Jan 10, 2023, Criminal Record FAQ: Can I Expunge My Arrest Record?

How do I know if I am eligible to expunge my arrest record? So essentially taking your FBI file from something that would have the arrest information and then sort of court information, even if the matter was dismissed, to a clean FBI Rapsheet response, which would just have your name, date of birth, and an indication that there was no record. I work with my clients in Washington State to do a request to expunge the non-conviction data with the Washington State Patrol.

Eligibility, one, enough time has to have passed. It has to have been 3 years since the date of the arrest or 2 years since it became non-conviction data, so either the dismissal date or the date that they did no charges files. The second thing is that you can’t, generally, have any arrests or charges since it happened. The third thing is that you can’t have any prior convictions for a gross misdemeanor or a felony. Finally, it can’t have been dismissed by way of a deferred prosecution or “similar.” So, a deferred sentence or generally something where there is an admission of guilty and a heavy-handed punishment.

If you meet those requirements, you may be able to expunge your arrest with the Washington State Patril. I work with clients regularly with this. It’s a pretty smooth process when you work with an attorney. Feel free to give my office a call.