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 Pennsylvania (PA), expungement of a criminal record means that the record is permanently destroyed or removed so it is no longer accessible. This is different from having a record sealed, where the record still exists but is less accessible. Generally, expungement in PA is limited and not available for most convictions. It is primarily available for arrests that did not lead to convictions, summary offenses after a five-year crime-free period, and certain non-violent offenses committed by individuals who are 70 years or older and have been crime-free for ten years. Additionally, individuals who have completed certain diversionary programs like ARD (Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition) may be eligible for expungement. Juvenile records may also be expunged under certain conditions. However, for most adult criminal convictions, expungement is not an option, and the record cannot be completely erased. Instead, some individuals may be eligible for a limited form of relief called a 'limited access order,' which restricts access to the record by non-criminal justice agencies and private entities. The specific eligibility criteria and procedures for expungement or obtaining a limited access order are detailed in Pennsylvania's statutes, particularly within the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses) and the rules of criminal procedure.