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 Virginia, expungement of a criminal record is possible under certain circumstances, allowing for the permanent removal of the record so that it is no longer accessible during background checks. However, eligibility for expungement is limited. Generally, individuals who have been acquitted, had charges dismissed, or were subject to a 'nolle prosequi' (a formal abandonment of prosecution) may seek expungement. Convictions, on the other hand, are typically not eligible for expungement in Virginia, with some exceptions for juvenile offenses or cases where the governor has granted a pardon. The process involves petitioning the circuit court where the case was filed, and it may require a hearing. If expungement is granted, the individual can lawfully deny the occurrence of the arrest or the existence of the expunged criminal record in most situations. Virginia's expungement laws are primarily governed by state statutes found in the Code of Virginia, specifically under Title 19.2, Chapter 23.1, which outlines the conditions and procedures for expungement of criminal records.