How Does a Misdemeanor Conviction Affect Your Record in Louisiana?

By Donald J. Melancon, Attorney at Law · Last reviewed September 3, 2026

A misdemeanor conviction in Louisiana creates a permanent criminal record. It does not go away when the fine is paid or the probation ends, and it shows up on background checks run by employers, landlords, and licensing boards unless and until it is expunged. For some offenses it also carries consequences that have nothing to do with the sentence: a firearms ban, a driver’s license suspension, or immigration trouble. This article explains what a misdemeanor is, where the record lives, who can see it, and the two tools Louisiana law provides to limit the damage.

What counts as a misdemeanor in Louisiana

Louisiana draws the line by the possible punishment. A felony is any crime for which the offender may be sentenced to death or to imprisonment at hard labor. A misdemeanor is every other crime. In practice that means a misdemeanor sentence is served in parish jail rather than state prison, and many common misdemeanors, such as simple battery, carry a maximum of six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. Some carry more, and a misdemeanor whose maximum punishment exceeds six months or a $1,000 fine is tried to a six-person jury rather than to the judge alone.

Common examples include simple battery, low-value theft, first- and second-offense DWI, simple possession of certain drugs, disturbing the peace, and criminal trespass. A first-offense DWI, for instance, is punishable by a fine of $300 to $1,000 and ten days to six months in jail.

Where the record lives

There is no single “record.” A misdemeanor conviction is recorded in at least four places:

• The Louisiana State Police. The Bureau of Criminal Identification and Information maintains the state criminal history database. This is the “rap sheet,” and it is what licensing boards and other authorized agencies pull. Louisiana treats it as a closed record; the general public cannot request someone else’s state rap sheet, but you can get your own through the Right to Review process by scheduling fingerprints through the state’s applicant processing system.
• The clerk of court. The court file in the parish where the case was heard is a public record. Anyone can ask for it, and in many parishes it is searchable online.
• Federal databases. Fingerprint-based arrests are shared with the FBI and appear on federal background checks.
• Commercial background-check companies. Private vendors collect court data and resell it. This is what most employers and landlords actually see, and it is the hardest to correct, because a vendor may keep a copy long after the court has sealed the record.

Who sees it

Employers are the most frequent audience. Most private employers in Louisiana may ask about convictions and may run a background check with your consent. Landlords screen for criminal history as a matter of routine. State licensing boards, including those for nurses, contractors, real estate agents, insurance producers, and teachers, require disclosure of convictions and pull the state rap sheet directly. Louisiana law says a licensing board generally may not deny a license solely because of a prior conviction unless the conviction directly relates to the occupation, and the board must weigh the seriousness of the offense, the time that has passed, and evidence of rehabilitation.

Collateral consequences that come with certain misdemeanors

The sentence is often the smallest part of the problem. Some misdemeanors carry consequences written into other statutes:

• Firearms. Under federal law, a person convicted of a “misdemeanor crime of domestic violence,” meaning a misdemeanor with an element of physical force committed against a spouse, partner, parent, or other qualifying family or household member, is prohibited from possessing firearms. Louisiana has its own ten-year firearms ban for a domestic abuse battery conviction. The federal ban lifts if the conviction is expunged or set aside, but, as explained below, domestic abuse battery cannot be expunged in Louisiana.
• Driver’s license. A first-offense DWI conviction brings a twelve-month license suspension from the Office of Motor Vehicles, separate from any suspension for refusing or failing the breath test, and a longer suspension if the blood alcohol level was 0.20 or higher.
• Immigration. For a non-citizen, a misdemeanor can be a ground of inadmissibility or removability. Federal law has a “petty offense” exception for a single crime involving moral turpitude when the maximum possible penalty does not exceed one year and the sentence imposed does not exceed six months, which covers many Louisiana misdemeanors, but drug offenses and domestic violence offenses are treated far more harshly. Federal immigration law also applies its own definition of a conviction, so a deferred sentence that Louisiana later sets aside can still count as a conviction for immigration purposes. Anyone who is not a U.S. citizen should get immigration advice before entering any plea.
• Enhancement. A misdemeanor today becomes a prior tomorrow. A second-offense DWI carries a mandatory minimum of 30 days in jail, and a third offense is a felony punishable by one to five years, with prior DWI convictions counting for ten years.

Article 894: the deferred sentence and set-aside

Louisiana gives misdemeanor defendants a tool that many first offenders never hear about until it is too late. Under Article 894 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, a court sentencing a person for most misdemeanors may defer imposing sentence and place the person on probation for up to two years. If the person completes the probation without a new conviction and has no charge pending, the court may set the conviction aside and dismiss the prosecution. The dismissal has the same effect as an acquittal, with one important exception: the conviction can still be counted as a prior offense if the person is later charged as a repeat offender.

The practical value is timing. A conviction set aside under Article 894 is eligible for expungement right away, without the five-year wait described below. For DWI, the set-aside is available only once in a ten-year period, unless the person completes a certified DWI court program. The deferral is requested at sentencing, usually as part of the plea negotiation, not afterward.

Expunging a misdemeanor

Expungement in Louisiana does not destroy the record. It removes the record from public view and from most background checks, and a person whose record has been expunged is generally not required to disclose the arrest or conviction. Law enforcement, prosecutors, and a list of licensing boards, including several health-care boards and the bar admissions committee, can still see it on written request, and prosecutors can still use it as a prior.

A misdemeanor conviction can generally be expunged when either the conviction was set aside under Article 894, or more than five years have passed since the person completed the sentence, probation, or parole, with no felony conviction during those five years and no felony charge pending. The motion must include a certification from the district attorney confirming that. Misdemeanor sex offenses, domestic abuse battery, and stalking cannot be expunged. A first-offense marijuana possession conviction can be expunged after ninety days. Apart from an Article 894 set-aside, a person may expunge a misdemeanor conviction only once in any five-year period.

The cost is set by statute at up to $550 per motion, split among the State Police, the sheriff, the district attorney, and the clerk of court, and it is nonrefundable even if the motion is denied. The district attorney fee waiver that applies to acquittals and dismissed charges does not extend to convictions, but a person who cannot afford the fee may ask the court for permission to proceed in forma pauperis. In 2023 the Legislature passed a “Clean Slate” law meant to make expungement of eligible records automatic, but its implementation was made contingent on funding for the necessary computer systems and, as of this writing, the automatic process is not operating. Until it is, the petition process is the only route.

Practical steps after a misdemeanor conviction

Get a copy of the judgment and the minute entry from the clerk before you leave the courthouse, and keep proof of every payment and every completed condition; you will need them for the expungement motion years from now. Calendar the date your sentence, probation, or parole was completed, because the five-year clock runs from that date. If you were sentenced under Article 894, calendar the end of the deferral period and make sure the set-aside is actually entered; it is not automatic. Order your own state rap sheet through the Right to Review process so you know what an employer or board will see.

For more on how the expungement process works and what it does and does not accomplish, see Expungement in Louisiana: Who Qualifies and What It Really Does. If the case is still at the beginning, Arrested in New Orleans: What Happens in the First 72 Hours explains what comes first, and First-Offense DWI in Orleans Parish: What to Expect covers the most common misdemeanor of all.

For purposes of compliance with the Louisiana Rules of Professional Conduct, the attorney responsible for this content is Donald J. Melancon (105 Field Street, Belle Chasse, Louisiana 70037).