Record Sealing & Expungement

Courts may evaluate the age of the case and any public safety concerns when deciding whether a record should be sealed.

Courts may consider whether a person has maintained a clean record since the original case when evaluating a request for record sealing.

The amount of time that has passed since probation, parole, or other supervision ended is an important factor when seeking to seal a criminal record.

Whether a case resulted in a conviction, dismissal, deferred judgment, or no charges being filed is one of the primary factors in determining eligibility for record sealing.

Expungement and court record sealing refer to the process of making criminal records unavailable to the public and preventing them from appearing on most background checks.

To request record sealing, court-ordered financial obligations must generally be paid, eligibility requirements must be met, and either an expedited process or a separate civil action may be required depending on the case.

Certain serious offenses, including class 1–3 felonies, level 1 drug felonies, sex offenses, many domestic violence convictions, DUI convictions, and certain traffic offenses are not eligible for sealing.

Eligible records may include certain arrests that do not result in charges, dismissed cases, acquittals, completed diversion agreements, completed deferred judgments, certain drug convictions, and some offenses committed by human trafficking victims.

Sealing criminal records can help minimize the stigma associated with a criminal record and improve access to employment, housing, education, and other opportunities.

Sealing a criminal record may help reduce the public impact of a past criminal case by hiding the record from public view, allowing individuals to move forward with employment, housing, and other opportunities.