Misdemeanors do not go away on their own in Virginia. A conviction stays on your record indefinitely unless you take legal action, and until recently there was almost no way to clear one. That changes on July 1, 2026, when a new law begins sealing certain misdemeanor convictions automatically and opens a petition process for many others. Some offenses, including DUI and domestic assault, remain permanently ineligible.
Misdemeanors Stay Until You Act
Virginia has no waiting period after which a misdemeanor conviction falls off your record by itself. Whether the offense was petit larceny, disorderly conduct, or a first-offense DUI, it sits on your criminal history until a court orders it sealed or expunged. Which path is available to you depends on two things: whether you were actually convicted, and what the offense was.
If Your Case Didn’t End in a Conviction
Virginia’s expungement statute has always been aimed at charges that did not result in a conviction. If your case was dismissed, you were acquitted, the prosecutor entered a nolle prosequi, or you received an absolute pardon from the Governor, you can petition to have the police and court records expunged. The same option exists if someone used your identity and you were charged for their conduct.1Virginia Code Commission. Code of Virginia 19.2-392.2 – Expungement of Police and Court Records
The process runs through the circuit court where your case was resolved. You file a petition, serve the Commonwealth’s Attorney, get fingerprinted so the Central Criminal Records Exchange can send your history to the court under seal, and attend a hearing. For a misdemeanor charge where the prosecutor does not object and you have no prior record, the court should grant the petition without further proof. Otherwise, you have to show that keeping the record causes “manifest injustice.” The filing fee is $98.2Virginia’s Judicial System. Circuit Court Fee Schedule – Appendix C
If you were convicted, though, this statute historically offered nothing. That gap is what the 2026 law finally fills.
What Changes on July 1, 2026
Starting July 1, 2026, Virginia will seal certain misdemeanor convictions from public view for the first time. Sealing is not the same as expungement. Expungement, which stays in place for non-convictions, restricts access very tightly. Sealing applies to actual convictions and lets a somewhat broader range of agencies still see the record, but for employers, landlords, and the general public the effect is similar.3Virginia State Crime Commission. Sealing of Criminal Records
The new system has two tracks: automatic sealing for a specific short list of offenses, and petition-based sealing for a much larger set.
Convictions That Will Be Sealed Automatically
Five categories of misdemeanor conviction will be sealed without any action on your part, as long as seven years have passed since the conviction and you have picked up no new criminal convictions in that time. Traffic infractions do not count against you, but any other criminal conviction resets the clock. The eligible offenses are:
- Petit larceny
- Shoplifting
- Trespassing, instigating trespass, and trespass on posted property
- Misdemeanor distribution of marijuana
- Disorderly conduct
Automatic sealing reaches back to convictions with offense dates on or after January 1, 1986.4Virginia Code Commission. Code of Virginia 19.2-392.6 – Automatic Sealing of Offenses
Former marijuana possession convictions get faster treatment. Those records are sealed without any court order and without waiting seven years. The Central Criminal Records Exchange, the courts, law enforcement agencies, and the Department of Motor Vehicles are all required to identify and seal them.5Virginia Code Commission. Code of Virginia 19.2-392.6:1 – Sealing of Former Possession of Marijuana Offenses Without Entry of a Court Order
Convictions You’ll Have to Petition to Seal
For misdemeanors outside the automatic list, you can file a petition asking the court to seal the record. The waiting period is the same: seven years from the conviction date with no new criminal convictions in between. There is no filing fee for this petition.6Virginia Code Commission. Code of Virginia 19.2-392.12:1 – Sealing of Charges and Convictions Related to Automatic Sealing; Petition
The petition track also covers deferred dismissals and some felony convictions, though the exclusion list is longer for that group.7Virginia Code Commission. Code of Virginia 19.2-392.12 – Sealing of Offenses Resulting in a Deferred and Dismissed Disposition or Conviction by Petition
Misdemeanors That Never Come Off
Several of the misdemeanors people most often want cleared are permanently excluded from sealing:
- DUI convictions and related offenses under Virginia’s DUI statutes
- Assault and battery against a family or household member, and any offense where the victim was a family or household member
- Violations of an emergency, preliminary, or permanent protective order
- Any offense requiring registration on the Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry
- Hate crimes, animal cruelty, and election law violations
If your conviction falls into one of these categories, no amount of time or clean living makes it eligible under current law.7Virginia Code Commission. Code of Virginia 19.2-392.12 – Sealing of Offenses Resulting in a Deferred and Dismissed Disposition or Conviction by Petition
What Sealing and Expungement Actually Do for You
Once a record is expunged, standard background checks by employers, landlords, and schools will not surface it, and you can legally deny the arrest or charge ever happened in most situations.1Virginia Code Commission. Code of Virginia 19.2-392.2 – Expungement of Police and Court Records
Sealing under the 2026 law works similarly in daily life. You are not required to disclose a sealed offense to state or local government agencies, private employers, educational institutions, landlords, or insurance companies, and those entities are prohibited from asking about it. A state or local government employee who knowingly and intentionally discloses a sealed record can be charged with a Class 1 misdemeanor.3Virginia State Crime Commission. Sealing of Criminal Records
Neither process erases the record from existence. Sealed records remain accessible to law enforcement, to courts handling future criminal cases, and to certain licensing boards. Private background check companies may still hold older data, and correcting their files often means contacting them directly. And neither sealing nor expungement automatically restores rights lost through a conviction, such as firearm rights, which require their own separate proceeding.
The seven-year clock, when it applies, runs from the date of conviction rather than the date of the offense or arrest. Traffic tickets during that window are fine; any other criminal conviction starts the count over.4Virginia Code Commission. Code of Virginia 19.2-392.6 – Automatic Sealing of Offenses