Clean Slate Laws and Automatic Record Sealing
A growing wave of state “clean slate” laws now seals eligible criminal records automatically, with no petition, fee or lawyer required. A record that was visible last year may be sealed this year. This guide lists the statutes state by state – section, start date, waiting period and exclusions – and explains what sealing means for background checks and lawful records research.
The Short Version
Clean slate laws are state statutes that automatically seal certain criminal records once a person stays conviction-free for a set waiting period, with no petition: the state does the work in bulk. Pennsylvania went first in 2018; the waits now run from one year (California misdemeanors) to ten (New Jersey, and felonies in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Connecticut), usually for lower-level, non-violent offenses. The crucial detail for records research is that sealing is not deletion: the record still exists, removed from public access and standard employment checks but reachable for authorized purposes.
Watch: Clean Slate, Explained
How automatic sealing works and why it differs from expungement.
Watch Overview
What “Clean Slate” Actually Means
A new mechanism, not a new name for expungement.
“Clean slate” refers to a specific policy idea: that record relief should happen automatically, by operation of law, rather than depending on a person’s ability to navigate a petition. The laws direct the state to find qualifying records and seal them in bulk.
Pennsylvania enacted the first clean slate law in 2018 (Act 56, now 18 Pa.C.S. § 9122.2), and the states in the table below followed. Waiting periods run from one year to ten and the exclusion lists are the real story, but the design is shared: stay conviction-free for the statute’s waiting period and the state seals or sets aside the eligible record with no filing. That automation is why records move faster than most screening assumptions.
Automatic Sealing vs. Petition-Based Expungement
Two paths, very different mechanics.
| Factor | Clean Slate (Automatic Sealing) | Traditional Expungement |
|---|---|---|
| Who initiates | The state, by operation of law. | The individual, by filing a petition. |
| Cost & effort | No filing fee, no attorney required. | Court fees and often a lawyer. |
| Trigger | Staying conviction-free for a set waiting period. | Applying after you become eligible. |
| Typical outcome | Record sealed from public view. | Record sealed or, in some states, destroyed. |
| Effect on records | Removed from most public access; still exists for authorized uses. | Varies: sealing hides it, expungement may erase it. |
The distinction matters: sealing keeps the record in existence and restricts who can see it; expungement, strictly, removes or destroys it. Most clean slate laws seal rather than expunge (Michigan “sets aside”, Connecticut “erases”). The step-by-step petition path is covered in our guide to clearing a criminal record; this page is about the automatic, state-run side.
What Usually Qualifies for Sealing
Nine statutes, read on the state host.
No clean slate law seals everything. Each row is taken from the statute as it reads on the state legislature’s own site.
| State | Statute | Automatic since | Waiting period | Headline exclusions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | 18 Pa.C.S. § 9122.2 (clean slate limited access) | Act 56 of 2018, effective 365 days after June 28, 2018; widened by Act 36 of 2023 | Summary offenses 5 years; 2nd/3rd-degree and other 2-year-max misdemeanors 7 years; qualifying felonies (defined by Act 36) 10 years, from conviction, restitution paid | § 9122.3 exceptions; any new conviction carrying a year or more restarts it |
| Michigan | MCL 780.621g (set-aside without application) | 2020 PA 193, effective April 11, 2021; set-asides start 2 years later | Misdemeanors 7 years from sentencing; felonies 10 years from sentencing or release | Lifetime cap of 2 felonies and 4 misdemeanors (the misdemeanor cap does not count 92-day-maximum offenses); only convictions eligible under section 1 |
| New Jersey | N.J.S.A. 2C:52-5.3 (clean slate petition) and 2C:52-5.4 (automated process), P.L.2019, c.269 | Approved December 18, 2019; petition route now, automated version ordered | 10 years from the latest of last conviction, payment or release | Crimes barred by 2C:52-2(b)-(c): criminal homicide, kidnapping, luring, human trafficking, sexual assault and others |
| Connecticut | C.G.S. § 54-142a(e) (erasure of criminal records) | P.A. 21-32, effective January 1, 2023; automatic only for offenses on or after January 1, 2000 | Misdemeanors 7 years; class D and E and other 5-year-max felonies 10 years, from the latest conviction | Family violence crimes, sexual offenses, the offenses listed in (e)(2)(C) and a second DUI (§ 14-227a) within ten years are out; a single DUI sits in the 10-year tier |
| Virginia | Va. Code § 19.2-392.6 (automatic sealing of convictions); process in § 19.2-392.7 | Enacted 2021 Sp. Sess. I, cc. 524 and 542, amended through 2026; the statute sets no start date on its face, and State Police match at least monthly once running | 7 years from conviction with no further reportable conviction | Only the misdemeanors listed in subsection A (§§ 18.2-96, 18.2-103, 18.2-119, 18.2-120, 18.2-134, 18.2-248.1, 18.2-415) |
| Delaware | 11 Del. C. § 4373A (mandatory expungement; automatic), eligibility in § 4373 | 83 Del. Laws c. 265; SBI runs it monthly from August 1, 2024 | Violations 3 years; misdemeanors 5 years; six listed felonies 10 years from conviction or release | Domestic violence, child or vulnerable-adult victims, listed sexual and fraud misdemeanors, § 4372(f) |
| New York | CPL § 160.57 (automatic sealing of convictions), L.2023 ch. 631 | Signed November 16, 2023, in force one year later | Misdemeanors 3 years, felonies 8 years from release or sentencing; no pending charge, probation or parole | Sex offenses (Correction Law § 168-a); class A felonies except article 220 drug felonies |
| California | Penal Code § 1203.425 (automatic conviction record relief) | DOJ monthly review; current text operative October 1, 2024 | Probation cases on completion; other misdemeanors 1 year after judgment; other felonies 4 years after supervision ends, no new felony | Sex-offender registrants; serious (§ 1192.7(c)) and violent (§ 667.5) felonies |
| Minnesota | Minn. Stat. § 609A.015 (automatic expungement) | Laws 2023 ch. 52; BCA applies it to records eligible as of January 1, 2025 | Petty and ordinary misdemeanors 2 years; gross misdemeanors 3; 5th-degree drug felonies 4; other listed felonies 5, after discharge | DWI, protective-order violations, 5th-degree and domestic assault, other listed offenses; still open to DHS, DCYF and Health background studies |
Utah, Colorado and Oklahoma are widely reported to have automatic-sealing laws; they are left out because their statutes could not be read on the state host. With lists this specific, a record showing up, or not showing up, is rarely the whole answer. For how the underlying records appear, see what an arrest looks like on a background check versus a conviction.
Why Sealed Records Complicate Research
Why a record can look clean when the history is not.
Sealed, Not Deleted
The record still exists in court systems, hidden from public view, and can resurface for authorized purposes.
State-by-State Patchwork
What is sealed in one state is fully public in the next; a national assumption misses the local rule.
Stale Database Copies
Commercial data brokers may still show an offense the state has since sealed.
Timing Gaps
Sealing runs in batches, so a record can be visible one month and sealed the next.
Partial Histories
One offense may be sealed while another stays public, leaving a partial record.
Use Restrictions
Sealed records stay reachable for the licensing, law-enforcement or employer categories the law carves out.
What Sealing Means for Background Checks
Where lawful purpose and current data both matter.
For most employment and tenant screening, a sealed record should not appear, and that is by design. Once a clean slate law seals an offense, a compliant consumer reporting agency running a screening under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act generally should not report it. The practical risk is stale data: a private database that copied court records before the seal can keep surfacing an offense the state has removed, which is exactly what to check for. To see your own file first, our guide on how to background check yourself walks through it.
For lawful research the principle is the same. We conduct public-records and skip-tracing work for permissible purposes under GLBA and DPPA, and we do not pull or report records the law has placed off-limits. We are a records-research firm and not a consumer reporting agency, so we do not make hiring, tenancy, or credit decisions. Where a question turns on criminal history, a single database hit is rarely the end of the inquiry; the broader picture lives in our overview of lawful public-records background checks.
How Automatic Sealing Typically Works
A record’s lifecycle under a clean slate statute.
Eligibility Is Defined
The statute lists eligible offenses and the waiting period.
The State Screens Records
State systems match qualifying records in bulk, usually monthly, with no application.
The Record Is Sealed
Records leave public access but still exist for narrowly authorized uses.
Public Data Should Update
Court and state databases reflect the seal; private data brokers often lag.
Who This Affects
Clean slate reshapes the record for many different parties.
Job Seekers
A sealed record may no longer show
Employers
Screening assumptions change
Landlords
Tenant records may be sealed
Lenders
Due-diligence records shift
Researchers
Data currency matters most
The Individual
Relief without a filing
A criminal record is no longer a fixed fact in clean slate states, so the date and source of any record matter as much as its content. Our lawful skip tracing work locates people and verifies identity from current public records, not sealed history. If your question is whether a person has a record at all, see how to find out if someone has a criminal record through lawful sources, and how far back a background check can go.
Our Commitment
We do lawful public-records research and skip tracing for permissible purposes, using only records the law allows and respecting sealed and protected histories. Honest, current research since 2004.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a clean slate law?
A state statute that automatically seals certain criminal records once a person stays conviction-free for a set waiting period, without any petition; the state identifies and seals qualifying records in bulk, by operation of law.
Which states have clean slate laws?
Pennsylvania passed the first in 2018 (18 Pa.C.S. section 9122.2). Statutes read on each state legislature’s own site now run in Michigan (set-asides from 2023), New Jersey (2019, by petition after 10 years), Connecticut (2023), Virginia (enacted 2021), Delaware (August 2024), New York (November 2024), California (October 2024) and Minnesota (2025). Utah, Colorado and Oklahoma also have clean slate laws that this page has not verified on the state host. Waiting periods run from one year to ten.
How is automatic sealing different from expungement?
Automatic sealing is initiated by the state with no petition or fee; traditional expungement requires the individual to file and often hire a lawyer. Sealing hides a record from public view, whereas expungement, strictly defined, can erase it.
Does a sealed record still exist?
Yes. Sealing removes a record from most public access but does not delete it; it still exists in court systems and can be reached for narrowly authorized purposes such as certain licensing or law-enforcement uses.
What offenses usually qualify for clean slate sealing?
Lower-level, non-violent offenses after a waiting period; serious violent felonies, most sex offenses and registration-required crimes are typically excluded, and a new offense usually restarts the clock.
Will a sealed record show up on a background check?
Generally not on standard employment or tenant screening, since a compliant agency under the FCRA should not report a sealed offense; the common problem is a stale private database that still shows a record the state has sealed.
Do I need to do anything to get my record sealed?
Under a true clean slate law eligible records are sealed without any filing. Relief outside the automatic categories still requires a petition, a legal process handled by an attorney, not by us.
Do you report sealed criminal records?
No. We conduct lawful public-records research and skip tracing for permissible purposes under GLBA and DPPA, and we do not pull or report records the law has placed off-limits. We are a records-research firm, not a consumer reporting agency.
Need Lawful, Current Records Research?
We locate people and verify identity from current public records for permissible purposes, respecting sealed and protected histories along the way; a first read typically comes back within 24 hours. Contact us to discuss your matter.
Start Your Request →
