Does a Summary Offense Go on Your Record and Can It Be Expunged?

A summary offense in Pennsylvania does go on your record if you are convicted, and that record shows up on background checks run by employers, landlords, and schools. Pennsylvania gives you two ways to clear it: a petition for expungement, which erases the record, and automatic sealing under the Clean Slate Act, which hides it from public view after five years.

Paying the Ticket Counts as a Conviction

A charge alone does not create a record. A conviction does, and in a summary case you can get convicted two ways: a Magisterial District Judge finds you guilty after a hearing, or you simply mail in the fine. Under Pennsylvania’s Rules of Criminal Procedure, paying a summary citation is treated as a guilty plea, and the case closes as a conviction.¹

Once entered, the conviction becomes part of the Pennsylvania State Police central repository, which is the statewide database background-check companies pull from. Even though summary offenses carry a maximum fine of $300 and up to 90 days in jail, they are still criminal convictions.²

How Long the Record Stays Visible

Without action on your part, the conviction can stay on your record indefinitely. The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act caps how long arrests, civil suits, and similar negative items can appear on a consumer report at roughly seven years, but it carves out an explicit exception for conviction records.³ A background check company can report a 20-year-old disorderly conduct conviction the same as a recent one. In Pennsylvania, the record sits in the State Police database until it is expunged or sealed.

If You Were Not Convicted

Charges that were withdrawn, dismissed, or ended in a not-guilty finding are a different situation. You are entitled to expungement, and the statute requires an acquittal record to be expunged within 12 months of the not-guilty finding.⁴ For withdrawn or dismissed charges, you can petition right away. No waiting period, no special eligibility hurdle.

Expungement After a Summary Conviction

For an actual conviction, adults must wait five years. During that entire five-year period you must stay free of any arrests or prosecutions. If you pick up even an unrelated charge during the wait, you lose eligibility until that new matter is resolved and another arrest-free stretch has passed.⁴

The statute does not explicitly require that fines and costs be paid off before you petition under the general five-year rule. Courts, however, routinely expect full payment first, and unpaid balances give the district attorney an easy reason to object. Treat outstanding fines as a practical barrier and clear them before filing.

Expungement, once granted, is a true erasure. The court order directs the State Police and other agencies to destroy the record. Afterward, you can legally state that you were never convicted.

Automatic Sealing Under the Clean Slate Act

Pennsylvania’s Clean Slate Act, effective in 2018, created a second path many people overlook. Under 18 Pa.C.S. § 9122.2, summary convictions become subject to automatic “limited access” once five years have passed since the judgment of conviction.⁵ Limited access means the record is sealed from public view without you filing anything. The state’s automated system handles it.

Employers running standard background checks should not see a record under limited access. Law enforcement agencies and courts still have access, and if you apply for a job requiring higher-level clearance or involving work with vulnerable populations, the sealed record may still be visible to the reviewing agency.

Sealing or Expungement: Which You Need

The two remedies are not equal. Expungement erases the record; sealing hides it. For most people dealing with a single old summary offense, automatic sealing removes the main pain point, which is the record appearing on routine employer screenings. If you want the conviction fully eliminated, particularly for professional licenses, immigration matters, or security clearances where sealed records may still surface, expungement is the stronger remedy.

How to File an Expungement Petition

Start by pulling your case details from the court docket. Pennsylvania’s Unified Judicial System has an online docket search, or you can request the information from the Clerk of Courts in the county where the case was handled. You will need:

The court and docket number assigned to the case.
The summary offense charged and the date it occurred.
The final disposition, whether that was a conviction, dismissal, withdrawal, or not-guilty finding.

Next, get the correct petition form. Pennsylvania Courts publishes standardized forms, and the procedural rules for summary expungements are set out in Rule 490.⁶ File the completed petition with the Clerk of Courts in the county where the charge originated, in person or by mail.

Filing fees vary by county, generally in the $150 to $200 range. Bring copies for the court, the District Attorney’s office, and your own files. The Clerk forwards the petition to the DA, who can agree or contest. No objection means the petition goes to a judge for approval without a hearing. An objection means a hearing where both sides argue. Once a judge signs the order, it goes to the State Police and other agencies with instructions to purge the record. The full process typically takes several months.

If You Were a Juvenile

Summary convictions picked up before you turned 18 move faster. Once you are 18 and six months have passed since you completed every term of your sentence, including paying fines, you can petition for expungement. You must also have stayed clear of any felony or misdemeanor convictions and have no pending criminal proceedings during that period.⁷ Unlike the general adult rule, the juvenile statute explicitly requires full completion of sentence conditions before the six-month clock starts.

If You Completed ARD

Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition is a diversionary program for some first-time offenders. On successful completion, the judge is supposed to order expungement of the arrest record automatically when the charges are dismissed, with the District Attorney given 30 days to object.⁸ If you finished ARD years ago and never confirmed the expungement actually happened, pull your record and check. Administrative delays sometimes leave records sitting in place.

What the Record Affects

Employment is where most people feel this. A summary conviction can appear on a standard background check, and many employers use third-party screening companies that pull from statewide criminal databases. Because federal law sets no time limit on reporting convictions, even a minor offense from years ago may surface.³

Federal student aid is generally not affected by a summary offense. Drug convictions no longer impact federal financial aid, and the main restriction now applies to students who are currently incarcerated rather than those with prior minor convictions.⁹ Landlords and professional licensing boards, however, can still weigh the conviction in their reviews.

1
Pennsylvania Code and Bulletin. Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure Chapter 4 – Procedures in Summary Cases
2
Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 18-1105 – Sentence of Imprisonment for Summary Offenses
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code 15-1681c – Requirements Relating to Information Contained in Consumer Reports
4
Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 18-9122 – Expungement
5
Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 18-9122.2 – Clean Slate Limited Access
6
Pennsylvania Courts. Pennsylvania Rule of Criminal Procedure 490 – Procedure for Obtaining Expungement in Summary Cases
7
Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 18-9123 – Juvenile Records
8
Pennsylvania Code and Bulletin. Pennsylvania Rule of Criminal Procedure 320 – Procedure for Expungement Upon Successful Completion of ARD Program
9
Federal Student Aid. Eligibility for Students With Criminal Convictions