Restoring Civil Rights After a Felony in Washington

Voting rights return automatically when a person is no longer in total confinement under the Department of Corrections. Other civil rights, such as serving on a jury, return with a certificate of discharge, which the sentencing court issues once all sentence requirements, including all legal financial obligations, are completed; a person may also move the court for a certificate, and in some cases may get one after verifying completion of the nonfinancial conditions, effective at a later date. A person with a felony conviction cannot serve on a jury until civil rights are restored. Firearm rights are separate: the felony ban ends only with a pardon, annulment or certificate of rehabilitation based on rehabilitation or innocence, or by petition.