Guide
Ohio Expungement Research Resources
Ohio courts seal or expunge records under R.C. 2953.32, and you apply to the court that sentenced you. The official Ohio sources are listed below.
- Ohio Revised Code 2953.32Sealing or expungement of a conviction record
- Ohio Public Defender, Sealing and Expunging a Criminal RecordState public defender guide to sealing and expungement
- Ohio BCI, Sealings and Expungements RequestForm courts send to BCI with sealing or expungement orders
This directory is for informational and research use only. Expungement eligibility, waiting periods, filing fees, notice rules, and the effect on background checks can differ significantly depending on the state, offense level, case outcome, and later law changes.
Guide
Sealing a divorce or civil file in Ohio
Ohio closes the money documents in a divorce by rule and leaves the rest of the file to a motion. Sup.R. 11.09(C)(2)(h) of the Rules of Superintendence, formerly Sup.R. 44(C)(2)(h) before the rules were renumbered on July 1, 2026, and effective January 1, 2016, provides that in a court of common pleas or a division with domestic relations or juvenile jurisdiction, financial disclosure statements regarding property, debt, taxes, income and expenses, including collateral source documents attached to or filed with them, asset appraisals, health care documents, guardian ad litem reports and custody evaluations are not case documents open to the public. Sup.R. 11.13, formerly Sup.R. 45(D), also requires parties to keep personal identifiers such as Social Security and account numbers off filed documents and on a separate form that is not a case document.
For any other document, Sup.R. 11.14(A), formerly Sup.R. 45(E), applies. Any party, and any other person who is the subject of information in a case document, may move the court by written motion to restrict public access to the information or the entire document. The court restricts access only if it finds by clear and convincing evidence that the presumption of allowing public access is outweighed by a higher interest, weighing public policy, statutory exemptions, risk of injury, privacy, proprietary business information, public safety and the fairness of the proceeding, and it must use the least restrictive means, redacting the information rather than withholding the document where that will do. Under Sup.R. 11.14(B), formerly Sup.R. 45(F), any person may later move to restore access. The Supreme Court's primer is at supremecourt.ohio.gov.
Guide
Research Notes
- Start with the court and the originating agency. Expungement or sealing requests are often handled through the court that heard the case, sometimes with supporting records from police, prosecutors, or corrections agencies.
- Terminology differs by state. Some jurisdictions use terms such as sealing, set-aside, vacatur, dismissal relief, or nondisclosure instead of expungement.
- Verify current law. Eligibility rules can change through legislation or court decisions, so always confirm the current process before relying on older instructions or third-party summaries.
- Understand downstream effects. Even after record relief, treatment of court, police, private-background check, and federal records may differ depending on the system involved.
By state