Pennsylvania Expungement Laws: How to Clear or Seal a Criminal Record

Pennsylvania has two kinds of relief. "Expungement" removes criminal history record information. "Limited access" seals a record from most noncriminal-justice users, such as employers and landlords, but criminal justice agencies can still see it. Limited access can come from a court petition or automatically under the "Clean Slate" law. Pardons from the Governor, on the Board of Pardons' recommendation, lead to expungement.

Charges that end in anything other than a conviction (for example, dismissal or withdrawal) are automatically subject to Clean Slate limited access. The record is sent to the State Police repository within 30 days after the disposition, once any ordered restitution is paid. A court can order such non-conviction records expunged, and the district attorney gets 10 days' notice of the application. When a person is acquitted of all charges from the same conduct after trial, the court must give notice and then order automatic expungement within 12 months of the acquittal, unless the prosecutor objects within 60 days on the ground that the acquittal was only partial. Records are also expunged if no disposition is recorded within 18 months after arrest and the court certifies that none is available.

Second- and third-degree misdemeanors, and misdemeanors punishable by no more than two years, are automatically subject to Clean Slate limited access. This applies once the person has been free for seven years from conviction for any offense punishable by a year or more and has paid all court-ordered restitution. By petition, other qualifying misdemeanors and ungraded offenses with a maximum of five years or less can get limited access after seven years without such a conviction, once restitution and the required fee are paid. Excluded from Clean Slate: offenses against the person, offenses against the family, firearms offenses, offenses requiring sex-offender registration, animal cruelty, corruption of minors, and people with certain other convictions (for example, a non-qualifying felony). Summary offenses can be expunged by petition after five years free of arrest or prosecution, and they become Clean Slate limited access five years after conviction once restitution is paid.

Felony convictions generally cannot be expunged, except through a pardon or in the age-70 or deceased situations. A petition for limited access is available ten years after conviction for certain lower-level felonies (not first- or second-degree), once restitution and the fee are paid. These include criminal mischief, criminal trespass, theft offenses, forgery and fraud, certain public-assistance fraud, and "qualifying offenses" (a term the statute defines). A "qualifying offense" also becomes Clean Slate limited access automatically after 10 years free from conviction for an offense punishable by a year or more. Limited access is barred for murder, first-degree felonies, offenses punishable by 20 or more years, and people with certain recent violent, firearms, sex, or multiple serious convictions. Separately, any record may be expunged once the person reaches age 70 and has been free of arrest or prosecution for ten years after final release from confinement or supervision, or three years after the person's death.

Yes, under Clean Slate. Each month, the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts sends eligible records to the State Police repository, and each court of common pleas issues a monthly limited-access order for records not found ineligible. Covered records: eligible lower-level misdemeanors after seven years and certain qualifying offenses after ten years (both after restitution), non-conviction dispositions, summary convictions after five years, and convictions with a conditional pardon. Records of full acquittals and of unconditionally pardoned convictions are expunged automatically through the courts.

Juvenile delinquency records, and records of summary offenses committed before age 18, are expunged on the court's own motion or the motion of the child or a parent, after 30 days' notice to the district attorney. This applies when, for example: the complaint was unsubstantiated or dismissed; six months have passed after an informal adjustment, consent decree, or diversion; two years have passed after final discharge for a misdemeanor adjudication; or five years have passed for a felony adjudication (and certain firearms or indecent-assault misdemeanors), with no new convictions or adjudications and nothing pending. Expungement can also happen with the prosecutor's consent and court approval. Some serious offenses committed at age 14 or older are excepted.

The State Police recommend starting by requesting your full Pennsylvania record with Form SP 4-170, Request for Access and Review. Then file a petition with the Clerk of Courts in the county where the charges were disposed. Statewide forms include the Petition for Expungement under Pa.R.Crim.P. 790 (Court of Common Pleas), Rule 490 (summary cases, Magisterial District Court), and Petition for Limited Access forms. For limited-access petitions, the court notifies the district attorney within 10 days, and the DA has 30 days to object. If there is no objection, the court may grant the petition without a hearing. After the court grants expungement, the State Police expunge the record once they receive the court order.

The State Police charge $20 (certified check or money order payable to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania) for the Form SP 4-170 record request. Limited access by petition or under Clean Slate requires payment of restitution and the "fee previously authorized" for limited access.

A person generally cannot be required or asked to disclose an expunged or limited-access record and may respond as if the offense did not occur. The exceptions are criminal justice agencies, disclosures the law authorizes, and cases where federal law requires an employer to consider criminal history. Expunged and limited-access records may not be used by individuals or noncriminal-justice agencies for employment, housing, or school admission, except as federal law requires. Limited-access records stay part of the criminal history for courts, including at sentencing, and must be self-disclosed for public-office eligibility. Expunged records stay available to law enforcement and the courts. Employers who hire someone with such a record have limited immunity.

Clemency applications go through the Board of Pardons, and the Governor makes the decision. A decision can take a few years. Older, non-violent convictions may qualify for expedited review, and since 2025 the Board checks every application for expedited eligibility automatically. As of June 11, 2024, records of offenses pardoned by the Governor are expunged without further action by the person, through notices from the Board of Pardons to the courts. The Board says expungement lets you answer "no" on forms asking whether you were ever arrested or convicted. A conditional pardon results in Clean Slate limited access.

Pennsylvania's one-time PA Marijuana Pardon Project is no longer accepting applications. People are directed to the regular Board of Pardons clemency process. The Board lists marijuana-related misdemeanor possession offenses among those that can qualify for expedited clemency review. If a pardon is granted, the record is expunged.

The Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) let you see your own Pennsylvania criminal history record through an "Access and Review" request on form SP 4-170. The fee is $20, the request can only be made by mail, and the result can't be notarized. PSP checks cover Pennsylvania law enforcement records only, not federal records. (PSP's online PATCH system, $22, is used for criminal history checks on individuals, not Access and Review.)