Clearing a criminal record

What it is

Clearing a criminal record means asking a court or a state agency to close, seal or erase the record of an arrest, a charge or a conviction, so that the public and most employers and landlords can no longer see it. Each state uses its own words, such as expungement, sealing, set-aside, annulment or expunction, and sets its own rules on which records may qualify, how long you must wait and how to file. Some states also clear some records automatically under Clean Slate and similar laws, usually only some records and after a waiting period. A cleared record may still be seen by police, courts and some licensing agencies, and a state order may not change how federal immigration law treats a conviction. A federal law, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, limits how long background check companies can report an arrest that did not lead to a conviction; it sets no time limit for convictions. The laws on these pages are state laws: a federal conviction follows federal rules. We explain the rules; we can't tell you whether your own record qualifies.

Who it helps

• People turned down for a job or an apartment after a background check
• People whose case was dismissed or who were found not guilty, but the arrest still shows up
• People who finished a sentence and want to know how long they must wait to apply
• People who want a copy of their own record before they apply