As felons who are released from prison know, returning to society is a challenge.  There are many obstacles to overcome.  Finding a job with a felony conviction is difficult because many employers will not accept felons as employees.

Anyone who has had to deal with this understands exactly what we mean.

But what about working for Uber?  Seems pretty straight-forward…All you need is a car and a cell phone to record the trips that you make.

But the question is, will Uber allow you to work for them with a felony?

This blog post will cover the following:

• Can a Felon Drive for Uber?
• Does Uber Run a Background Check on Drivers?
• Will You Pass the Uber Background check?
• How to apply for Uber
• Getting Rid of a Felony Record

Can a Felon Drive for Uber?

At first glance it may seem as though the answer to whether or not a felon can drive for Uber is a stern “no” because there are so many restrictions for them.

Generally, drivers must be 21 years old or older with at least three years driving experience.  They must have valid car insurance in their name and a valid driver’s license and Social Security number.

A background check is conducted.

In the past seven years, the applicant must not have:

• DUI or drug-related offenses
• Driving without insurance or a without a license offenses
• History of fatal accidents or reckless driving
• Even if you don’t have the charges above, a felony offense may make it so you aren’t hired. It’s always up to the discretion of the company.

Uber states – “Convictions at any time in your lifetime for felonies, violent crimes, sexual offenses, and registered sex offender status, among other types of criminal records, are also disqualifying.”

Does that mean you shouldn’t apply?  Absolutely not.

We don’t know exactly why this is, but we’ve seen some situations where a former felon who shouldn’t be accepted by Uber, does get through the background check process and gets hired.  We really have no idea why this happens or the rationale for it, but it does give a glimmer of hope.

The reality is that Uber requires minimal qualifications on your end and there’s always a chance that you could get hired, especially if your felony record is outside of the seven-year window they usually check for.

According to their own website, Uber even has a corporate second-chance policy.  Their website states;

Should a criminal record prevent you from getting hired?

We believe the answer is no. More than 70 million Americans have criminal records, which can make it difficult for them to get hired and make a living.  Uber is part of a growing movement of companies and policymakers committed to giving people a second chance.”

Considering this, you can apply to Uber right here, which will also get you a bonus if you get hired.

Does Uber Run a Background Check on Drivers?

Yes, Uber absolutely does run a background check on their drivers.  They use a company called Checkr to do so and while most felons will not pass the background check, we’ve seen many cases where they do.  In fact, there was a story published on CNN explaining how this seemed to be a widespread problem.

Beyond that, certain states (California, for example) are starting to reduce what criminal records can prohibit you from driving for Uber.  There was an entire article written by the Wall Stree Journal explaining it all, but basically proposition 47 made it so that non-violent offenses were considered lesser charges and Uber was willing to hire people who were eligible.

Will You Pass the Uber Background check?

One of the issues with Uber is that if you apply and fail the background check, you’re looking at waiting 3-6 months until you can apply again.  For someone who is desperately looking for work, that can be an eternity.  So, how can you find out if you’ll pass the background check for Uber before you actually apply?

We’ve researched it and have the perfect solution.

The first thing to note is that Uber uses a company called Checkr to run background checks on all of their drivers.  So, all that we need to do is run a background check through that company.  But, you probably don’t want to pay for a background check and we realize that, so there is another free alternative.

Right now there are multiple companies out there where people can drive/deliver things and be paid for it.  Two such companies are called DoorDash and Postmates.  The good news is that both of these companies use Checkr for their background check as well.  In other words, if you are rejected with one of these services then it’s likely that you’ll get rejected with Uber.

Click here to apply for Doordash – Make sure the referral code is inputted as “[email protected]”.  This will give you a couple hundred dollars after enough deliveries are done if you choose to work for them.

Click here to apply for Postmates – Make sure the referral code is inputted as “[email protected]”.  This will give you a couple hundred dollars after enough deliveries are done if you choose to work for them.

Why is this a good thing?

Now, instead of being rejected by Uber (which is the best driver-type job out there) you were rejected by a service that is still good but not as popular.  This helps you because now you can focus on trying to figure out how to expunge or seal your record.  If you’re able to do that, it’s likely that the background check will no longer be an issue.

To expunge/seal your record, contact our partner to take a free test to see if you can get your record sealed.

How to Apply For Uber

The process to apply for Uber is pretty simple and straight-forward.  For the sake, we actually did this ourselves to make sure we fully understood it and it took less than 15 minutes to do everything.

In order to apply for Uber, you must have the following:

1. Valid in-state driver’s license
2. Proof of in-state current car registration documents
3. Proof of in-state car insurance
4. You must have a vehicle or purchase one.

Once you have all of the application requirements covered, the process is simple.

1. Click here to fill out your application (NOTE – If accepted as a driver and you complete enough rides you get a $100 – $500 bonus because we are partners with them)
2. Input all of the information requested. That picture of the guy at the top of your screen?  That’s Ron, he’s the creator of JobsForFelonsHub.com.
3. Once you’ve filled out the information, you can use your smartphone to take pictures of the required documents. (License, registration, insurance)
4. Next, agree to the background check. The good thing here is that it’s 100% free for you and they handle all of the paperwork on their end.
5. Now you play the waiting game. It usually takes 3-5 days to hear back from them on whether you are accepted as a driver.

If you are accepted, great!  You can begin working immediately through the Uber driver app.  If not, it’s not the end of the world. Can a felon drive for Uber? The answer is sometimes not but yet there are still plenty of companies that hire felons and we urge you to check them out.

Getting Rid of a Felony Record

What you want to do in this case is click right here to go to our partner, and fill out the form (for free) to see if you are eligible to get your record expunged.

If you can get your record expunged through them, that means that it’s unlikely to show up in your next background check.  That being said, Uber always has the final say on whether or not they hire you and we can’t make any guarantees.

If you can’t use our partner, use Google and search “expungement attorney” in your state.  Believe it or not, most attorneys will give a free consultation so they know if they can help you or not before they will take you on as a client.

If you are in California…there may be another option.

In 2014, California passed a law, Proposition 47, which allows certain felonies to be re-evaluated by the courts and classified as misdemeanors, which opens up more potential for being hired by Uber.

Those crimes that qualify under Proposition 47 are possession of most illegal drugs and property crimes in which losses were $950 or less.  Included are felonies involving forgery, check fraud, petty theft, shoplifting, and receiving stolen property.  So, for those whose conviction was less than seven years ago, there is an opportunity to be hired by Uber.

This gives felons a chance to drive for Uber.  It’s not easy, but if you can do if you are denied due to your background it will increase your chances.

What do you think about this blog post?  Can a felon drive for Uber? Are you or someone you know tried to get a job with Uber?  What was like for them, and what happened?  Please tell us in the comments below.

Please note, the information contained here is not legal advice and is strictly informational and may be outdated.  If you have any further questions about the information above, or in general, you need to contact a lawyer directly.