To seal an eviction record, you file a motion in the same court that heard the original case, serve a copy on your former landlord, and, if the judge grants the order, send certified copies to the tenant screening companies that report rental history. Eligibility depends on how the case ended and the law of the state where it was filed; roughly fifteen states and the District of Columbia had specific sealing laws on the books as of 2025. Federal law also limits how long most eviction records can appear on screening reports to seven years from the date of entry.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681c – Requirements Relating to Information Contained in Consumer Reports
Check the Age of the Record First
Before you spend any time on a motion, look at when the eviction was filed. The Fair Credit Reporting Act generally bars consumer reporting agencies from including civil suits or civil judgments more than seven years old from the date of entry.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681c – Requirements Relating to Information Contained in Consumer Reports Eviction cases are civil suits, so the limit applies. If a screening company is still reporting an eviction older than seven years, it may already be out of compliance with federal law, and a dispute letter can resolve the problem without any court filing.
The seven-year rule only governs what screening companies may report. It does not remove the file from the courthouse. Landlords who check court records directly, or screening companies that fail to filter by age, can still surface an old case. Sealing the court record itself remains the only way to close that door.
Figure Out Whether Your Case Qualifies
Sealing laws generally sort cases into two buckets: those that qualify automatically and those where you have to ask a judge.
Automatic or Mandatory Sealing
Several jurisdictions seal certain records without any motion from the tenant. The most common triggers are outcomes in the tenant’s favor: dismissals, judgments for the defendant, and cases where the landlord failed to appear. Some states seal cases at the moment of filing and only unseal them if the landlord wins. Others seal every eviction record after a set period, often three years, regardless of outcome.
If your case should have been sealed automatically but still shows up in the court’s public database, call the clerk’s office. It is often a backlog or data-entry issue the clerk can fix.
Discretionary Sealing
When no automatic rule applies, you can petition the judge. Courts weigh your need for housing against the public interest in open records. Grounds that typically strengthen a petition:
- A settlement that included a sealing clause the judge approved. The order follows from the agreement itself.
- A judgment you lost but have since paid in full, usually combined with several years of clean rental history and some explanation of the circumstances behind the original case.
- Passage of time with a stable rental record and no further eviction filings, where state law allows sealing on that basis.
- Identity theft or a clerical error. Factual mistakes in the record support full expungement, not just sealing.
Paperwork You Will Need
Start by pulling your case number, the date of resolution, and the court division that heard the case. All of this appears on your original court papers or through the court’s online case lookup.
Most courts hand out standardized forms. A typical filing package includes:
- A Motion to Seal or Petition for Expungement, the main document asking the court to restrict or destroy the record.
- A supporting declaration or statement of facts, signed under penalty of perjury, explaining how the case ended and why sealing is appropriate.
- A proposed order for the judge to sign, specifying what gets sealed and who keeps access.
If the filing fee is a problem, request a fee waiver. Eligibility is generally based on household income relative to the federal poverty guidelines. The federal courts set their threshold at 150% of the HHS poverty guidelines, which for a single person in 2026 is $23,940 annually.2United States Courts. 150 Percent of HHS Poverty Guidelines State courts set their own thresholds but often use a similar benchmark. The waiver application asks for monthly income, household expenses, and whether you receive public assistance.
File the Motion and Serve the Landlord
File the motion package with the civil clerk at the courthouse that handled the original case. Many courts accept electronic filing through online portals in PDF format with payment by credit card. If you file in person, bring extra copies for the clerk to stamp and return.
Then serve the papers on your former landlord or their attorney. Judges regularly refuse to hear motions where service was deficient, so take this step seriously. Rules vary, but generally someone who is not a party to the case has to deliver the documents, either by hand or by certified mail depending on local requirements. That person signs a proof of service form, and you file it with the court to confirm the landlord had a chance to respond.
The Hearing
Once your motion is on file and served, the judge reviews it. In straightforward cases without objection, some courts grant the motion on the papers. If the landlord objects or the judge has questions, a hearing is scheduled.
The landlord’s most common objection concerns future landlords losing access to rental history. In some jurisdictions, the sealing process requires the landlord’s signature confirming you satisfied any judgment. A refusal creates a practical obstacle you may need the court to resolve.
The hearing is usually short. The judge wants to know how the case ended, what has changed, and why sealing serves the interests of justice. If you lost the original case, be ready to show the judgment is paid and your rental record since then is clean. Bring payment receipts, your current lease, and anything else that documents the picture.
If the motion is granted, the judge signs an order directing the clerk to seal or expunge the record. The order should state which it is: sealed records have restricted access, expunged records are destroyed. The distinction matters for what you do next.
Notify the Screening Companies — This Is the Step People Miss
A court order sealing your record reaches the court’s own files. It does not automatically touch the databases maintained by private tenant screening companies, which may have copied your data months or years earlier. Skip this step and your sealed record can keep showing up on background checks indefinitely.
Send a certified copy of the sealing order to every major tenant screening company that might have your data. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has specifically warned screening companies that reporting eviction information that has been sealed or expunged may violate accuracy requirements under federal law.3CFPB. Bulletin 2021-03 – Consumer Reporting of Rental Information Once notified, screening companies must follow reasonable procedures to make sure the sealed information no longer appears in reports.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681e – Compliance Procedures
Not sure which companies have your data? Apply for a rental unit and ask the landlord for a copy of the screening report. A landlord who denies your application based on a consumer report has to give you an adverse action notice that identifies the screening company and explains how to dispute the information.5FTC. Using Consumer Reports – What Landlords Need to Know
Disputing an Inaccurate Report
You can dispute an inaccurate eviction entry on a screening report whether or not you have gone through court sealing. Submit the dispute directly to the screening company, describe the error, and include copies of supporting documents such as the court’s dismissal order or sealing order.6FTC. Disputing Errors on Your Tenant Background Check Report
The company must investigate and report back within 30 days, with a possible 15-day extension if you supply additional information during the investigation.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681i – Procedure in Case of Disputed Accuracy If it finds the information is inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable, it must delete or correct the entry. If the dispute does not resolve the issue, you can request that a statement of your side be included in your file and future reports.6FTC. Disputing Errors on Your Tenant Background Check Report Tell the landlord who denied you about the dispute, and once the record is corrected, send them the updated report.
When a Screening Company Ignores the Sealing Order
A screening company that keeps reporting sealed or expunged eviction data after notice may be violating the FCRA’s reasonable-procedures requirement, and you can sue over it.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681e – Compliance Procedures
What you can recover depends on whether the violation was negligent or willful. For a negligent violation, you can recover actual damages, including lost housing opportunities, moving costs, and emotional distress, plus attorney’s fees.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681o – Civil Liability for Negligent Noncompliance For a willful violation, you can recover actual damages or statutory damages between $100 and $1,000 without proving specific harm, plus punitive damages and attorney’s fees.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681n – Civil Liability for Willful Noncompliance Because the company pays your legal costs if you win, many consumer protection attorneys take these cases on contingency with nothing due upfront.
What It Costs
Costs vary with whether you do it yourself, qualify for a fee waiver, and whether the motion is contested.
- Court filing fees typically range from around $50 to several hundred dollars. A fee waiver can eliminate this if your income is below the court’s threshold.
- Process server fees run roughly $85 to $150, depending on location and attempts. You can reduce this by having any adult non-party serve the papers, or by using certified mail where local rules allow.
- Notary fees apply if your declaration must be notarized. Most states cap notary fees between $2 and $25 per signature, though a handful set no maximum.
- Attorney fees depend on complexity. A straightforward motion may cost a few hundred dollars; a contested hearing can run significantly more. Many legal aid organizations help low-income tenants with eviction record sealing at no cost, and local bar associations run lawyer referral services.
An uncontested motion filed by a tenant with a fee waiver can cost essentially nothing out of pocket. A contested motion with an attorney can run into the hundreds or low thousands. If a sealed record is the difference between qualifying for stable housing and being denied again, the math usually works out quickly.