WASHINGTON DC – The US Justice Department launched an application for eligible individuals to receive a certificate of proof that they were pardoned under the October 6, 2022, proclamation by President Biden. On October 6th, the President announced a full, unconditional and categorical pardon for prior federal and Washington D.C. offenses of simple possession of marijuana.
The President’s pardon lifts barriers to housing, employment, and educational opportunities for thousands of people with those prior convictions. President Biden directed the Justice Department to develop a process for individuals to receive their certificate of pardon, unveiled on Friday.
The online application will be available on the Office of the Pardon Attorney’s website. The web form allows eligible persons to submit documentation to the Office of the Pardon Attorney and receive a certificate indicating the person was pardoned on October 6, 2022, for simple possession of marijuana.
The President’s pardon may assist pardoned persons by removing civil or legal disabilities — such as restrictions on the right to vote, to hold office, or to sit on a jury — that are imposed because of the pardoned conviction, according to a statement from the Justice Department. The application may also be helpful as proof of pardon for those who seek to obtain licenses, bonding, or employment. As President Biden said at the time of the proclamation, his action intends to “help relieve the consequences arising from these convictions.”
Those who were pardoned on October 6, 2022, are eligible for a certificate of pardon. Consistent with the proclamation, to be eligible for a certificate, an applicant must have been charged or convicted of simple possession of marijuana in either a federal court or D.C. Superior Court, and the applicant must have been lawfully within the United States at the time of the offense. Similarly, an individual must have been a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident on October 6, 2022.
Those who were convicted of state marijuana offenses do not qualify for the pardon.
