially related to the duties of the profession. The seven-year clock runs from the date of conviction or, if you were incarcerated, from the date of release. The lookback does not apply to serious felonies (as defined in Penal Code 1192.7), sex offenses requiring registration, or financial crimes directly tied to the profession’s fiduciary duties. Boards must ignore convictions dismissed under Penal Code 1203.4 or 1203.41 and cannot deny a license based on an arrest alone. If a board does find a conviction disqualifying, it must still consider evidence of rehabilitation, and a Certificate of Rehabilitation or pardon creates a presumption that you’ve been rehabilitated.

Housing

You do not lose the right to rent, but landlords are allowed to look at convictions within limits. California fair housing rules prevent landlords from imposing blanket bans. A landlord cannot consider arrests that did not lead to a conviction, juvenile records, or convictions that have been sealed or dismissed, and should verify your financial qualifications before looking at criminal history at all.¹²

A landlord who intends to deny your application based on a past conviction must conduct an individualized assessment considering how long ago the conduct occurred, whether you were young at the time, evidence of rehabilitation, your tenant history, and whether the conduct was connected to a disability or domestic violence. The landlord has to show a direct connection between the conviction and your ability to be a responsible tenant. A one-size-fits-all criminal record policy violates California fair housing law.¹²

International Travel

A felony conviction does not automatically disqualify you from getting a U.S. passport. Most people with felony records can get one. The main exceptions involve convictions for international drug trafficking or treason, outstanding federal arrest warrants, and owing more than $2,500 in child support. Active parole or probation conditions that restrict travel can also block passport issuance.

The bigger obstacle is that many countries independently screen visitors for criminal records. Canada generally considers people with serious criminal convictions inadmissible, though you can apply for a Temporary Resident Permit or seek criminal rehabilitation status after completing your sentence. The United Kingdom typically refuses entry to anyone who received a custodial sentence of 12 months or more. Australia requires a character test and automatically fails applicants with prison sentences of 12 months or more. Japan bars entry for anyone convicted of an offense punishable by one year or more of imprisonment and imposes a permanent bar for drug offenses. If you plan to travel internationally with a felony record, check the destination’s entry requirements well before booking.

How to Get Rights Back

California offers several ways to address a felony on your record, each with different eligibility and different effects on your rights.

Petition for Dismissal

If you completed felony probation, you can petition the court under Penal Code 1203.4 to withdraw your guilty plea, enter a not-guilty plea, and have the case dismissed. The relief is available once probation has ended and you are not currently serving a sentence, on probation, or facing new charges.⁴ If you served time in state prison instead of probation, Penal Code 1203.41 provides a parallel path, with a waiting period after your sentence ends and the same requirement that you not be on parole or supervision when you petition.¹³

The limit that trips people up: a dismissal under either statute does not restore firearm rights, does not remove the disqualification from holding public office, and does not eliminate immigration consequences. You still have to disclose the original conviction when applying for public office or a state license.

Automatic Record Relief Under SB 731

Since July 2023, California automatically grants conviction relief for certain felonies without any petition. If your felony conviction occurred on or after January 1, 2005, you have completed all terms of incarceration, probation, and supervision, and four years have passed without a new felony conviction, the Department of Justice will process your relief. You also need to be off supervision entirely and free of pending criminal charges.¹⁴ Automatic relief does not reach serious felonies, violent felonies, or offenses requiring sex offender registration. The process runs in the background, but checking your record to confirm the relief was actually applied is a smart move.

Certificate of Rehabilitation and Governor’s Pardon

A Certificate of Rehabilitation is a court order formally recognizing that you have turned your life around after a felony. It requires California residency and a waiting period after your sentence, with a minimum total of about seven years.¹⁵ Once granted, the certificate automatically serves as an application for a Governor’s pardon and creates a strong presumption of rehabilitation for licensing boards.¹⁶

A Governor’s pardon is the most powerful form of relief. It can restore the right to hold public office, serve on a jury, and in some cases possess firearms. Pardons are discretionary and relatively uncommon, but they remain the only reliable way to fully restore every civil right lost to a felony conviction.¹⁷

1
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 29800 – Prohibitions on Firearm Access
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
3
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 17 – Classification of Offenses
4
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 1203.4 – Dismissal of Accusation or Information
5
California Legislative Information. California Elections Code 2101 – Voter Eligibility
6
National Conference of State Legislatures. Restoration of Voting Rights for Felons
7
California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 203 – Jury Duty Eligibility
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1865 – Qualifications for Jury Service
9
California Legislative Information. California Government Code 1021 – Disqualifications for Office
10
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1227 – Deportable Aliens
11
U.S. Department of the Treasury. The Fair Chance to Compete Act
12
California Civil Rights Department. Fair Housing and Criminal History Fact Sheet
13
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 1203.41 – Relief After Completion of Sentence
14
California Legislative Information. Senate Bill 731 – Automatic Conviction Record Relief
15
California Courts. Certificate of Rehabilitation
16
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 4852.01 – Certificate of Rehabilitation and Pardon
17
California Legislative Information. California Penal Code 4800 – Powers and Duties of Governor