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 Idaho, expungement of a criminal record is a legal process that allows an individual to have their record permanently destroyed or deleted, making it inaccessible to courts, agencies, and private entities conducting background checks. However, Idaho's laws regarding expungement are relatively limited compared to some other states. Generally, expungement in Idaho is available for arrests that did not lead to a conviction, certain juvenile offenses, and some instances where the conviction was set aside or the case was dismissed. For adults, expungement is not typically available for convictions, except in cases where the conviction has been pardoned or the charge was dismissed post-conviction. The process often requires the individual to file a petition in court, and eligibility may depend on factors such as the nature of the offense, the amount of time that has passed since the arrest or conviction, and the individual's criminal history. Sealing of records is another option, which restricts access to the record but does not destroy it. It's important to consult with an attorney to understand the specific criteria and process for expungement or sealing in Idaho.