Record Sealing & Expungement

Expungement generally means the record is destroyed or treated as though it never existed. Sealing generally means it still exists but is hidden from most public and employer view. Set-aside or vacatur means the conviction is annulled or the judgment withdrawn while the record of the case may remain.

Which of these exists — and which offenses qualify — is entirely a matter of state law. There is no federal expungement process for state convictions, and federal convictions have very limited relief.

A growing number of states have passed 'clean slate' laws that seal eligible records automatically after a waiting period, without a petition. Others require you to file, and some require a hearing.

Automatic sealing laws typically exclude certain categories — commonly sex offenses and the most serious violent felonies — and usually require that you not be under supervision and not have new convictions.

Your state page in Atlas Redeemed shows what applies where you live, with the statute and the date we checked it.

Even where a record is sealed, it typically remains visible to law enforcement, to courts, and to certain licensing and fingerprint-based screening processes — for example some healthcare, education, and firearms-related checks.

Private background-check companies that copied the record before sealing sometimes keep reporting it. If that happens, the FCRA dispute process is the tool to fix it.

Many legal aid organizations run free record-clearing clinics, and some public defender offices handle sealing for their former clients. Petitions are often possible without a lawyer, but an eligibility screening is worth getting first — filing when you are not eligible wastes months.

Use the Legal Services Corporation directory to find civil legal aid in your area.