Expunging or Sealing a Felony in Mississippi

A person convicted of a felony who has paid all criminal fines and court costs may petition to expunge one felony conviction, 5 years after successfully completing all terms of the sentence. The court decides after a hearing. All convictions arising from a common set of facts count as one. A person may get only one felony expunction. Not eligible: crimes of violence, first-degree arson, drug trafficking, third or later DUI, felon in possession of a firearm, failure to register as a sex offender, voyeurism, witness intimidation, abuse or exploitation of a vulnerable person, and embezzlement.

File a petition in the court where the conviction happened (justice, county, circuit or municipal court). The person must give the district attorney 10 days' written notice before any hearing. The court may grant the petition if it finds, on the record or in writing, that the person is rehabilitated; if it denies the petition, it must state specific findings.

An expunction order restores the person, in the eyes of the law, to the status they had before the arrest or indictment. The person is not guilty of perjury or a false statement for not mentioning the arrest, indictment or conviction in response to inquiries, except when determining first-offender status in later proceedings. The Mississippi Criminal Information Center keeps a nonpublic record only to decide whether the person is a first offender later. District attorneys may keep a nonpublic record for law enforcement purposes. Employers may still ask whether a person has had an expunction order. When called as a prospective juror, the person must tell the court privately about the expunged conviction if asked.