When a person is charged with a crime or convicted of a crime, the information stays on the person’s criminal record and may be accessed by the court or other federal, state, municipal, or county agencies—or by private persons or entities conducting a background check.

Under limited circumstances a person with a criminal record of arrest or conviction may be able to have the criminal record expunged—meaning the record will be permanently destroyed or deleted so it is no longer accessible by the court or other federal, state, municipal, or county agencies—or by private persons or entities conducting a background check.

Such an expungement or expunction of a criminal record is different from having a record sealed—which means the record still exists, but access to it is limited. A person whose only criminal record has been expunged may truthfully answer “no” when asked on an employment, licensing, or other application whether the person has ever been convicted of a crime.

Under both state and federal law, in most cases it is not possible to have a person’s criminal conviction expunged. For example, under federal law only a person who is guilty of a minor drug offense under the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. §844) may have their record expunged. See 18 U.S.C. §3607(c).

Under state laws a person who has been convicted of a crime, pleaded guilty, or pleaded no contest (nolo contendere) is often ineligible to have their criminal record expunged. When a person is eligible to have a criminal record expunged, it is often dependent upon the person successfully completing a probation or deferred adjudication program. And in some states juveniles may be eligible to have a criminal record expunged if the criminal offense was committed before they turned 17 years of age, for example.

Expungement or expunction laws vary from state to state and are generally located in a state’s statutes—often in the penal or criminal code.

In Delaware, expungement of criminal records is a legal process that allows individuals to have certain criminal records destroyed or deleted, rendering them inaccessible to courts, agencies, and private entities conducting background checks. Delaware law provides for the expungement of adult and juvenile records under specific circumstances. For adults, expungement may be available for certain misdemeanors and felonies after a specified period of time has passed, provided that the individual has no subsequent convictions. The eligibility for expungement often depends on the nature of the offense, the completion of the sentence, and the individual's criminal history. Juvenile records may be expunged if the offense occurred before the individual turned 18, and certain conditions are met. Delaware's expungement laws are primarily found in Title 11 of the Delaware Code. It is important to note that not all crimes are eligible for expungement, and the process can be complex, often requiring the assistance of an attorney. For federal offenses, expungement is very limited, with only certain minor drug offenses under the Controlled Substances Act being eligible under 18 U.S.C. §3607(c). In general, expungement and sealing of records are distinct processes, with sealing limiting access to the record rather than destroying it. Individuals whose records have been expunged may legally deny past convictions in most situations, such as on job applications.