Expungement of Criminal Records in Pennsylvania

June 04, 2011

In criminal law, an expungement is the removal of all official records that can tie an individual to a given legal offense. Under certain limited circumstances, Pennsylvania residents with criminal records may file a petition for expungement. Of course, even though there are many advantages to having criminal records expunged, the wide availability of public information online often makes expungement an imperfect solution.

The Expungement Process

Only a few types of records are eligible for expungement in Pennsylvania. Records of non-convictions (such as not guilty verdicts, or the dismissal or withdrawal of charges) may be expunged. Additionally, several programs allow for the inclusion of expungement as an element of pre-sentencing plea bargain packages. Finally, records of conviction for a Summary offense (relatively minor run-ins with the law for things like underage drinking, disorderly conduct, low level theft, etc.) may be expunged if you have not been arrested or charged with a new offense within five years and have fully paid all court-ordered fines and costs.

The first step toward getting an expungement is obtaining all required forms from the Criminal Division of your local Department of Court Records. The documents that must be included in your request for expungement are a cover letter, motion, certified copy of disposition (an official record of the outcome of your case), proposed expungement order and an affidavit attesting to the truthfulness of the provided information.

After compiling all documents, they must be filed with the Department of Court Records, Criminal Division, along with a filing fee.

Records Really Gone?

There are many reasons why you may want an expungement -- it can prevent past offenses from coming up on prospective employment background checks, for instance. But, it is important to keep in mind the limitations of expungement.

Once a judge grants an expungement, the Department of Court Records eliminates both their physical documents and electronic files containing affected data. Furthermore, the Department of Court Records contacts other agencies that may possess records, such as probation offices, police departments and district attorney's offices to inform them of the expungement.

Thus, expungement only removes official, government records of an offense. Since criminal convictions are a matter of public record, up until data is expunged it is available to anyone. Even after expungement, criminal offense data may still sometimes be uncovered relatively easily online.

Getting Help

If you have been charged with a crime, contact a criminal defense attorney to help you avoid getting a criminal record or assist in working expungement into a plea deal. If you have already been convicted, a criminal defense attorney can also be instrumental in helping you get your record expunged successfully and quickly.

Article provided by Joyce & Bittner
Visit us at www.pacriminallaw.com