Guide
Overview
Expungement, sealing, set aside and pardon are four different kinds of relief, and every state has its own mix. Expungement destroys or erases the record. Sealing keeps it but hides it from the public and most employers. A set aside or vacatur withdraws the conviction while the record of the case may remain. A pardon forgives the offense without removing the record unless the state's law says otherwise. This page leads to the state pages, which explain which relief that state offers, who qualifies, the waiting periods and where to file.
The trend since 2018 is automatic relief. Pennsylvania passed the first Clean Slate law that year, and states including Utah, Michigan, New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, California and New York have followed with laws that seal eligible records without a petition, each phasing in on its own schedule and none covering every offense.
Official sources on this page were checked on September 25, 2026.
Guide
Nationwide Expungement Research Resources
Two directories on this site lead to the court that handles a petition and to the state agencies.
Guide
How relief works and who qualifies
Most states require a waiting period after the sentence ends, from one year for a dismissed charge to five or ten years for a felony, with no new convictions in between. Non convictions, dismissals and acquittals qualify in nearly every state, often without a wait. Violent felonies, sex offenses and driving under the influence are excluded in most states. The petition is filed in the court that handled the case, the prosecutor can object, and a judge decides. Where relief is granted, the court order goes to the state criminal history repository and the arresting agency so the sealed record stops appearing in background checks.
Guide
What sealing does not reach
A sealed or expunged record still exists for the police, the courts and licensing boards in most states, and federal agencies, immigration authorities and the FBI file are not bound by a state order. Commercial background check companies that copied the record before it was sealed may still report it, and the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act gives the person the right to dispute it. News stories, court opinions and other public accounts are untouched. Federal convictions cannot be expunged under any general federal law, and relief for them means a presidential pardon or a specific statute.
Guide
Sealing a divorce or civil court file
Expungement and sealing are usually discussed for criminal records, and the sections above cover that. A separate set of rules governs civil cases, and divorce files in particular, because a divorce file can hold a sworn statement of a person's income, bank accounts, retirement savings and debts. This section explains what the public may see in a divorce file, what a party can ask the judge to close, and what no order can take back.
Where the states start
Court files are presumed open in every state, and divorce files are court files. From that starting point the states diverge in three ways. A majority keep the whole divorce file open to the public and make a party who wants privacy ask the judge for an order. A large group keeps the case open but closes the sworn financial statement, and sometimes the settlement agreement and QDRO, by rule or statute, so no motion is needed for those pages. A few close the entire matrimonial file to everyone but the parties and their attorneys: New York by statute, West Virginia by family court rule, Utah by its record classification rule, Idaho when children are involved, and Delaware by its Family Court rule on private records. The state pages linked below say which group a state is in and cite the rule.
What the judge weighs
A motion to seal in an open state is decided under a written standard, and the standards are strict because the public's right to inspect court records is protected by state law and in many states by the state constitution. The common formulas are an overriding interest that overcomes the right of public access, a compelling interest that outweighs the public interest, clear and convincing evidence of a protected category, or good cause found after a hearing. The order must be narrow. A judge who seals a financial affidavit will rarely seal the decree, and in most states the judgment, orders and the register of actions stay public no matter what.
What sealing a civil file does and does not do
It removes the sealed document from the public file and, in most states, from the online image if one exists. The docket still lists the document by title and date, sometimes marked sealed.
It does not recall copies already obtained. A record that was public for years before the order was public for years.
It does not change the state vital records index. A divorce certificate or verification from the health department is a separate record with its own access rule.
It does not reach the other spouse's later filings in another case, or a bankruptcy file, which is federal and public under 11 U.S.C. 107.
Expungement does not apply to divorce
Expungement statutes destroy or erase criminal arrest and conviction records after a waiting period or a dismissal. No state expunges a divorce. The closest civil equivalents are sealing on motion, confidential classification by rule, and in a few states automatic closure for a fixed period, as in Missouri, where pleadings other than the judgment in dissolution cases filed before August 28, 2009 are open only to the parties, attorneys of record, certain state agencies, title insurers and anyone with a court order until 72 years after filing. Anyone searching for a sealed divorce record should expect the case to appear in the index with the documents withheld, not to vanish.
Key Takeaway: A divorce file is sealed document by document, on motion, under a strict standard, and the decree almost always stays public. Only a handful of states close the whole file. West Virginia, Utah and Idaho still leave the orders and the index open, Idaho in redacted form, while New York closes even the judgment for 100 years.
Common mistake: asking the clerk to seal a file. Clerks have no power to seal. Only a judge does, by written order.
Common mistake: assuming an agreement between the spouses is enough. Several states say in their rules that the parties' agreement alone is not good cause.
Common mistake: assuming a sealed divorce hides a bankruptcy. The bankruptcy court is a different court with a different rule.
Sealing rules change, and several states rewrote theirs between 2024 and 2026. The state pages carry the current rule with a link to its text. Nothing on this page is legal advice.
Straight answers
Expungement questions
What is the difference between expungement and sealing?
Expungement erases or destroys the record. Sealing keeps it but hides it from the public and most employers, while the police, the courts and licensing boards can still see it. Each state decides which it offers.
Which states seal criminal records automatically?
Pennsylvania passed the first Clean Slate law in 2018, and states including Utah, Michigan, New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, California and New York have followed. Each is phasing in on its own schedule and covers only eligible offenses after a waiting period.
Can a federal conviction be expunged?
No general federal law allows it. Relief for a federal conviction means a presidential pardon through the Office of the Pardon Attorney or a specific statute for a narrow class of cases.
By state