To clean your criminal record, you file a petition with the court that handled your case asking a judge to expunge or seal it, and in a growing number of states qualifying records are cleared automatically without any filing at all. Which option is open to you depends on what the offense was, how your case ended, and how much time has passed since you finished the sentence. The rules vary significantly from state to state, but the structure is the same almost everywhere, and knowing how to clean your criminal record starts with understanding the three tools courts actually use: expungement, sealing, and pardons.
Expungement, Sealing, and Pardons
People use expungement and sealing interchangeably, but they do different things. Expungement treats the record as though it never existed. The arrest, charges, and conviction are deleted from public databases, and in most states you can legally answer “no” when asked whether you have a criminal record. Sealing keeps the record intact but locks it away from public view. Employers, landlords, and the general public can’t see a sealed record on a standard background check, but law enforcement, courts, and certain government agencies keep access.
Neither process wipes the slate completely clean in every context. Even after expungement, a sealed copy of the record often survives in restricted law enforcement databases, and if you’re later charged with a new crime the earlier record can resurface for sentencing. For everyday life, though, the effect is significant: most background checks run by employers and landlords come back clean.
A pardon is a different thing entirely. It’s official forgiveness for a crime, but it doesn’t erase the conviction from your record. A governor can issue a pardon at the state level, and the president can pardon federal offenses. Pardons are rare, discretionary, and don’t guarantee any additional restoration of rights. People confuse pardons with expungement, but the two accomplish very different things.
Who Qualifies
Eligibility hinges on three things: what happened in your case, how serious the offense was, and what you’ve done since.
Arrests that never led to a conviction are the easiest to clear. In most states you can petition to expunge a case that was dismissed, resulted in an acquittal, or ended in a deferred disposition shortly after the case concludes.
Convictions are harder. You typically must have completed your entire sentence, including any probation, parole, community service, and payment of fines or restitution. After that, a mandatory waiting period applies before you can file. Waiting periods range from as little as one year for minor misdemeanors to five, seven, or even ten-plus years for felonies. The clock starts when you finish every part of the sentence, not when the conviction was entered.
Your broader criminal history matters too. Many states cap how many convictions you can clear in a lifetime, and additional convictions on your record can disqualify you from clearing an otherwise eligible offense. A single isolated mistake years ago is much easier to clear than a pattern of offenses.
Offenses That Usually Cannot Be Cleared
Certain categories of crime are off-limits for expungement or sealing in nearly every state. The exact list differs, but the same types show up again and again in state statutes:
- Sex offenses, particularly any conviction requiring sex offender registration. This is the single most universal exclusion.
- Serious violent felonies such as murder, kidnapping, and armed robbery.
- Crimes against children, including both sexual and physical abuse of minors.
- Domestic violence convictions, which a growing number of states permanently exclude.
- DUI and other serious driving offenses, ineligible in many states.
Aggravating factors can push an otherwise eligible offense into ineligible territory. An assault conviction might be clearable on its own, but if the victim was a child or the offense involved a weapon, most states will deny the petition. Check your state’s specific list of excluded offenses before spending time and money on the process.
Automatic Clean Slate Clearing
A major shift in the past several years has been the rise of automatic record clearing, often called Clean Slate laws. Twenty states now have at least one provision for automatic clearing, where qualifying records are sealed or expunged without the person needing to file a petition at all.1National Conference of State Legislatures. Automatic Clearing of Records
The general model works like this: after a set period passes without a new conviction, the state’s criminal records system identifies qualifying records and seals them. Most automatic clearing laws apply to nonviolent misdemeanors and lower-level felonies, and they typically exclude sex offenses, violent crimes, and offenses requiring registration. Waiting periods tend to mirror or exceed the periods for petition-based clearing.
If you live in a state with automatic clearing, your record may already be sealed. The catch is that these systems don’t always work smoothly. Technology gaps, database backlogs, and inter-agency communication failures can delay automatic clearing for months or years. Check your record even if you believe you qualify, because you may still need to file a petition to get the process moving.
Federal Convictions Are Different
Clearing a federal conviction is far harder than clearing a state record. There is no general federal expungement statute, and the path to relief is narrow.
The one true federal expungement option applies only to first-time drug possession offenses under 21 U.S.C. ยง 844, and only if you were under 21 at the time. Under this provision, the court can place you on probation for up to a year without entering a conviction. If you complete probation successfully, the court dismisses the case, and if you were under 21 you can apply to have the entire record expunged from all official records.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3607 – Special Probation and Expungement Procedures for Drug Possessors After expungement, you can’t legally be penalized for failing to disclose the arrest or proceedings.
For all other federal convictions, the primary remedy is a presidential pardon. Applications go through the Department of Justice’s Office of the Pardon Attorney, and the standard expectation is a waiting period of at least five years after completing your sentence before applying.3Department of Justice. Office of the Pardon Attorney A pardon forgives the offense and may restore certain civil rights, but it doesn’t erase the conviction. Presidential pardons go to very few of the thousands who apply each year.
Gathering Your Records
Before you can file, you need the specifics of your case. Start by getting a complete copy of your criminal history. At the state level, that usually means requesting your record from the state police or state department of justice. At the federal level, you can request an Identity History Summary from the FBI, which costs $18 and requires submitting your fingerprints either electronically at a participating U.S. Post Office or by mailing a fingerprint card.4Federal Bureau of Investigation. Identity History Summary Checks Frequently Asked Questions Fee waivers are available if you can’t afford the cost.
Once you have your history, identify the record you want cleared and pull the following from your court file:
- The full case number assigned by the court.
- The date of arrest.
- The final disposition date, whether by dismissal, acquittal, or sentencing.
- The statute of the offense you were charged with or convicted under.
You can get this information from the clerk of the court where the case was handled. Some jurisdictions also require a fresh set of fingerprints as part of the application. If your record spans multiple states, you’ll need to file separate petitions in each state. No single petition clears records across state lines.
Filing the Petition
The formal process begins when you file a petition for expungement or sealing with the court in the jurisdiction where the offense occurred. The petition is a legal document that identifies the record you want cleared, explains why you’re eligible, and asks the court to grant relief. Many courts provide standard forms, and some states have online filing systems.
After filing, most states require you to notify the prosecuting attorney’s office. The prosecutor then has a set window to review the petition and decide whether to object. If no objection is filed, the judge may grant the petition on the paperwork alone, without a hearing.
If the prosecutor objects, expect a hearing where both sides present arguments. Judges have discretion, and they typically consider your conduct since the offense, your reasons for seeking clearing, and whether granting the petition serves the public interest. A strong petition shows steady employment, community involvement, completed rehabilitation programs, and a clean record since the conviction.
The filing itself is mechanical. If a prosecutor pushes back, you’re arguing your case in court. Having an attorney doesn’t guarantee a different outcome, but it meaningfully improves your odds at the hearing stage.
Costs and Timeline
Court filing fees for expungement petitions range from nothing to several hundred dollars depending on the state and the offense. Many states waive fees for people who qualify for public benefits or fall below a certain income threshold, typically around 125 to 200 percent of the federal poverty level. If you can’t afford the filing fee, ask the court clerk about a fee waiver before assuming the cost is a barrier.
Attorney fees for a straightforward, uncontested case generally run from a few hundred dollars to around $1,500. Contested cases or felony expungements that require hearings can run higher, sometimes reaching $3,000 to $5,000. Legal aid organizations and law school clinics in many areas offer free expungement help, and some communities hold periodic expungement clinics where volunteer attorneys assist with petitions at no cost. Searching for “free expungement clinic” plus your city or county is often the fastest way to find these.
Plan for several months from filing to final order. The petition, notification period, and any hearing scheduling can stretch the timeline to four to eight months in a typical case. Complicated records or a contested petition can take longer. Automatic clearing in Clean Slate states can also be slow when database systems lag behind the law.
What Changes After Your Record Is Cleared
Once a court grants your petition, the record should disappear from standard background checks. In most states, you gain the legal right to deny the offense ever happened. If a job application asks whether you’ve been convicted of a crime and your conviction has been expunged or sealed, you can truthfully answer “no.” That single change is the reason most people go through the process.
When a Cleared Record Still Shows Up
Court systems update on their own timeline, and private background check companies don’t always catch up quickly. These companies pull data from court records, and if their databases haven’t been refreshed, your cleared conviction may still appear on a report. Federal law requires background check companies to follow reasonable procedures to ensure the maximum possible accuracy of their reports.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681e – Compliance Procedures Reporting an expunged or sealed conviction violates that standard.
If a background check surfaces your cleared record, you have the right to dispute it directly with the screening company. Send a written dispute with a copy of your expungement or sealing order. The company must investigate and correct or delete the inaccurate information, typically within 30 days. If they fail to fix it and you lose a job or housing opportunity as a result, you may have a claim for damages under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Keep a certified copy of your court order handy, because you may need to send it to more than one screening company.
Employment Protections
Federal employment law adds further protection. EEOC enforcement guidance directs employers to evaluate criminal records against three factors before making a hiring decision: the seriousness of the offense, how much time has passed, and the nature of the job.6EEOC. Enforcement Guidance on the Consideration of Arrest and Conviction Records in Employment Decisions Employers who use criminal history as a blanket disqualifier without weighing those factors risk violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Separately, 37 states and more than 150 cities and counties have adopted “ban the box” or fair-chance hiring laws that remove criminal history questions from initial job applications and delay background checks until later in the hiring process.
If Expungement Isn’t Available: Certificates of Rehabilitation
When your offense can’t be expunged, a certificate of rehabilitation or certificate of relief may be an alternative. These certificates don’t hide your record. They function as an official court declaration that you’ve been rehabilitated, and they’re designed to remove specific barriers that a conviction creates.7National Conference of State Legislatures. Certificates of Rehabilitation and Limited Relief
The practical benefits vary by state but often include lifting automatic disqualifications from occupational licenses, creating legal protections for employers who hire you against negligent-hiring claims, and requiring licensing boards to weigh the certificate favorably. In some states, a certificate of relief removes all automatic legal disabilities caused by the conviction. Not every state offers this option, but for people with serious felonies that can’t be expunged, a certificate can meaningfully reduce the collateral damage of a conviction.
A Warning for Non-Citizens
If you are not a U.S. citizen, approach record clearing with extra caution. Expunging or sealing a state criminal record does not erase it for federal immigration purposes. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services can still access and consider the underlying conviction when evaluating visa applications, residency petitions, and naturalization requests.8U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 12 Part F Chapter 2 – Adjudicative Factors
A conviction that was dismissed after completing a rehabilitative program or deferred adjudication is still a conviction for immigration purposes, because the initial guilty plea or finding of guilt satisfies the federal definition.8U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 12 Part F Chapter 2 – Adjudicative Factors The only way to fully eliminate immigration consequences is to have the conviction vacated based on a legal or procedural defect in the original case, not through standard expungement or rehabilitation programs. Talk to an immigration attorney before filing, because the process itself can draw attention to a record that might otherwise go unnoticed.