With a Certificate, then, the burden of proof is on the employer to demonstrate that hiring you would be a risk to people or property, or that your conviction is directly related to the job for which you are applying. Remember that some occupational licenses may be denied you for certain employment, such as with security firms, unless you have one of the Certificates talked about. You may apply for a Certificate of Relief From Disabilities which is granted to persons without multiple felonies convictions immediately after your conviction. If no state time is served, you may apply at the court at which the conviction took place. To apply for a Certificate of Good Conduct which is granted to persons who do have multiple felonies convictions you may have to wait, however, three to five years after completing your sentence.
Certificates generally take two to six months to be processed.
You are eligible to apply for the Certificates even if your convictions took place outside of New York State. You should assume that every employer will ask you questions about your arrest and conviction record. It is to your advantage, then, to clean up your record, and to have sealed whatever errors or unnecessary information, that may appear on it. Try to correct these mistakes before you begin to apply for jobs. If you are currently serving a sentence in a New York State prison or in a county or city jail, You will be sent a copy of your rap sheet free of charge.