Philadelphia ban-the-box law for employers (2026): the conditional offer rule, lookbacks and the ten-day notice

Philadelphia's ban-the-box law, the Fair Criminal Record Screening Standards in chapter 9-3500 of the Philadelphia Code (the city also calls it the Fair Chance Hiring law), bars every private employer with anyone working in the city, staffing agencies included, from asking about convictions before a conditional offer, and from asking about arrests that did not end in a conviction at any stage. As of November 2026, after the offer an employer may weigh only felonies within seven years and misdemeanors within four, never summary offenses, sealed or expunged records, exonerations or juvenile records, and only after an individualized assessment. A rejection needs a written provisional notice with the record and a ten-business-day wait. The Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations enforces it.

What is Philadelphia's ban-the-box law?

It is chapter 9-3500 of Title 9 of the Philadelphia Code, sections 9-3501 to 9-3512. The core rules sit in section 9-3503 (arrests), section 9-3504 (convictions), section 9-3504.1 (notice), section 9-3509 (posting) and section 9-3510 (juvenile records). Our Pennsylvania ban-the-box page covers the state rules around it; this page gives the full city procedure. The chapter has been rewritten several times, and each change is still in force:

Who does the Philadelphia law cover?

• Private employers of any size. Section 9-3502(9) covers "any person, company, corporation, labor organization or association which employs any persons within the City of Philadelphia."
• Agencies and intermediaries. The same definition "includes job placement and referral agencies, other employment agencies, and any third-party person or entity that facilitates the relationship of work for pay between two other parties."
• City agencies. The City and its departments, boards and commissions are bound too.
• Applicants and employees. An employee is anyone working for a private employer "within the geographic boundaries of the City," including independent contractors, rideshare drivers and other gig workers. "Employment" includes temporary, seasonal, contracted and contingent work, and work through a temporary or other employment agency.
• Exclusions. Membership in a law enforcement agency and domestic service in the employer's own home are outside "employment." Under section 9-3505, the chapter does not apply where another law specifically authorizes or mandates the inquiry or action, or to criminal justice agencies, and it does not modify 18 Pa.C.S. 9125.

The chapter does not set a separate test for remote or hybrid roles. Because coverage turns on work within the city's boundaries, treat a role as covered whenever the person will work in Philadelphia, including from a home office there.

When can you ask about criminal history in Philadelphia?

The Commission's Fair Chance Hiring poster (July 15, 2026) says the same rule applies before a conditional offer of reemployment, promotion or increased compensation, not only new hires.

What can an employer consider after the conditional offer?

Section 9-3504(4) to (6), as amended effective January 6, 2026, unless state or federal law requires otherwise:

• Felonies: only if "the underlying arrest or the release from incarceration for such conviction, whichever is later, occurred fewer than seven (7) years from the date of the inquiry."
• Misdemeanors: the same test with four years.
• Never: summary offenses; convictions that ended in exoneration (pardon, acquittal, dismissal or other post-conviction review); records that have been expunged or sealed, "whether such record appears on a criminal background check, a Driver Record issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, or any other source"; and juvenile records (section 9-3510).

If a sealed or expunged record shows up on a PennDOT driver record, the employer must let the person show evidence of the expungement or sealing. "Incarceration" means jail or prison, not parole, home confinement or a treatment program.

One wording difference to know: the Commission's poster and its amendments notice describe the clock as running from the conviction or release from custody, while the code text counts from the underlying arrest or release. Counting from the arrest leaves fewer convictions inside the window, so it is the safer reading when the two give different answers.

Example (illustrative dates): a felony arrest in March 2018, a conviction in January 2019 and release from prison in June 2020, checked in November 2026. The later of arrest and release is June 2020, about six years and five months before the check, so the conviction may be considered. A misdemeanor with an arrest in August 2021 and no jail time is past four years by November 2026 and may not be.

How does the individualized assessment work?

No employer may keep a policy that automatically excludes people with convictions from a job or class of jobs. Section 9-3504(3) allows rejection only if the conviction "bears such relationship to the Employment sought" that the person "would present an unacceptable risk to the operation of the business or to co-workers or customers," and exclusion "is compelled by business necessity." Since 2026 the test is objective: a reasonable person, considering all the factors, must conclude that hiring the person "would pose a specific unacceptable risk," "as independently determined by the factfinder." The assessment must consider:

1. the nature of the offense;
2. the time that has passed since the offense;
3. employment history before and after the offense and any incarceration;
4. the particular duties of the job;
5. any character or employment references the person provides; and
6. evidence of rehabilitation, which may include completing a mental health or substance use disorder treatment program, a job training program, a GED or post-secondary program, community service, work in a related field since the conviction, or an active occupational or commercial driver license needed for the job.

Write the assessment down. If a complaint is filed, section 9-3506(4) requires the employer's response to state the specific record relied on, the job duties and requirements weighed, the time since arrest or incarceration, and the rehabilitation and mitigation evidence considered.

What notice must you give before rejecting someone?

1. Send a written provisional decision. Section 9-3504.1(1) requires the decision "and its basis, including the specific convictions considered," and a copy of the criminal record used.
2. Attach a plain-language notice with a summary of the person's rights under the ordinance; a statement that the employer will consider evidence of errors in the record and of rehabilitation and mitigation, listing the types of evidence that may be offered; and instructions on how to send evidence or an explanation directly to the employer.
3. Wait ten business days. Section 9-3504.1(3) gives the person "ten (10) business days" to respond before any final determination.
4. Consider what comes back, then decide. Pennsylvania's 18 Pa.C.S. 9125(c) separately requires written notice if a decision not to hire rests in whole or in part on criminal history record information.
5. Layer the FCRA steps if a screening company supplied the report: a pre-adverse action notice with the report and the summary of rights, then a final adverse action notice. The Philadelphia packet and the FCRA pre-adverse notice can go out together; see the FCRA background check process.

Section 9-3504.1(2) lets the Commission write a required form of notice and summary of rights. As of November 2026 we found no separate Commission form with that title; the Commission's July 2026 poster lists the same five items the notice must contain. Until a form appears, build the summary from the ordinance and attach the poster.

Which notices and forms does the Commission publish?

• Poster. Section 9-3509 requires covered employers to post a summary of the chapter, "in a form to be supplied by the Commission," on their website and premises where applicants and employees will see it. The current Fair Chance Hiring poster was released July 15, 2026.
• Amendments notice. The Commission's one-page summary of the 2026 amendments, released April 28, 2026.
• Complaint intake. Candidates start a complaint with the Fair Chance Hiring intake form (June 12, 2026), by mail or in person at 601 Walnut Street, Suite 300 South.

The Commission's older service page still describes a single seven-year window from the date of application. Follow the code and the 2026 notices instead.

What are the penalties, and how are complaints handled?

• Fines. Each violation is a Class III offense with a fine under section 1-109(3) of the Code (section 9-3506(2)).
• Commission remedies. Cease-and-desist orders, injunctive and equitable relief, compensatory damages, civil penalties of up to $2,000 per violation payable to the City, reasonable attorneys' fees, and liquidated damages equal to the other money owed (section 9-3506(5)).
• Deadline and court. A person must report the violation to the Commission within 300 calendar days. If the Commission closes the case within a year without finding enough evidence or reaching a conciliation agreement, the person may sue within two years of the closing notice; a court may award compensatory damages, liquidated damages of one month of the job's maximum salary up to $5,000, fees, costs and injunctive relief (section 9-3508).
• Retaliation. Adverse action within 90 days of someone using their rights, including sending information for the assessment, is presumed retaliatory unless the employer shows it acted in good faith on one of the listed grounds or for just cause (section 9-3511). "Adverse action" includes excessive supervision and reporting a person's immigration status.

How does the Philadelphia law sit with Pennsylvania and federal law?

Both city and state rules apply to a Philadelphia job, and the city's are stricter: Pennsylvania has no statewide timing rule, while section 9125 limits use to job-related felony and misdemeanor convictions and section 9122.5 bars asking about expunged or limited-access records (see the Pennsylvania background check laws). Section 9-3505(3) says the chapter does not change section 9125, so the state notice is still owed. At the federal level, Title VII still applies, including 42 U.S.C. 2000e-2(k); the EEOC rescinded its 2012 arrest and conviction records guidance on October 28, 2026, but Philadelphia's assessment is city law and is unaffected. Philadelphia also restricts employment credit checks; see credit check laws for employers.

What should recruiters and staffing agencies do for Philadelphia jobs?

Because the definition of private employer names agencies and any third party that arranges work, an agency and its client are each responsible for their own part. Agree in writing at intake:

• Agency screen and submittal: no record questions, no "are you OK with a background check?" question, no Google or court-docket searches, and nothing volunteered in the notes or submittal.
• Conditional offer: whoever extends it (client or agency employer of record) documents the date, because the check may not start before it.
• Assessment and provisional notice: sent by the party making the hiring decision. On temp-to-hire or contract assignments where the agency is the employer, that is usually the agency; it needs the client's job duties in writing to do the assessment.
• FCRA notices: sent by whoever orders the report and takes the adverse action; combine them with the city packet.
• Posting: each employer posts the Commission's poster on its own website and premises.

Agency licensing is separate; see staffing agency licensing in Pennsylvania. For screening wording, see ban-the-box interview questions, and for pay questions on the same calls, our Philadelphia salary history ban guide.

A copy-ready Philadelphia provisional decision notice

Adapt the bracketed parts and have counsel review before use.

Notice of provisional decision under the Philadelphia Fair Criminal Record Screening Standards
Date: [date]. To: [name]. Position: [title], conditional offer dated [date].
We have made a provisional decision not to [hire you / continue your offer] based in whole or in part on your criminal record. The specific convictions we considered are: [offense, date of arrest or release]. Our reasons, based on the duties of this job ([duties]), are: [reasons]. A copy of the criminal record we used is enclosed.
Your rights: we may consider only felonies within seven years and misdemeanors within four years of the later of arrest or release from incarceration; we may not consider arrests without conviction, summary offenses, exonerated, expunged or sealed convictions, or juvenile records; and we must assess your record individually. A summary of the Fair Chance Hiring law is enclosed.
Before we decide, we will consider evidence that the record is wrong and evidence of rehabilitation or mitigation, such as treatment or job training completed, education, community service, work history since the conviction, licenses, and character or employment references.
You have ten business days, until [date], to send this to [name, email, address]. You may also contact the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations at (215) 686-4670.

Philadelphia ban-the-box rules at a glance