Who can get an expungement in North Carolina?

There have been a few recent changes to North Carolina laws regarding the eligibility for expungements.

You can now get an expungement on a (non-violent and not a DWI) misdemeanor conviction after 5 years and on a felony after 10 years. Under  Senate Bill 445 the limitation of 1 expungement per lifetime is removed, for dispositions other than convictions, and the waiting periods have been shortened as well.

• non-violent misdemeanor conviction wait period will be 5 years instead of 15
• non-violent low-level felonies wait period will be 10 years instead of

A further change to the Law in 2021, now allows multiple non-violent felony convictions to be expunged after 20 years. SL2021-118

“AN ACT TO ALLOW FOR THE EXPUNCTION OF UP TO THREE NONVIOLENT FELONIES, TO EXPAND THE DEFINITION FOR THE TERM ‘NONVIOLENT FELONY,’ TO ALLOW THE PUBLIC DEFENDER OR PRIVATE COUNSEL TO FILE A PETITION FOR EXPUNCTION ON BEHALF OF A PERSON ELIGIBLE TO EXPUNGE CERTAIN OFFENSES COMMITTED UNDER THE AGE OF EIGHTEEN, AND TO ALLOW ACCESS TO EXPUNCTION RECORDS FOR DETERMINING CONDITIONAL DISCHARGE ELIGIBILITY.”

These new laws also gives prosecutors electronic access to records expunged on or after December 1, 2017. So, while the records are sealed to the general public, and you can legally say you have not been charged, the prosecutor can see them in a confidential system, so they may be considered on future convictions.

The statute provides an opportunity for thousands of North Carolinian’s who have already paid their debt to make positive contributions to their communities and to lead meaningful lives.