Can an Application for a BOD position ask if the applicant is a convicted felon?

You can ask, but if the committee then said "well, then, you aren't eligible for Board service," you may run into trouble if your documents don't specifically exclude this (I assume you checked them as part of your research - if not, do that immediately).

If the goal is to ensure convicted felons are excluded from Board membership, it may be best to discuss this with your association attorney to see if the bylaws need to be updated accordingly. You should also discuss the pros and cons of this (e.g. what if the felony was, say 10 years ago, and the person has since turned his/her life around? What happens if someone on the nominating committee broadcasts this information all over the neighborhood?)

I am not personally familiar with nominating committees. It always sounds like a way for those in power to ensure that candidates who might rock the boat will be excluded. I prefer self-nominations.

What you can appropriately ask may be found in the Articles of Incorporation, the Bylaws, or the CC&R's.

If your Articles of Incorporation state requirements for serving on the board, then it is appropriate to ask whether a candidate meets those requirements. Likewise, if your CC&R's state requirements for a board candidate, such as being an owner, then asking those questions would be appropriate.

If your both your CC&R's and Articles of Incorporation are silent on the issue then the Bylaws would control. The reason I put Bylaws last is that they are usually the most flexible of the governing documents. If your Bylaws do not prohibit a convicted felon from serving on the board then it is not appropriate to ask. Should you wish to ask the question, it would be best to amend the Bylaws to prohibit convicted felons from serving before accepting nominations and then asking the question.

Convicted felons means they served their time and were let go out of prison after served. So they are now able to be part of society again except for the right to vote or maybe own a gun. Otherwise, they should have the right to be on their HOA board. The process of getting on the board means the other owners VOTE on them into office. People tend not to vote for those who are not paying dues, have a questionable past, or loud mouth bat crazy.

The only restriction should be the person is an owner and up to date on dues to qualify. That is not always the case but the only 2 things I believe is a factor in being a board member.

Well, having just shopped for crime insurance (which serves as the Associations fidelity bond), I can honestly say that the companies never asked and the policy does not have any language that says they will not pay if money was taken by a convicted felon. Perhaps this is because we are all volunteers (no paid staff).

In my opinion, if there is no written qualification factors in your governing documents one must meet to serve, then there is no need to ask any other questions then if they are willing to serve.

If there are qualification factors (must be a member, must be in good standing, etc.), then it is proper to ask questions about those qualifications.

Other then the scary factor of having a convicted felon on your Board, what is the reason the committee would want to know?

Keep in mind that there are varying degrees of felonies. For example: per, SC 44-4-530, failure to comply with quarantine rules is a felony.

True. However this is what the Insurance company offers and is what satisfies our statutes.


Actually, it protects from the criminal activities from anyone serving on the Board or on a committee. There is even an option to insure independent contractors.


Actually, it can be any amount you desire. We are required by statute to have an amount equal to our reserves plus 1/4 of yearly assessments. See: https://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+cod+55-514.2


So does our crime insurance.


Perhaps. However, that is not the way we are reading or understanding the policy.

Thanks John. I will take another look at it.

If in doubt. confer with your Association's attorney. Yes, it will represent a legal expense. However, if you are in doubt as to whether asking an applicant for the Board if they have been convicted of a felony AND some members desire this question on an application, you can settle it with a legal opinion.

I haven't met any convicted felons who want to serve on our Board. I have met some Board members who have blatantly violated laws (in the course of their actions as Board members and/or in their personal life) but these individuals have unfortunately not had the law catch up to them as of yet.