In most states, you can get a public intoxication charge off your record through expungement, record sealing, or, in a growing number of states, an automatic clean-slate process. Whether you qualify depends on how your case ended, how much time has passed, and the law where you were charged. Clearing the record keeps the charge off the background checks that employers, landlords, and lenders rely on, but it does not erase the event from every database or every legal context, and the gaps matter.
Who Can Clear a Public Intoxication Charge
Eligibility turns first on how the case resolved.
If the charge was dismissed, dropped by the prosecutor, or you were acquitted at trial, you are almost always eligible to clear the arrest record. There is no conviction to argue about, and courts treat these petitions favorably.
If you were convicted, the path is narrower but still open in most states. You will typically have to wait a set period after finishing your sentence before you can file. That waiting period runs anywhere from one year to five or more, depending on the jurisdiction. During the wait, you generally cannot pick up new arrests or convictions, and all fines, court costs, and restitution must be paid in full before you file.
If You Completed Diversion or Deferred Adjudication
Many jurisdictions offer diversion or deferred adjudication for first-time public intoxication charges. These programs require a probation period, program fees, and conditions like alcohol education or community service. Finish the program and the court dismisses the original charge instead of entering a conviction.
That dismissal puts you in a much stronger position. On paper you were never convicted, so you may be able to file for expungement as soon as the dismissal is entered rather than waiting out a multi-year post-conviction clock. If you are facing a public intoxication charge now and it is your first offense, asking about diversion before accepting any plea is one of the most consequential decisions you will make in the case.
Expungement vs. Record Sealing
The two main tools for clearing a record are expungement and sealing, and the difference matters more than most people realize.
Expungement destroys the records of the arrest and the court case.1Legal Information Institute. Expunge In states that offer true expungement, the court orders all documentation removed from government databases, and in most contexts you can answer “no” when asked whether you have been arrested or charged.
Sealing hides the record from public view without destroying it. The general public, most employers, and landlords will not see a sealed record on a standard background check. Law enforcement and courts keep access, and in some states certain government licensing agencies can see sealed records too.
Which option is available depends on where the offense happened. Some states offer only one, some offer both with different rules for each, and the terminology is not consistent. A few states call their process “expungement” but actually seal the record. Check what your state’s process does, not what it is called.
Automatic Clearing in Clean Slate States
A growing number of states have passed clean slate laws that automatically seal certain criminal records after a waiting period, with no petition from you. As of 2025, thirteen states and Washington, D.C. have enacted qualifying laws: Pennsylvania, California, Michigan, New Jersey, Utah, Connecticut, Virginia, Colorado, Oklahoma, Minnesota, New York, Delaware, and Illinois. These laws generally cover misdemeanor convictions and arrest records where no conviction was entered.
If you live in one of these states, your public intoxication charge may be eligible for automatic sealing once you have stayed conviction-free for the required period. Implementation lags behind the legislation, though. Some states passed their clean slate laws years ago and are still building the systems to process records at scale. It is worth checking whether automatic processing has reached your record yet, or whether filing a petition yourself will get you there faster.
How to File the Petition
Before you start, pull together the details of your case: the official case number, the arrest date, the date the case was resolved, and the court that handled it. You will use these to complete a petition, usually titled something like “Petition for Expungement” or “Motion to Seal,” available from the court clerk’s website or office. Copies of the disposition order and, if applicable, proof that you completed diversion will keep the process moving.
Fees and Paperwork
File the completed petition with the clerk of the court that handled the original charge. Filing fees range from nothing in some jurisdictions to several hundred dollars in others. Many courts allow a fee waiver if your income is low enough, though the standards vary. Budget separately for certified copies of court records, which usually run $4 to $25 per document.
Hiring an attorney for the petition can cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars to several thousand, depending on complexity and location. For a straightforward public intoxication expungement with no complications, many attorneys charge a flat fee at the lower end. The paperwork for an uncontested misdemeanor is manageable on your own; a lawyer earns their fee if the prosecutor objects or if other charges on your record muddy the eligibility question.
Service, Objections, and the Court’s Decision
After filing, you typically have to formally notify the prosecutor’s office that handled the case. This step, called service, gives the prosecution a window to review the petition and decide whether to object. Grounds for objection include outstanding sentence obligations, pending charges, or ineligibility under the statute. Objections to straightforward public intoxication petitions are uncommon, especially when the charge was dismissed or you completed diversion.
The court will either rule on the papers or schedule a hearing. If the judge grants the petition, they will sign an order directing government agencies to expunge or seal the record. Keep certified copies of that order. You will need them for what comes next.
Updating Private Background Check Databases
A court order reaches government agencies. It does not automatically reach the hundreds of private background check companies that may have already pulled and stored your record. Those companies scrape court records on their own schedules, so an arrest or conviction they picked up before your expungement can keep showing up until they refresh.
Federal law requires background check companies to follow reasonable procedures to ensure the accuracy of their reports.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 U.S.C. 1681e – Compliance Procedures When a company reports public record information for employment purposes that could cost you a job, it must either notify you at the time of the report or maintain strict procedures to keep the information current and complete.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 U.S.C. 1681k – Public Record Information for Employment Purposes Reporting an expunged record as if it were still active arguably violates those accuracy requirements.
To speed updates, send a certified copy of the court order to the major background check companies and dispute any report that still lists the cleared charge. Some nonprofits run clearinghouse services that forward your order to hundreds of providers at once; the process can take 60 to 120 days and no service reaches every database. A company that keeps reporting an expunged charge after you notify them can face a federal complaint or lawsuit under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
Where a Cleared Record Can Still Appear
Expungement is not total erasure. A few contexts fall outside its reach, and the gaps matter if any of them apply to you.
Immigration. Federal immigration law defines “conviction” more broadly than state criminal law does, and expungement generally does not erase a conviction for immigration purposes. Under the federal definition, a conviction exists whenever a court enters a formal judgment of guilt, or whenever guilt is withheld but the person entered a guilty or no-contest plea or admitted enough facts to support guilt, and the judge imposed some form of punishment or restriction on liberty.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 U.S.C. 1101 – Definitions If a state court later vacates that judgment for rehabilitative reasons, such as successful diversion completion, immigration authorities still treat it as a conviction. The exception is a vacatur based on a genuine legal defect in the original proceedings. There is also a narrow safe harbor for pre-trial diversion where no admission of guilt is required and no punishment is imposed.5U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Policy Manual Volume 12, Part F, Chapter 2 – Adjudicative Factors If you are not a U.S. citizen, get immigration-specific legal advice before entering any plea or admission. A pattern of alcohol-related incidents in your record can also prompt a mental health evaluation during the immigration process to assess whether an alcohol use disorder is paired with harmful behavior.6U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Policy Manual Volume 8, Part B, Chapter 7 – Physical or Mental Disorder with Associated Harmful Behavior
Professional licensing. Nursing boards, bar associations, medical licensing agencies, and teaching credential bodies in many states require applicants to disclose criminal history that has been expunged or sealed. Rules vary sharply. Connecticut and Minnesota prohibit licensing agencies from considering expunged convictions at all; California bars agencies from using non-conviction records as grounds for denial; other states require disclosure of expunged records and may revoke a license if they later discover one you did not disclose. If you hold or are pursuing a professional license, read the application language carefully, and consult a licensing attorney if anything is ambiguous. Nondisclosure, when disclosure was required, is almost always treated more harshly than the underlying misdemeanor.
Law enforcement and the FBI. Police and courts can still see sealed records, and in many states can see expunged ones. If you are arrested again, the prior charge is likely to show up in the law enforcement file. FBI records are not automatically corrected when a state court grants expungement; you may need to separately request a correction through the relevant state agency.
Employment. On most private-sector job applications in most states, you can legally deny the expunged arrest or conviction. Some government positions and security clearance applications are exceptions.
Public intoxication is one of the more straightforward charges to clear. It is a low-level misdemeanor in most states, prosecutors rarely fight these petitions, and the paperwork is manageable without a lawyer in an uncomplicated case. The process takes patience, and the result is not as total as most people picture it, but for anyone whose background check still shows a late-night mistake from years ago, it is worth the effort.