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Felony and Misdemeanor

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Responding Yes to the felony or misdemeanor question will not necessarily disqualify you from acceptance or admission to medical school. Individual medical schools will review your response for accuracy and completeness and consider the information in the context of their overall assessment of your suitability for admission. Failure to disclose information, or the submission of inaccurate or incomplete information, on this application or on the form provided by the school in a potential secondary application, may result in an AAMC investigation, and the school may disqualify you for admission.

The AAMC recommends to all U.S. medical schools that they procure national background checks on all applicants upon initial acceptance to the medical school (refer to AAMC-Facilitated Criminal Background Checks). Disclosure in the application provides you an opportunity to frame the incident in your own words.

Felony or misdemeanor convictions may prevent some medical students from completing their experiential education requirements or obtaining licensure after graduation due to site or state restrictions. Check with the schools to which you plan to apply for more information on the potential implications of certain convictions on licensure in their state.

You must indicate whether you have ever been convicted of, or pleaded guilty or no contest to, a felony or misdemeanor crime. You must disclose your felony or misdemeanor conviction(s), even if you have a pending petition for expungement before the court on the date you submit your AMCAS application, unless a state-specific law to not disclose applies (refer to state-specific notifications below).

Felonies or Misdemeanors You Do Not Need to Disclose

You need not disclose any instance of a felony or misdemeanor crime if:

  • You were adjudicated as a juvenile.
  • You were arrested but not charged.
  • Charges are pending.
  • Charges were dropped.
  • You were found not guilty.
  • You completed any probation for a misdemeanor and the case was dismissed (where allowed by state law).
  • Your conviction was overturned on appeal.
  • Your record was expunged or sealed by the court.
  • You received an executive pardon.
  • State law says disclosure is not required (refer to state-specific notifications below).
If Yes to Felony or Misdemeanor

If you answer Yes to the felony or misdemeanor question, you will have 1,325 characters (including spaces) to explain the circumstances of your conviction, including the number of conviction(s), the nature of the offense(s) leading to conviction(s), the date(s) and location(s) of conviction(s), the sentence(s) imposed, and the type(s) of rehabilitation.

State-Specific Notifications About Felony and Misdemeanor Crimes

Below, you will find state-specific notifications relevant to the felony and misdemeanor question in the application. State-specific laws are intended for residents of that state applying to institutions within that state; they are not intended for multistate applications. This list may not be exhaustive, so you may wish to consult the admissions offices of the schools where you plan to apply for more information. 

  • California Residents
    • Please do not provide any information concerning a misdemeanor or infraction marijuana conviction that occurred more than two years from today’s date and specifically HS11357(b) or (c), HS11360(b), HS11364, HS11365, or HS11550 as they related to marijuana before Jan. 1, 1976, and their statutory predecessors.
  • Connecticut Residents
    • Pursuant to CT Public Act No. 02-136 and specifically Section 31-51i of the general statutes:
      You understand that you are “not required to disclose the existence of any arrest, criminal charge or conviction, the records of which have been erased pursuant to Section 46b – 146, 54-76o, or 54-142a; that criminal records subject to erasure pursuant to Section 46b – 146, 54-76o, or 54-142a are records pertaining to finding a delinquency or that a child was a member of a family with service needs, an adjudication as a youthful offender, a criminal charge that has been dismissed or annulled, a criminal charge for which the person has been found not guilty or a conviction for which the person received an absolute pardon; and, that any person whose criminal records have been erased pursuant to Section 46b – 146, 54-76o, or 54-142a shall be deemed to have ever been arrested within the meaning of the general statutes with respect to the proceedings so erased and may so swear under oath.”
  • District of Columbia Residents
    • Do not identify convictions that are more than 10 years old.
  • Georgia Residents
    • Do not identify any guilty plea that was discharged by a court under Georgia’s First Offender’s Act.
  • Hawaii Residents
    • Please do not identify any felony convictions over seven years old or any misdemeanor convictions over five years old.
  • Illinois Residents
    • You are not obligated to disclose sealed or expunged records of conviction or arrests.
  • Maryland Residents
    • ​​​​​​​As permitted under the Maryland Second Chance Act, convictions that have been successfully “shielded” do not need to be disclosed on an application.
  • Massachusetts School Applicants
    • ​​​​​​​Because Massachusetts educational institutions are prohibited from requesting information from you about certain misdemeanor crimes, your response to the above misdemeanor question will not be provided to medical schools in Massachusetts.
    • Please n​​​​​​Note: Medical schools in Massachusetts typically collect misdemeanor information via their secondary or supplemental applications. In addition, the AAMC recommends that all medical schools conduct a criminal background check on applicants at the time of acceptance.
  • Nevada Residents
    • ​​​​​​​Only report those convictions that occurred within the past seven years.
  • New Hampshire Residents
    • ​​​​​​​Only report those convictions that have taken place in the past seven years. Convictions that have been annulled will not necessarily disqualify you from employment.
  • New York Residents
    • ​​​​​​​Do not disclose information about any criminal proceeding that terminated in a “youthful offender adjudication,” as defined in Section 720.35 of the New York Criminal Procedure Law.
  • Ohio Residents
    • ​​​​​​​Please do not indicate any arrest or conviction for a minor misdemeanor drug violation (relating to 100 grams or less of marijuana or five grams or less of hashish).
  • Oregon Residents
    • ​​​​​​​Do not provide information about a juvenile record that has been expunged.
  • Virginia School Applicants
    • Do not disclose information about a conviction for marijuana possession.
  • Washington Residents
    • ​​​​​​​Limit your answer to conviction for which the date of conviction or prison release, whichever is more recent, is within 10 years of today’s date.

You must inform the admissions office at each medical school to which you apply if you are convicted of, or plead guilty or no contest to, a misdemeanor or felony crime after the date of your original application submission and before medical school matriculation. The communication must be in writing and must occur within 10 business days of the conviction.