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.

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 Arizona, expungement is referred to as 'setting aside' a conviction. Arizona law allows individuals who have been convicted of certain crimes to apply to have their conviction set aside. This relief is available upon completion of the sentence and fulfillment of any other court-ordered requirements. Once a conviction is set aside, the individual's criminal record is not erased or destroyed, but the conviction is noted as set aside and the judgment of guilt is vacated. This can improve the individual's chances when seeking employment or housing, as they can legally state that the conviction has been set aside. However, not all crimes are eligible for this relief; for example, convictions involving serious offenses, such as certain violent crimes, sexual offenses, and crimes involving the infliction of serious physical injury, are not eligible. Additionally, Arizona does not generally allow for the sealing of adult criminal records, which differs from expungement in that a sealed record still exists but is not accessible to the public. Juvenile records, on the other hand, can be destroyed or sealed under certain conditions. It's important to consult with an attorney to understand the specific eligibility criteria and the process for applying to set aside a conviction in Arizona.