Pennsylvania Expungement Law

In Pennsylvania, expungements are generally governed by 18 Pa.C.S. 9122, and Rule 790 and Rule 490 of the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure. A link to these statutes is here for your convenience.

An individual is eligible for FULL expungement of misdemeanors and felonies in which all charges in a criminal indictment were dismissed, withdrawn, nolle prossed, or of which an individual was found not guilty after trial. The District Attorney's Office may object to expungement by asserting that there is a state interest in retaining the arrest records.

An individual is eligible for PARTIAL expungement of misdemeanors and felonies in which part of the charges in a criminal indictment were dismissed, withdrawn, nolle prossed, or of which an individual was found not guilty after trial. For example, if an individual was charged initially with one felony and one misdemeanor, but only pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor after withdrawal of the felony, that individual may petition to have record evidence of the felony charge expunged. The District Attorney's Office may object to expungement by asserting that there is a state interest in retaining the arrest records.

An individual is eligible for FULL expungement of misdemeanors and felonies in which all charges in a criminal indictment were dismissed, withdrawn, nolle prossed because that individual completed the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition (A.R.D.) Program. Certain offenses are prohibited from expungement after A.R.D. by statute (18 Pa.C.S.9122).

An individual is eligible for FULL expungement of certain non-traffic citations and summary level offenses (for example, Underage Drinking, Disorderly Conduct, Public Intoxication, Harassment) which resulted in a conviction, as long as five years have passed since the conviction and there have been no other convictions during that five year period.

The current law states that crimes other than misdemeanor offenses cannot be expunged until after the offender turned 70 years old or has been deceased for more than three years.

Attorney Moser has successfully obtained expungements for hundreds of satisfied clients. Call today for a free consultation and put his experience and excellence to work for you.