Would a sealed juvenile petty theft record prevent me from getting gov white collar jobs?

[joe from dayton]

Originally Posted by JustCuriouss

well, to be filed with the fbi, it has to be a huge felony, right? like something that made the news headline?

Were you actually fingerprinted, or were you simply charged with a theft offense?

[dmills]

Originally Posted by JustCuriouss

got caught shoplifting at 16. now 22. counted as a misdemeanor. would this record prevent me from working white collar jobs for the government?

No one is going to hold a shoplifting incident when you were 16 against you, but they will hold falsifying your application against you if they find out, and you didn't include it. I'd err on the side of caution, and put it on your application and include that it was a juvenile offense.

[JustCuriouss]

Originally Posted by joe from dayton

Were you actually fingerprinted, or were you simply charged with a theft offense?

i think i was fingerprinted on paper, which was required after i put my signature on it. Or it might have been taken electronically. i don't remember. it was so long ago, and i was too scared that day to remember much.

[joe from dayton]

Ok. And being printed does not mean it is automatically sent to the FBI. Regardless, as dmills notes, I would not worry about it; a lot of people did stupid things when they were young.