Expunging or Sealing a Felony in Minnesota

Only felonies on a list in the statute can be sealed by petition, after 4 years with no new conviction since the sentence was discharged. The list includes, for example, lower-level drug possession, third-degree burglary, theft of $5,000 or less, receiving stolen property, forgery, and criminal damage to property. Felonies later treated as gross misdemeanors or misdemeanors (because of the sentence) can be sealed after 4 years for listed offenses or 5 years for other offenses. Most listed felonies are also eligible for automatic expungement after 5 years (4 years for fifth-degree drug possession). Offenses that require predatory offender registration can never be expunged.

File a petition for expungement in district court and pay the filing fee. The petition must include the information the statute requires and be served on the prosecutor and the agencies whose records would be affected; these agencies may respond. The court holds a hearing and applies the statutory standard and factors. An order is automatically stayed for 60 days, and the person or an affected agency may appeal within 60 days. The court administrator sends the order to each affected agency.

An expungement order seals the record, keeps its existence from being revealed, and keeps it closed except as the law allows; records are not destroyed. Data on people granted automatic expungement are private. Law enforcement and other criminal justice agencies can still get sealed records, and an expunged record can be used in a later prosecution as if it had not been expunged. Sealed records generally cannot be introduced as evidence in civil lawsuits against private employers or landlords over an employee's or tenant's conduct. Noncitizens may need copies of their records for immigration purposes and are advised to consult an immigration attorney.