Strengths

• Repealed multiple good moral character requirements for its licenses, though it did not enact an overarching ban.

Areas of Improvement

• Require evidence of rehabilitation when considering applicants.
• Strengthen safeguards for due process by requiring a petition process and placing the burden of proof on the state.

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Delaware receives a D- for its overall lackluster protections for ex-offenders seeking licenses. Unlike many other states, Delaware requires people with criminal records to obtain a waiver before they can obtain a license, but those with felony convictions generally must wait at least five years before they can apply for such a waiver. However, for a select number of licenses, including barbers, cosmetologists, electricians, massage therapists, and construction contractors, the waiting period is reduced to three years for felonies against a person, and two years for all other felonies. In addition, for those same select licenses, boards may not consider convictions older than 10 years.

Rather confusingly, Delaware defines its “substantially related” standard as “the nature of the criminal conduct, for which the person was convicted” that has “a direct bearing on the fitness or ability to perform one or more of the duties or responsibilities necessarily related.” (The state’s limited case law did not elaborate on the “direct bearing” aspect.) For the purposes of this report, Delaware is graded as having a “substantially related” standard.

Statute: Del. Code Ann. tit.24, §§ 101 – 5515 (2019)