Expunging or Sealing a Felony in Ohio

Waiting periods for sealing run from final discharge. Fourth- and fifth-degree felonies can be sealed after one year, unless the offense is a felony offense of violence. One or two third-degree felonies can be sealed after three years. Felony expungement is available ten years after the date the person became eligible for sealing. Cannot be sealed or expunged: first- and second-degree felonies, felony offenses of violence (other than sexually oriented offenses), sex offenses that require registration, offenses against a victim under 13 (with a limited exception), certain public-office offenses, and third-degree felonies when the person has more than the allowed number of other convictions. The court must find the person rehabilitated, with no pending criminal case, and the person's interest must outweigh any government need to keep the records.

File an application to seal or expunge with the sentencing court. For out-of-state or federal convictions, file with the court of common pleas. The court sets a hearing 45 to 90 days after filing and notifies the prosecutor, who may file a written objection at least 30 days before the hearing. The prosecutor notifies victims who asked for notice, and victims may be heard. A probation officer may investigate the applicant. At the hearing, the court checks eligibility and the waiting period, looks for pending charges, decides whether the applicant is rehabilitated, and weighs the applicant's interests against the government's need to keep the records. For certain low-level drug convictions, the prosecutor may file the application instead.

Once records are sealed or expunged, the proceedings are considered not to have occurred. Sealed records can still be used in sentencing for a later offense, and certain agencies can access them for limited purposes listed in the law. In job, license and similar applications, a person generally may be asked only about convictions that are not sealed, unless the question bears a direct and substantial relationship to the position. Some jobs, such as those involving children, are excepted. A person may not be asked about sealed or expunged non-conviction records and may answer as if the arrest did not occur. When a conviction is expunged, agencies must permanently destroy the records. The Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation keeps a limited record that is used only to screen applicants for law enforcement jobs.