What is the Elimination of Criminal Records?

Posted by John Smith on December 4th, 2019

This article is for information only. It is NOT legal advice. For legal advice, consult pardons for more information and for the i-192 waiver of inadmissibility.

What is the elimination of criminal records?

The elimination of criminal records - a record of criminal offenses committed is the legal process by which the criminal record of a person is eliminated. In general, criminal records are destroyed or returned to the person who committed the crime.

Arrest records can be eliminated if:

- There was arrest but no formal charges were filed or
- There were arrest and formal charge but the charges were dropped for one of the following reasons:
Identity Error
No crime was actually committed, or There was no legal basis.

These are the only circumstances in which the history of arrest can be eliminated. You have to prove to the court that one of these circumstances applies. Also, you can only have a history of arrests for minor traffic offenses and you should not have pending criminal charges.

I went to trial for a crime but the jury found me not guilty. Can the history of criminal arrest be removed from my record?

No. If you were arrested, charged and had a trial before a jury that found you not guilty, you have no right to have your arrest history removed. Your case does not fit into any of the two previous categories.

How can I request that my criminal records be removed?

If your case falls into category 1 or 2, you can file a petition to have the files related to the arrest removed. You can hire a private lawyer to help you for or you can file the petition yourself.