Expungement is a legal process in which the legal record of an arrest or a criminal conviction is "sealed," or erased in the eyes of the law.  When a conviction is expunged, the process may also be referred to as "setting aside a criminal conviction."  The ability to expunge a record or arrest or conviction as well as the process for having an arrest or conviction expunged will vary according to the state or county in which the arrest or conviction occurred.

Legal Effect of an Expungement

An expungement typically means that an arrest or conviction is "sealed," or erased from a person's public criminal record for most purposes. After the expungement process is complete, an arrest or a criminal conviction ordinarily does not need to be disclosed by the person who was arrested or convicted. For example, when filling out an application for a job or apartment, an applicant whose arrest or conviction has been expunged does not need to disclose that arrest or conviction. Expungement of a criminal record or arrest does not, however, preclude law enforcement agenices from reviewing previous arrests and convictions as well as any job application involving children such as school districts or probation departments. 

Typically the record of arrest or conviction once expunged is noted in court records as having been dismissed. Thus, it is as if the conviction never occured. Typically, no record of an expunged arrest or conviction will appear if a potential employer, educational institution, or other company conducts a public records inspection or background search of an individual's criminal record.

An expunged arrest or conviction is not necessarily completely eliminated.  An expungement will ordinarily be an accessible part of a person's criminal record, viewable by certain government agencies, including law enforcement and the criminal courts. This limited accessibility is sometimes referred to as a criminal record being "under seal." In some legal proceedings, such as during sentencing for any crimes committed after an expungement, or in immigration / deportation proceedings, an expunged conviction that is "under seal" may still be considered as proof of a prior conviction.

When expungement of an arrest or conviction is an option in a state or county, in most instances a person's criminal record must meet certain standards in order to qualify for the process.

Whether or not a person is eligible for expungement will usually depend on a number of factors, including:

• The amount of time that has passed since the arrest or conviction
• The severity and nature of the event for which expungement is sought (some offenses are not expungeable offenses depending upon jurisdiction)
• The severity and nature of other events in the applicant's criminal record

Depending on the state and/or county, special eligibility rules might exist for expungement of arrests or convictions that occurred while the offender was a juvenile, and arrests or convictions for sex offenses.