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 Tennessee, expungement of a criminal record means the permanent destruction or deletion of the record, making it inaccessible to courts and other agencies, as well as private entities conducting background checks. Not all criminal records are eligible for expungement. Generally, expungement in Tennessee is available for certain misdemeanors, non-violent felonies, and cases where charges were dismissed or the individual was acquitted. Eligibility often depends on the completion of probation, diversion, or deferred adjudication programs. Convictions for more serious offenses, including violent crimes, sex offenses, DUIs, and others, are typically not eligible for expungement. Juvenile records may also be expunged under certain conditions. The process involves filing a petition with the court, and if granted, the individual can lawfully deny the existence of the expunged conviction in most situations. Tennessee's expungement laws are detailed in the Tennessee Code Annotated, particularly under Title 40, Chapter 32, which outlines the procedures and requirements for expungement.