To seal a felony record, you file a petition in the court where you were convicted, asking a judge to restrict public access to that case. The process is set entirely by state law, so eligibility rules, waiting periods, forms, and fees change depending on where the conviction happened. The core sequence is the same almost everywhere: confirm the offense qualifies, finish every part of your sentence, wait out the required years with a clean record, gather your paperwork, file the petition, notify the prosecutor, and attend a hearing if one is scheduled. A granted petition hides the conviction from most private background checks, though law enforcement and some licensing bodies keep access.
Who Can Seal a Felony Conviction
Eligibility turns first on what you were convicted of. Most states exclude serious violent felonies, sex offenses, and crimes against children from sealing entirely. The felonies most commonly eligible are nonviolent offenses like drug possession, lower-level theft, and financial crimes. The classification level matters too, with lower-level felonies qualifying in states where higher-level ones do not.
Every state imposes a waiting period, and the clock starts when you complete your sentence, not when you were convicted. Waiting periods generally run from about three to ten years, with lower-level felonies on the shorter end and more serious eligible felonies often requiring seven years or more.
You also have to actually be done with the sentence. That means all incarceration served, all probation or parole completed, and every dollar of fines, fees, and victim restitution paid. Courts verify this, and an outstanding restitution balance is one of the most common reasons petitions stall.
Finally, your record during the waiting period has to be clean. A new arrest or conviction while the clock is running will typically reset it or disqualify you altogether. Judges want to see sustained, law-abiding time between the old case and the petition.
Check Whether Your State Seals Records Automatically
Before you prepare anything, find out whether you have to file at all. As of 2025, thirteen states and Washington, D.C. have enacted Clean Slate laws that automatically seal certain eligible records once the waiting period expires and all sentence conditions are met. These laws generally cover misdemeanors and some low-level felonies, with the same categories of serious offenses carved out. If you live in one of these states and your conviction qualifies, the record is sealed without any filing on your part. Your state legislature’s website or the local court clerk can confirm whether automatic sealing applies to you.
Pull Your Records and Documents First
A petition needs specifics: the exact charge, arrest and conviction dates, case number, and the name and location of the court that handled the case. The most reliable source is a certified criminal history report from your state’s records agency, usually the state police, department of public safety, or bureau of investigation. The FBI also offers Identity History Summary checks (sometimes called rap sheets) built from fingerprint submissions nationwide.1Federal Bureau of Investigation. Identity History Summary Checks State reports typically cost somewhere between $10 and $95.
You also want a certified copy of the judgment and commitment order from your case, which records the sentence the court imposed, including incarceration terms, probation conditions, and financial obligations.2U.S. Marshals Service. Judgment and Commitment The clerk of the sentencing court can issue one for a small fee.
Then collect proof that you finished every piece of the sentence. A discharge letter from your probation or parole officer, a completion certificate from a court-ordered program, and receipts showing fines and restitution paid in full all belong in the file. Courts will not take your word for any of it.
The petition itself is a court form, usually titled something like “Petition to Seal” or “Petition for Expungement” depending on the state. Most state court systems post the form for free online. Some jurisdictions also require a fingerprint card, which you can get from local law enforcement or a private fingerprinting service for roughly $10 to $100.
File the Petition and Serve the Prosecutor
The completed petition and supporting documents go to the clerk of the court where your conviction was entered. Some clerks accept mailed filings; many require in-person submission. Call ahead to confirm.
Filing fees range from nothing in some states to around $240 in others. If you cannot afford the fee, most courts let you apply for a waiver through a separate form, often titled “Application to Proceed Without Prepaying Fees,” filed alongside the petition.3United States Courts. Fee Waiver Application Forms The court reviews your finances and decides whether to waive or reduce it.
You then have to formally notify the prosecuting attorney’s office. This step is called service, and it means delivering a copy of the filed petition to the district attorney or prosecutor who handled your original case, usually by mail or in-person delivery. Order matters and varies by state. Some jurisdictions require you to serve the prosecutor before filing; others require service afterward. Check your local court rules.
Once service is complete, file proof of it with the court. This document, an Affidavit of Service or Proof of Service, is a sworn statement confirming the prosecutor received the petition. The court will not move forward without it.
The Hearing and the Judge’s Decision
After the prosecutor’s office receives your petition, it has a set window, typically 30 to 90 days, to review and decide whether to object. The prosecutor may object on the grounds that you don’t meet the legal requirements or that sealing would harm the public interest. If no objection comes in, some judges will grant the petition without a hearing.
If the prosecutor objects or the judge wants more information, a hearing is scheduled. This is your chance to explain why sealing matters. Judges respond to concrete hardship, especially in employment and housing, backed by evidence of rehabilitation. Letters from employers, community service records, educational achievements, and completion certificates from treatment programs all help. The prosecutor presents their side, and the judge weighs both.
The judge looks at the seriousness of the original offense, your conduct since the conviction, the rehabilitation evidence, and the prosecutor’s objections. If the petition is granted, the judge signs an order directing the relevant state agencies to seal the record, and those agencies are then legally required to restrict public access. Database updates can take several weeks to a few months after the order is signed.
If the Petition Is Denied
A denial isn’t necessarily the end. A denial “without prejudice” means the judge identified a fixable problem, such as missing documentation, an incomplete waiting period, or a procedural error. Correct it and refile. Some states impose a mandatory wait before you can submit a new petition; others let you refile as soon as the problem is resolved.
A denial “with prejudice” is a definitive ruling against sealing that particular record. The main option then is to appeal to a higher court, which is a more complex process that almost always requires an attorney. An appeal challenges whether the judge applied the law correctly, not whether the judge found your case sympathetic.
Either way, ask the court for a written order explaining the denial. You need to know exactly why before deciding what to do next.
What a Sealed Record Actually Does
Sealing is not the same as expungement. A sealed record is hidden from public view but kept intact in a restricted database; an expunged record is generally deleted or destroyed and treated legally as if the arrest and conviction never happened. Some states offer both with different eligibility rules, others use only one term, and that distinction shapes what a successful petition gets you.
For most practical purposes, a sealed felony record disappears from public view. Private employers running standard background checks should not see it, and in most states you can legally answer “no” when asked on a job or housing application whether you have been convicted of a felony. Commercial background check companies are required by the Fair Credit Reporting Act to follow reasonable procedures to ensure maximum possible accuracy in their reports, which means they should not report a conviction that has been sealed.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681e – Compliance Procedures
The limits are the part people miss. Law enforcement and courts still see sealed records. If you are arrested for a new crime, prosecutors and judges will see the sealed conviction. In many states, certain government agencies can access sealed records for immigration proceedings, security clearance investigations, and similar purposes.
Professional licensing is the sharpest exception. Applications for law enforcement, bar admission, medical licenses, teaching credentials, and jobs working with vulnerable populations often require you to disclose sealed convictions. These rules vary by state and by licensing board, so check the specific board before assuming the record is invisible.
Firearm Rights
Federal law prohibits anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison from possessing firearms.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts The federal definition of “conviction” excludes any conviction that has been expunged, set aside, or for which civil rights have been restored, unless the order expressly says the person still cannot possess firearms.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 921 – Definitions Whether a state sealing order qualifies as an expungement or set-aside under that federal definition depends on state law and the wording of the order. Getting specific legal advice here is worth the cost, because a wrong guess means a potential federal firearms charge.
Federal Convictions
If your conviction is in federal court rather than state court, options are extremely limited. There is no general federal record-sealing statute. The one narrow exception is the Federal First Offender Act, which applies only to simple drug possession: if you were under twenty-one at the time, had no prior drug convictions, and successfully completed special probation, the court will expunge the record upon application, and the conviction is then not treated as a conviction for any legal purpose.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3607 – Special Probation and Expungement Procedures for Drug Possessors For almost every other federal felony, the only route to relief is a presidential pardon through the Department of Justice’s Office of the Pardon Attorney, which typically requires at least five years after sentence completion before applying.
Doing It Alone or Hiring Help
You can file a petition on your own, and many people do. Forms are publicly available, and court clerks can answer procedural questions about filing. Self-representation gets risky when a case involves multiple convictions, convictions in different counties, or a prosecutor who plans to object. An attorney can handle those complications, prepare you for a hearing, and spot eligibility issues you might miss. Attorney fees for record-sealing cases generally run from around $400 to $4,000, depending on complexity and jurisdiction.
If paying is not realistic, free help is out there. Many legal aid organizations run dedicated expungement and record-sealing programs. The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers maintains a directory of free expungement clinics where volunteer attorneys review eligibility and help prepare petitions at no cost, and local bar associations host similar events. Searching for “expungement clinic” or “record sealing legal aid” along with your city or county is the fastest way to find what’s near you.