How many felonies can you get sealed

Once you have gathered all of the information about your criminal records , you must decide which items qualify for expungement to erase the records and which are eligible for sealing to hide the records from the public. First, download the Worksheet for criminal records expungement and sealing.

This worksheet will help you organize your information in one place. Then go through the information below. If your record needs to be expunged due to identity theft , the process is different. For purposes of expungement, a conviction is a finding of guilt resulting in a sentence such as:. Even if some instances are not eligible for expungement or sealing, you may still expunge or seal those arrests and cases that are eligible.

The ones that are not eligible will stay on your record. Minor traffic offenses unless you were released without being charged. Convictions for misdemeanors and felonies unless they were reversed, vacated, pardoned or approved by the Prisoner Review Board. Court supervision for driving under the influence. Convictions for misdemeanors and felonies only if they were reversed, vacated, pardoned. Read about the process.

If you had felony convictions sealed and you are convicted of another felony, the new felony will not be eligible. The old convictions could also be unsealed. Only logged-in users can post comments. Please log in or register if you want to leave a comment. We do our best to reply to each comment. We can't give legal advice in the comments, so if you have a question or need legal help, please go to Get Legal Help.

All rights reserved. ILAO is a registered c 3 nonprofit organization. ILAO's tax identification number is Select your language English Spanish. But, depending on the charges or convictions on your record and the length of time since your legal trouble began, you may be able to fully or partially clear your criminal record.

In Pennsylvania, the most common approach is filing a petition to have your record either expunged or sealed. But who is eligible, and how can you apply? Here is what you need to know:. The difference comes down to who can see your criminal record. Expungement, at least in Pennsylvania, means your criminal record is fully destroyed — so no one can see it, even the courts or police.

So, in some circumstances, they can still be accessed, such as by police, criminal court judges, and district attorneys, as well as by certain employers, for example, if a job requires a federal security clearance. Expungement is more limited and applies to fewer kinds of records, Gullen says.

Felonies and serious misdemeanors — such as violent crime and sexual offenses — generally cannot be expunged. There are, however, a few other cases in which you can get a criminal records expunged, including:.

Crimes for which you completed a special program , such as the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program or the Small Amount of Marijuana program. You may be able to get free legal help. Apply Online. Note: Covid is changing many areas of the law. Visit our Covid articles for the latest information. The Big Picture. More on Sealing a criminal record. What offenses can be sealed? Displaying information for [ change ]. Take action. Starting a case to expunge or seal a criminal record.

How to access and review your criminal record. How to complete an FBI background check. An exception to this rule is failure to pay child support which is now eligible for expungement.

B September Under Ohio law, after a conviction of a felony, a statutory waiting period of three years must have passed before one is actually eligible for to begin the expungement process. The clock does not start ticking when the conviction is recorded by the Court; however, it starts from the final date of discharge.

The final date of discharge is when the case sentence has been completed. This means if the Judge sentenced you to serve three years of community control on April 10, , and you completed the community control on April 10, , you would have to wait three years from April 10, April 10, in order to be eligible to begin the expungement process.

At, the time you begin the expungement process after the waiting period has expired, there can be no criminal proceedings pending against you, and you must have fulfilled all requirements of your probation, and paid all restitution, fines and cost.

In some cases, the Court may waive the restitution requirement. Even if you meet all the legal prerequisites to have an expungement of felony conviction, the court must consider any objection of the prosecution and impose a balancing test under. Having an attorney represent you will help you counter any objections of the prosecutor and advocate to the court that the scales tip in your favor to have the felony record expunged and outweigh any interests of the state in maintaining a record of your conviction.