Hi, I was convicted of a felony around 20 yrs-ago and that has been bother me since then I can sleep well just by knowing that I 'm a felon. Now my question is how far a background check goes and what is that they check. Now I like to know If that can be dismissed after 20 yrs.

This may depend on the state that you live in... have you tried doing research?

Hello el:

20 years no sleep?? Boy, you must be getting tired...

You can try to have it expunged. Hire a lawyer. Now, go to sleep.

excon

What they check for and how far back they'd go depends on the purpose of the background check. Also the nature of the crime plays a role as far as how relevant it is to the purpose of the background check. For example, if you're applying for a job as a teacher, then they'll carefully scrutinize you for any crimes related to endangering the welfare of children, as far back as they possibly can. But they might not care too much about, say, a white-collar crime. But, if you're applying for a job as a financial comptroller then the opposite is true ; they might not care too much about a 20-year-old conviction for contributing to the delinquency of a minor, but the white collar crime will be a major red flag.

As an employer our background checks go at least 15-20 years that I have noticed however anything beyond 7 I will disregard UNLESS I notice a patteren in the background check
Example: several different alcohol related charges spread over the years
Because this would tell me that this is something that is a consistent problem... but if its only 1 charge that was 20 years ago or if you haven't had a charge in 20 years I wouldn't worry about it.

Ok, you did a crime 20 years ago, there is no time machine to go back and stop you. So you will live and die a felon that is just life. It is what you do with your life after that. I really doubt a 20 year old felony even shows up on a record check but if it does, you can got o court to get it explunged.
Then it will not be on a public record,

We can't change the past, we can only live our life each day for the future.