Clean Slate states: automatic record clearing

Automatic record relief

July 1, 2022 for most arrests (misdemeanor and some felony arrests) and for convictions…

Each month the California DOJ marks eligible records 'relief granted' without a petition, for arrests and convictions on or after January 1, 1973. Arrests: misdemeanor arrests that were dismissed, or with no charges and no conviction after 1 year; felony arrests with no charges and no conviction after 3 years (6 years if the offense is punishable by 8 or more years); and arrests where you completed diversion or deferred entry of judgment.

Automatic conviction sealing

Drug, misdemeanor and petty offense convictions sealed from July 1, 2024 (quarterly)…

The state court administrator lists eligible convictions and courts seal them without a petition: civil infractions after 4 years, petty offenses and misdemeanors after 7 years from final disposition, and eligible felonies after 10 years from final disposition or release from supervision (whichever is later), if you had no new conviction in that time.

Clean Slate

Law effective January 1, 2023. Automatic cannabis erasures ran in 2023; the automated…

Misdemeanor convictions are erased 7 years, and eligible felony (up to 5-year maximum) and DUI convictions 10 years, after your most recent conviction, for offenses on or after January 1, 2000, once all sentences, parole and probation are done and no charges are pending.

Automatic expungement (Clean Slate), 11 Del. C. § 4373A

August 1, 2024

Every month the State Bureau of Identification identifies cases that are eligible for mandatory expungement (cases ended in your favor, violation-only cases after 3 years, marijuana and underage-alcohol convictions, most misdemeanors and drug possession after 5 years, and the listed felonies after 10 years) and expunges them without an application.

Automatic sealing and expungement under the Second Chance Amendment Act of 2022 (D.C. Law 24-284)

Law applicable March 1, 2025; automatic sealing and expungement due by October 1, 2027…

The law requires the court to automatically seal cases that ended without a conviction, and misdemeanor convictions 10 years after completion of the sentence.

Automatic sealing of criminal history records

October 1, 2019; since July 1, 2023 the clerk must also keep the related…

FDLE automatically seals the record, and the clerk makes the court file confidential, when no charges were filed, all counts were dismissed or dropped, or you were acquitted or found not guilty on all counts.

Automatic restriction of non-convictions and time-expired arrests

July 1, 2013

For arrests on or after July 1, 2013, dismissals, nolle prosequi and acquittals should be restricted in GCIC automatically when the disposition is entered.

Clean Slate Act

Act effective June 1, 2026; automatic sealing begins January 1, 2029. Older records are…

Without any petition, the Illinois State Police will automatically seal eligible records: non-conviction records right away, completed supervision and qualified probation after 2 years, misdemeanor convictions 2 years and felony convictions 3 years after the sentence ends.

Automatic expungement of dismissed and acquitted cases

July 1, 2022

For charges filed after June 30, 2022, when a court dismisses all charges, you are acquitted of all charges, or your conviction is vacated, the court must immediately order the records expunged without a petition.

Deferred judgment expungement on discharge

Long-standing; payment condition applies to deferred judgments not expunged before July…

When you complete probation on a deferred judgment and have paid the financial obligations in that case, the court's record of the deferred judgment and the dismissed counts is expunged without a separate petition.

Automatic expungement of acquittals and dismissals with prejudice

July 15, 2020

If you are acquitted, or all criminal charges in a case are dismissed with prejudice (not in exchange for a guilty plea), the court orders the record expunged after 30 days without any action by you, unless you object.

Automatic expungement of non-conviction cases

Dispositions on or after October 1, 2021

If every charge in a case ended in acquittal, dismissal, not guilty or nolle prosequi (not nolle prosequi with required treatment), the court expunges the case automatically 3 years after the disposition.

Automatic sealing of not-guilty, no-bill and no-probable-cause cases

When a case ends in not guilty, a grand jury no bill, or a finding of no probable cause, the Commissioner of Probation and the court seal it without a petition, unless you ask in writing that it not be sealed.

Michigan Clean Slate — automatic set-aside

April 11, 2023

Misdemeanors punishable by 92 days or less are set aside 7 years after sentencing (no limit on number). Misdemeanors punishable by 93 days or more (up to 4) are set aside 7 years after sentencing, and felonies (up to 2) 10 years after sentencing or release from prison, whichever is later — only if you have no pending charges and no new conviction in that time.

Minnesota Clean Slate Act — automatic expungement

January 1, 2025 (grants of relief on or after this date)

The BCA seals records without a petition for: cases where all charges were dismissed or resolved in your favor; drug-possession cases dismissed under § 152.18; non-felony diversion or stay of adjudication after 1 year with no new charge; and qualifying convictions after a waiting period with no new conviction and no pending charge — petty misdemeanor and misdemeanor 2 years, gross misdemeanor 3 years, felony 5th-degree drug possession 4 years, other listed felonies 5 years after discharge.

Automatic expungement of drug-possession convictions and automatic closed records for non-convictions

RSMo 610.141 took effect August 28, 2026; automatic expungements must begin when…

Starting no later than January 1, 2027, the Highway Patrol's central repository must screen records at least weekly and automatically expunge convictions for possession of a controlled substance or drug paraphernalia once 1 year (misdemeanor) or 3 years (felony) has passed since you completed all court-imposed terms and were released, with no new misdemeanor or felony conviction in that time, no pending charges or outstanding arrest, and no class A felony; the case must contain only qualifying convictions.

Automatic removal from the public record of non-conviction records

Court sealing of dismissals and acquittals applies to cases ending on or after January…

Arrests with no charges filed leave the public record 1 year after the arrest; arrests where charges were not filed because you completed diversion leave it after 2 years; cases dismissed by the court (prosecutor's motion, hearing, deferred judgment, drug or problem-solving court) or ending in acquittal are sealed immediately.

Automatic sealing in limited cases (deferred probation, unconditional pardons, juvenile records)

Pardon sealing added in 2021; juvenile automatic sealing since 2003 (amended 2015…

The court seals records without a petition when you finish a deferred-judgment probation or certain specialty court treatment programs; the court and the Central Repository seal records once they receive a certified unconditional pardon; juvenile records are sealed within 60 days after age 18.

New Hampshire
Not covered yet: court self-help · LawHelp.org

Automatic marijuana expungement (Marijuana Decriminalization Law); automated Clean Slate

Marijuana expungements: July 1, 2021. Automated Clean Slate: enacted December 18, 2019…

Under the 2021 law and a July 1, 2021 Supreme Court order, the courts expunged cases whose only charges were low-level marijuana or hashish offenses (distribution under 1 oz / 5 g, possession, plus related paraphernalia, use or failure-to-dispose charges).

Automatic expungement of cannabis records

2021; amended by 2023 HB 314, which limited…

Public records of arrests and convictions involving only cannabis or cannabis-paraphernalia charges for conduct that is no longer a crime (or would be a lesser offense) under the 2021 Cannabis Regulation Act are automatically expunged and destroyed 2 years after the conviction, or after the arrest if there was no conviction; for people under 18 at the time, after 2 years or at age 18, whichever comes first.

Clean Slate Act

November 16, 2024 (one year after the law was signed on November 16, 2023); the courts…

Most New York misdemeanor convictions are sealed automatically 3 years after sentencing or release from incarceration, and most felony convictions 8 years after sentencing or last release.

Automatic expunction of dismissed and not-guilty charges

December 1, 2021

If every charge in a case was dismissed or ended in a finding of not guilty or not responsible on or after December 1, 2021, the charges are expunged by law 180 to 210 days after the case ends, with no petition.

Automatic closing of nonconviction court records

August 1, 2025

Court records of cases in which all charges were dismissed or you were acquitted are closed automatically 61 days after the order, for orders entered on or after August 1, 2025.

Clean Slate

Law effective November 1, 2022; automatic sealing could begin November 1, 2025, subject…

Arrest records in which every charge is 'clean slate eligible' are to be sealed automatically, without a petition. Eligible: acquittals, reversals, DNA exonerations, full pardons (adult or juvenile), arrests with no charges filed, identity-theft cases and felonies reclassified as misdemeanors; and, only if your record is an Oklahoma-only ('single-source') record, dismissals where the prosecutor declined to file, misdemeanor deferred-sentence dismissals after 1 year, and misdemeanor convictions (fine-only, or 5 years after the sentence).

Automatic sealing of drug enforcement misdemeanor records

September 1, 2024

For unlawful possession of a controlled substance charged as a drug enforcement misdemeanor: police or the DA seal records within 60 days after you complete a deflection program; records are sealed if no further action is taken on the citation within 2 years of the offense; the court seals records within 90 days after you finish probation, after a dismissal under a probation agreement, or after an acquittal; and the court must seal a conviction 3 years after judgment (time with an active warrant does not count) and a dismissal 3 years after dismissal.

Clean Slate (clean slate limited access)

June 28, 2019; expanded by Act 83 of 2020 and by Act 36 of 2023 (signed…

Records are sealed from the public without a petition: all non-conviction charges; summary convictions after 5 years; second- and third-degree misdemeanors and misdemeanors punishable by two years or less after 7 years free of any conviction punishable by one year or more; drug offenses under the Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act ('qualifying offenses') after 10 years free of such a conviction, unless the sentence was a minimum of 30 months or a maximum of 60 months or more; and conditionally pardoned convictions.

Automatic sealing of Rule 48(a) dismissals; automatic expungement of filed complaints and marijuana possession convictions

Filed complaints: long-standing; marijuana: Rhode Island Cannabis Act, May 25, 2022…

District Court cases dismissed under Rule 48(a) on or after January 1, 2023 are sealed 10-20 days after dismissal. A complaint placed on file is expunged automatically if no action is taken during the filing period.

Summary court expungement of dismissals and acquittals

Summary court rule: 2016; mistaken identity: June 25, 2026.

When a summary (magistrate or municipal) court case ends in not guilty, dismissal or nolle prosequi and you were fingerprinted, the court issues the expungement order on its own, at no cost, within 30 days after the appeal deadline.

Automatic removal of minor cases from the public record

2016 (SL 2016, ch 134), amended 2021

Cases where the most serious charge was a petty offense, municipal ordinance violation or Class 2 misdemeanor are removed from your public record after five years, if you met all court-ordered conditions and had no new conviction in that time.

Clean Slate / automatic expungement

Clean slate law applies to cases adjudicated or dismissed since May 1, 2020 (and older…

Courts automatically expunge, with no petition: acquittals (goal: 60 days after acquittal); cases dismissed with prejudice (goal: 180 days after dismissal; not dismissals after a plea in abeyance); and "clean slate" cases where every conviction or charge is a class B or C misdemeanor, an infraction, or a misdemeanor drug possession, once 5 years (class C or infraction), 6 years (class B) or 7 years (class A drug possession) have passed since the conviction, or since dismissal after a plea in abeyance or a dismissal without prejudice.

Automatic sealing of non-conviction records

Current version in effect since July 1, 2025. Before that date, acquittals…

When no probable cause is found at arraignment, the charge is dismissed before trial (with or without prejudice), or you are acquitted, the court seals the record within 60 days after the case ends unless either side objects in the interests of justice.

Automatic sealing

July 1, 2026 (2025 Va. Acts chs. 634 and 671, enactment clauses 5-7). The State Police…

Sealed with no petition: (1) misdemeanor convictions for petit larceny, shoplifting, trespass, misdemeanor marijuana distribution and disorderly conduct (offense date on or after January 1, 1986) once 7 years have passed since the conviction with no new reportable conviction anywhere, unless you were convicted of a non-eligible offense on the same date; (2) every charge or conviction for possession of marijuana under former § 18.2-250.1, sealed without a court order; (3) misdemeanor acquittals and dismissals with prejudice, sealed by the court at the end of the case unless you object; (4) felony acquittals and dismissals with prejudice, if you ask out loud right away and the prosecutor agrees; (5) older misdemeanor acquittals, nolle prosequis and dismissals for people with no convictions on their record and no new arrests or charges in the past 3 years (State Police review at least yearly); (6) non-criminal traffic infractions, 11 years after final disposition.