Expungement Information by State

A criminal record can create difficult downstream consequences whether you (or your child) was arrested or convicted (or both). For example, employers and landlords commonly ask job applicants and apartment seekers whether they have ever been convicted of (or perhaps even arrested for) a criminal offense. Employers might not hire -- and landlords might not rent to -- people who answer "yes" to these questions. The good news is that, in some cases, you may be able to get an arrest or conviction expunged from your record. Read on to learn more about the expungement process.

Not all convictions can be dismissed. Expungement is limited to cases in which the defendant convicted of a misdemeanor or a felony that could have been charged as a misdemeanor, and was sentenced to county jail time, probation, a fine, or a combination of those three. Additionally, the Penal Codes permitting expungement of criminal records expressly prohibit certain types of convictions from being dismissed. Most of these exceptions involve serious vehicle code violations (those that result in two or more points on your driving record) or sexual offenses against minors. For a detailed list of exceptions see Penal Code (PC) § 1203.4 and PC § 1203.4a.

There are three laws used in expungement:

1. The first, PC § 1203.4, is used to expunge cases in which probation was part of the sentence.

2. The second, PC § 1203.4a, is used expunge cases in which there was no probation.

3. The third, PC § 17, is used to reduce a felony conviction to a misdemeanor, which can then be dismissed. Felonies meeting the criteria under PC § 17 are often called "wobblers," meaning they could be charged as either a felony or misdemeanor.

If you received a state prison term as your sentence, or were convicted of a felony that cannot be reduced to a misdemeanor, you will need to file paperwork for a Certificate of Rehabilitation, rather than a Petition and Order for Dismissal. More information is available from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation at http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/BOPH/pardons.html.

Alabama	Background Check System (Alabama Criminal Justice Information Center)
Alaska	Criminal Records FAQs (Alaska Department of Public Safety) Request to Seal Criminal Justice Information [PDF file} (Alaska Department of Public Safety)
Arizona	Criminal History Records (State of Arizona - Department of Public Safety) Criminal History FAQs (State of Arizona - Department of Public Safety)
Arkansas	Criminal Background Check (Arkansas State Police)
California	Clean Up Your Criminal Record (California Courts Self-Help Center) Petition and Order for Expungement [PDF file] (California Courts Self-Help Center)
Colorado	Forms: Sealing of Criminal Records (Colorado Judicial Branch)
Connecticut	Connecticut Law About Criminal Records (Connecticut Judicial Branch) Erasure of Criminal Records (CT Statute) (Connecticut General Statutes)
Delaware	Expungement of Criminal Records (Delaware Code)
District of Columbia	Sealing and Expungement of Records (Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia) Criminal Record Sealing Act of 2006 [PDF file]
Florida	Seal and Expunge Process (Florida Department of Law Enforcement) Obtaining Criminal History Information (Florida Department of Law Enforcement)
Georgia	Obtaining Criminal History Record Information (Georgia Bureau of Investigation)
Hawaii	Expungements (Hawaii Attorney General)
Idaho	Criminal History Information (Idaho State Police)
Illinois	Expungement Information (Office of the State Appellate Defender ) Expungement: General Guidelines [PDF file] (Illinois Attorney General)
Indiana	Limited Criminal History Search (Indiana State Police)
Iowa	Criminal History Records (Iowa Department of Public Safety)
Kansas	Criminal History Record Check (Kansas Bureau of Investigation) Frequent Questions: Criminal History (Kansas Bureau of Investigation)
Kentucky	Background Check Forms (Kentucky State Police)
Louisiana	Bureau of Criminal Identification and Information (Louisiana State Police)
Maine	Criminal History Records Requests (Maine Courts)
Maryland	Expungement (District Court of Maryland)
Massachusetts	Requests to Seal Files (General Laws of Massachusetts Ch. 276:100A) Sealing, Expungements, and Pardons (Massachusetts Trial Court Law Libraries)
Michigan	Getting an Adult Criminal Conviction Removed (Michigan Courts)
Minnesota	What is Criminal Expungement? (Minnesota Judicial Branch) Forms: Expungement of a Criminal Record (Minnesota Judicial Branch)
Mississippi	Expunction (MS Statute)
Missouri	Petition for Expungement of Arrest Records [PDF file] (Missouri Courts)
Montana	Background Checks (Montana Department of Justice)
Nebraska	How to find criminal history reports in Nebraska
Nevada	Sealing Records After Conviction, etc. (Nevada Revised Statutes) Sealing Nevada Criminal History Records [PDF file] (State of Nevada)
New Hampshire	Criminal Records FAQs (New Hampshire Department of Safety)
New Jersey	How to Expunge Your Criminal Record [PDF file] (New Jersey Judiciary)
New Mexico	New Mexico State Central Repository for Criminal History (New Mexico Department of Public Safety)
New York	Personal Criminal History Record Review Program (New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services)
North Carolina	North Carolina Offender Information (North Carolina Department of Correction)
North Dakota	Criminal History Record Information (North Dakota Attorney General)
Ohio	Criminal Justice Information System (Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services)
Oklahoma	Expungement Questions (Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation) Criminal History FAQs (Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation)
Oregon	How Do I Clear My Juvenile or Criminal Record? (Oregon Courts) Clearing Your Record (Oregon State Bar )
Pennsylvania	Pennsylvania Access to Criminal History (State of Pennsylvania)
Rhode Island	Criminal Information Search (Judiciary of Rhode Island)
South Carolina	State Criminal Records Check (State of South Carolina)
South Dakota	Computerized Criminal History System (South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation)
Tennessee	Order for the Expungement of Criminal Offender Record [PDF file] (Tennessee Supreme Court)
Texas	Crime Records Service (Texas Department of Public Safety)
Utah	Expunging a Record (Utah Courts)
Vermont	Expungement-Sealing-Pardon Information (Vermont Criminal Information Center)
Virginia	Instructions for Petition for Expungement [PDF file] (Virginia Courts)
Washington	Criminal History Records (Washington State Patrol)
West Virginia	Expungement of certain criminal convictions; procedures; effect (WV Statute) Expungement of criminal record upon full and unconditional pardon (WV Statute) Petition for Expungement of Criminal Records [PDF file]
Wisconsin	Pardons, Etc.[includes links to expungement information] (Wisconsin State Law Library)
Wyoming	Criminal History Checks (Wyoming Attorney General)

Expungement Information by State

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