Pennsylvania has recently made it possible to seal all or part of your criminal record. Prior to 2018, the only relief available was expungement or pardon.
Now, even Protection From Abuse [PFA] Orders may be sealed after ten years by petition per 23 Pa. C.S. § 6108.7
Who can help me file a petition or help me find out if I am eligible?
If you think you might qualify for sealing, expungement, or pardon you can contact a private attorney or see if public resources are available to you. In the Lehigh Valley, you may qualify for free help from North Penn Legal Services. You may also contact your local law library, which may have the forms necessary to complete a petition.
If you contact this office, Eric R. David will review your docket at no cost to you. If it looks like your are eligible for relief, this office typically charges $600 (+ filing fees which are typically $140) to complete the process of sealing and/or expunging records in Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Bucks, Montgomery, Monroe, or Schuylkill Counties. Schedule a free consultation here.
Court FEES: *NEW FOR 2021* Your record may be sealed without paying the balance of your court costs. “Restitution” must still be paid prior to sealing.
What is “Clean Slate?”
In 2018, the Pennsylvania Legislature enacted the Clean Slate Statute, 18 Pa. C.S. § 9122.1. This law Pennsylvanians overcoming the detrimental effects of old criminal records. The law serves as a mechanism to allow those with certain convictions to move on from those convictions by sealing those convictions. This allows those who are eligible to largely treat those convictions like they never happened. This is different from expungement, which causes your records to be physically destroyed. The new law provides relief for a much wider array of people and a much wider range of offenses.
If your record is sealed, you can probably mark “no” when a potential employer asks about convictions. If your potential employer is using the correct background check, sealed convictions will likely not appear. Run-of-the-mill Pennsylvania employers are not allowed to ask you about sealed records and are not allowed to use sealed records against you.
Sealing your record does not make it invisible to everyone. Some employers are allowed to require a Federal FBI background check; this includes airports, schools, and casinos. Sealed records will appear on that background check. Sealing your record will may not positively affect your immigration status. Sealing your record will not affect your eligibility to possess or purchase a gun. If you are applying for a law enforcement job or a professional license, your sealed records will likely still be used against you.
Unless you are asked about your record by law enforcement, or someone else who has a legal right to ask, you have a right to deny the existence of such a record.
Many lower grade misdemeanors are automatically sealed by the court without petition under the Clean Slate Law.
Who is eligible for relief under Clean Slate?
There are really two questions presented here. First, who is eligible to have the statute applied to their records? Second, what charges can be cleaned from an eligible person’s record?
You can review the public record of your dockets at the AOPC website. You can compare the information in your dockets to the eligibility criteria below.
Those people who are disqualified are defined by § 9122.1 (b)exceptions(2). You are not eligible for ANY relief under the act if:
- you have EVER been convicted of murder, any F1, or any offense that carries a 20 year maximum sentence.
- in the last 20 years: you have a conviction of any of the following:
- A felony (or any offense that carries a 7 year maximum sentence)
- An offense against persons under Pt. II, Article B
- charges appearing on your docket as 18 PaCS §§ 2301-3220
- An offense against the family under Pt. II Article D
- charges appearing on your docket as 18 PaCS §§ 4301-4324
- A firearms offense under Chapter 61
- charges appearing on your docket as 18 PaCS §§ 6101-6187
- four or more offenses punishable by imprisonment of two or more years.*
- In the last 15 years: you have a conviction of any of the following:
- two or more offenses punishable by more than two years in prison
- Indecent Exposure under § 3127 (relating to indecent exposure)
- bestiality under § 3129
- sex registration under § 4915 or 4915.2
- weapons/escape under § 5122
- abuse of a corpse under § 5510
- paramilitary training under § 5515
Offenses that are eligible to be sealed are defined by § 9122.1 (b)exceptions(1). It is possible that you have some convictions that can be sealed and some that may not be sealed. You may petition the court to have eligible charges sealed while leaving ineligible charges on your record.
What is NOT eligible:
- Any Felony conviction
- A conviction of any offense punishable by more than five years in prison
- A conviction of an offense punishable by more than two years in prison which is:
- An offense against persons under Pt. II, Article B
- charges appearing on your docket as 18 PaCS §§ 2301-3220
- An offense against the family under Pt. II Article D
- charges appearing on your docket as 18 PaCS §§ 4301-4324
- A firearms offense under Chapter 61
- charges appearing on your docket as 18 PaCS §§ 6101-6187
- A Sex Offense appearing in 42 Pa.C.S. § 9799.14 or § 9799.55
- this covers a wide range of charges
- An offense under section 6301(a)(1) (relating to corruption of minors).
- An offense against persons under Pt. II, Article B
I may be eligible, now what?
You can contact Eric R. David for a free consultation. If you contact this office, Eric R. David will review your dockets at no cost to you. If it looks like your are eligible for relief, this office typically charges $600 (+ filing fees which are typically $140) to complete the process of sealing and/or expunging records in Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Bucks, Montgomery, Monroe, or Schuylkill Counties. Schedule a free consultation here. You may be eligible to receive some or all of the listed services at reduced or no cost using the links above. In any event you should undertake to have a qualified attorney review your case before taking action or refraining from action. Your important rights will be impacted!