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A division of
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Ohio’s equivalent of an expungement is a “sealing.” Sealing allows eligible offenders to petition the court for the sealing of a conviction record. To be eligible, one must not have any current charges pending, or exceed the number of allowable convictions. Completion of the court’s sentence (fines, restitution, jail/prison, probation, etc.) and a waiting period from the date of discharge is also required (dependent on the number of convictions and the severity of the conviction). Some serious offenses are ineligible.
Effective: April 12, 2021
Ohio Revised Code § 2953.32 | Sealing of conviction record or bail forfeiture record.
(A)(1) Except as provided in section 2953.61 of the Revised Code or as otherwise provided in division (A)(1)(d) of this section, an eligible offender may apply to the sentencing court if convicted in this state, or to a court of common pleas if convicted in another state or in a federal court, for the sealing of the record of the case that pertains to the conviction, except for convictions listed under section 2953.36 of the Revised Code. Application may be made at one of the following times:
(a) At the expiration of three years after the offender's final discharge if convicted of a felony of the third degree, so long as none of the offenses is a violation of section 2921.43 of the Revised Code;
(b) At the expiration of one year after the offender's final discharge if convicted of a felony of the fourth or fifth degree or a misdemeanor, so long as none of the offenses is a violation of section 2921.43 of the Revised Code.
(c) At the expiration of seven years after the offender's final discharge if the record includes a conviction of soliciting improper compensation in violation of section 2921.43 of the Revised Code.
(2) Any person who has been arrested for any misdemeanor offense and who has effected a bail forfeiture for the offense charged may apply to the court in which the misdemeanor criminal case was pending when bail was forfeited for the sealing of the record of the case that pertains to the charge. Except as provided in section 2953.61 of the Revised Code, the application may be filed at any time after the expiration of one year from the date on which the bail forfeiture was entered upon the minutes of the court or the journal, whichever entry occurs first.
(B) Upon the filing of an application under this section, the court shall set a date for a hearing and shall notify the prosecutor for the case of the hearing on the application. The prosecutor may object to the granting of the application by filing an objection with the court prior to the date set for the hearing. The prosecutor shall specify in the objection the reasons for believing a denial of the application is justified. The court shall direct its regular probation officer, a state probation officer, or the department of probation of the county in which the applicant resides to make inquiries and written reports as the court requires concerning the applicant. The probation officer or county department of probation that the court directs to make inquiries concerning the applicant shall determine whether or not the applicant was fingerprinted at the time of arrest or under section 109.60 of the Revised Code. If the applicant was so fingerprinted, the probation officer or county department of probation shall include with the written report a record of the applicant's fingerprints. If the applicant was convicted of or pleaded guilty to a violation of division (A)(2) or (B) of section 2919.21 of the Revised Code, the probation officer or county department of probation that the court directed to make inquiries concerning the applicant shall contact the child support enforcement agency enforcing the applicant's obligations under the child support order to inquire about the offender's compliance with the child support order.
(C)(1) The court shall do each of the following:
(a) Determine whether the applicant is an eligible offender or whether the forfeiture of bail was agreed to by the applicant and the prosecutor in the case. If the applicant applies as an eligible offender pursuant to division (A)(1) of this section and has two or three convictions that result from the same indictment, information, or complaint, from the same plea of guilty, or from the same official proceeding, and result from related criminal acts that were committed within a three-month period but do not result from the same act or from offenses committed at the same time, in making its determination under this division, the court initially shall determine whether it is not in the public interest for the two or three convictions to be counted as one conviction. If the court determines that it is not in the public interest for the two or three convictions to be counted as one conviction, the court shall determine that the applicant is not an eligible offender; if the court does not make that determination, the court shall determine that the offender is an eligible offender.
(b) Determine whether criminal proceedings are pending against the applicant;
(c) If the applicant is an eligible offender who applies pursuant to division (A)(1) of this section, determine whether the applicant has been rehabilitated to the satisfaction of the court;
(d) If the prosecutor has filed an objection in accordance with division (B) of this section, consider the reasons against granting the application specified by the prosecutor in the objection;
(e) Weigh the interests of the applicant in having the records pertaining to the applicant's conviction or bail forfeiture sealed against the legitimate needs, if any, of the government to maintain those records;
(f) If the applicant is an eligible offender of the type described in division (A)(3) of section 2953.36 of the Revised Code, determine whether the offender has been rehabilitated to a satisfactory degree. In making the determination, the court may consider all of the following:
(i) The age of the offender;
(ii) The facts and circumstances of the offense;
(iii) The cessation or continuation of criminal behavior;
(iv) The education and employment of the offender;
(v) Any other circumstances that may relate to the offender's rehabilitation.
(2) If the court determines, after complying with division (C)(1) of this section, that the applicant is an eligible offender or the subject of a bail forfeiture, that no criminal proceeding is pending against the applicant, that the interests of the applicant in having the records pertaining to the applicant's conviction or bail forfeiture sealed are not outweighed by any legitimate governmental needs to maintain those records, and that the rehabilitation of an applicant who is an eligible offender applying pursuant to division (A)(1) of this section has been attained to the satisfaction of the court, the court, except as provided in division (C)(4), (G), (H), or (I) of this section, shall order all official records of the case that pertain to the conviction or bail forfeiture sealed and, except as provided in division (F) of this section, all index references to the case that pertain to the conviction or bail forfeiture deleted and, in the case of bail forfeitures, shall dismiss the charges in the case. The proceedings in the case that pertain to the conviction or bail forfeiture shall be considered not to have occurred and the conviction or bail forfeiture of the person who is the subject of the proceedings shall be sealed, except that upon conviction of a subsequent offense, the sealed record of prior conviction or bail forfeiture may be considered by the court in determining the sentence or other appropriate disposition, including the relief provided for in sections 2953.31 to 2953.33 of the Revised Code.
(3) An applicant may request the sealing of the records of more than one case in a single application under this section. Upon the filing of an application under this section, the applicant, unless indigent, shall pay a fee of fifty dollars, regardless of the number of records the application requests to have sealed. The court shall pay thirty dollars of the fee into the state treasury, with fifteen dollars of that amount credited to the attorney general reimbursement fund created by section 109.11 of the Revised Code. It shall pay twenty dollars of the fee into the county general revenue fund if the sealed conviction or bail forfeiture was pursuant to a state statute, or into the general revenue fund of the municipal corporation involved if the sealed conviction or bail forfeiture was pursuant to a municipal ordinance.
(4) If the court orders the official records pertaining to the case sealed, the court shall do one of the following:
(a) If the applicant was fingerprinted at the time of arrest or under section 109.60 of the Revised Code and the record of the applicant's fingerprints was provided to the court under division (B) of this section, forward a copy of the sealing order and the record of the applicant's fingerprints to the bureau of criminal identification and investigation.
(b) If the applicant was not fingerprinted at the time of arrest or under section 109.60 of the Revised Code, or the record of the applicant's fingerprints was not provided to the court under division (B) of this section, but fingerprinting was required for the offense, order the applicant to appear before a sheriff to have the applicant's fingerprints taken according to the fingerprint system of identification on the forms furnished by the superintendent of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation. The sheriff shall forward the applicant's fingerprints to the court. The court shall forward the applicant's fingerprints and a copy of the sealing order to the bureau of criminal identification and investigation.
Failure of the court to order fingerprints at the time of sealing does not constitute a reversible error.
(D) Inspection of the sealed records included in the order may be made only by the following persons or for the following purposes:
(1) By a law enforcement officer or prosecutor, or the assistants of either, to determine whether the nature and character of the offense with which a person is to be charged would be affected by virtue of the person's previously having been convicted of a crime;
(2) By the parole or probation officer of the person who is the subject of the records, for the exclusive use of the officer in supervising the person while on parole or under a community control sanction or a post-release control sanction, and in making inquiries and written reports as requested by the court or adult parole authority;
(3) Upon application by the person who is the subject of the records, by the persons named in the application;
(4) By a law enforcement officer who was involved in the case, for use in the officer's defense of a civil action arising out of the officer's involvement in that case;
(5) By a prosecuting attorney or the prosecuting attorney's assistants, to determine a defendant's eligibility to enter a pre-trial diversion program established pursuant to section 2935.36 of the Revised Code;
(6) By any law enforcement agency or any authorized employee of a law enforcement agency or by the department of rehabilitation and correction or department of youth services as part of a background investigation of a person who applies for employment with the agency or with the department;
(7) By any law enforcement agency or any authorized employee of a law enforcement agency, for the purposes set forth in, and in the manner provided in, section 2953.321 of the Revised Code;
(8) By the bureau of criminal identification and investigation or any authorized employee of the bureau for the purpose of providing information to a board or person pursuant to division (F) or
(G) of section 109.57 of the Revised Code;
(9) By the bureau of criminal identification and investigation or any authorized employee of the bureau for the purpose of performing a criminal history records check on a person to whom a certificate as prescribed in section 109.77 of the Revised Code is to be awarded;
(10) By the bureau of criminal identification and investigation or any authorized employee of the bureau for the purpose of conducting a criminal records check of an individual pursuant to division (B) of section 109.572 of the Revised Code that was requested pursuant to any of the sections identified in division (B)(1) of that section;
(11) By the bureau of criminal identification and investigation, an authorized employee of the bureau, a sheriff, or an authorized employee of a sheriff in connection with a criminal records check described in section 311.41 of the Revised Code;
(12) By the attorney general or an authorized employee of the attorney general or a court for purposes of determining a person's classification pursuant to Chapter 2950. of the Revised Code;
(13) By a court, the registrar of motor vehicles, a prosecuting attorney or the prosecuting attorney's assistants, or a law enforcement officer for the purpose of assessing points against a person under section 4510.036 of the Revised Code or for taking action with regard to points assessed.
When the nature and character of the offense with which a person is to be charged would be affected by the information, it may be used for the purpose of charging the person with an offense.
(E) In any criminal proceeding, proof of any otherwise admissible prior conviction may be introduced and proved, notwithstanding the fact that for any such prior conviction an order of sealing previously was issued pursuant to sections 2953.31 to 2953.36 of the Revised Code.
(F) The person or governmental agency, office, or department that maintains sealed records pertaining to convictions or bail forfeitures that have been sealed pursuant to this section may maintain a manual or computerized index to the sealed records. The index shall contain only the name of, and alphanumeric identifiers that relate to, the persons who are the subject of the sealed records, the word "sealed," and the name of the person, agency, office, or department that has custody of the sealed records, and shall not contain the name of the crime committed. The index shall be made available by the person who has custody of the sealed records only for the purposes set forth in divisions (C), (D), and (E) of this section.
(G) Notwithstanding any provision of this section or section 2953.33 of the Revised Code that requires otherwise, a board of education of a city, local, exempted village, or joint vocational school district that maintains records of an individual who has been permanently excluded under sections 3301.121 and 3313.662 of the Revised Code is permitted to maintain records regarding a conviction that was used as the basis for the individual's permanent exclusion, regardless of a court order to seal the record. An order issued under this section to seal the record of a conviction does not revoke the adjudication order of the superintendent of public instruction to permanently exclude the individual who is the subject of the sealing order. An order issued under this section to seal the record of a conviction of an individual may be presented to a district superintendent as evidence to support the contention that the superintendent should recommend that the permanent exclusion of the individual who is the subject of the sealing order be revoked. Except as otherwise authorized by this division and sections 3301.121 and 3313.662 of the Revised Code, any school employee in possession of or having access to the sealed conviction records of an individual that were the basis of a permanent exclusion of the individual is subject to section 2953.35 of the Revised Code.
(H) Notwithstanding any provision of this section or section 2953.33 of the Revised Code that requires otherwise, if the auditor of state or a prosecutor maintains records, reports, or audits of an individual who has been forever disqualified from holding public office, employment, or position of trust in this state under sections 2921.41 and 2921.43 of the Revised Code, or has otherwise been convicted of an offense based upon the records, reports, or audits of the auditor of state, the auditor of state or prosecutor is permitted to maintain those records to the extent they were used as the basis for the individual's disqualification or conviction, and shall not be compelled by court order to seal those records.
(I) For purposes of sections 2953.31 to 2953.36 of the Revised Code, DNA records collected in the DNA database and fingerprints filed for record by the superintendent of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation shall not be sealed unless the superintendent receives a certified copy of a final court order establishing that the offender's conviction has been overturned. For purposes of this section, a court order is not "final" if time remains for an appeal or application for discretionary review with respect to the order.
(J) The sealing of a record under this section does not affect the assessment of points under section 4510.036 of the Revised Code and does not erase points assessed against a person as a result of the sealed record.
Ohio Revised Code § 2953.33 | Restoration of rights and privileges.
(A) An order issued under section 2953.37 of the Revised Code to expunge the record of a person's conviction or, except as provided in division (G) of section 2953.32 of the Revised Code, an order issued under that section to seal the record of a person's conviction restores the person who is the subject of the order to all rights and privileges not otherwise restored by termination of the sentence or community control sanction or by final release on parole or post-release control.
(B)(1) In any application for employment, license, or other right or privilege, any appearance as a witness, or any other inquiry, except as provided in division (E) of section 2953.32 and in section 3319.292 of the Revised Code and subject to division (B)(2) of this section, a person may be questioned only with respect to convictions not sealed, bail forfeitures not expunged under section 2953.42 of the Revised Code as it existed prior to June 29, 1988, and bail forfeitures not sealed, unless the question bears a direct and substantial relationship to the position for which the person is being considered.
(2) A person may not be questioned in any application, appearance, or inquiry of a type described in division (B)(1) of this section with respect to any conviction expunged under section 2953.37 of the Revised Code.
Ohio Revised Code § 2953.36 | Sealing of record of conviction exceptions
(A) Except as otherwise provided in division (B) of this section, sections 2953.31 to 2953.35 of the Revised Code do not apply to any of the following:
(1) Convictions when the offender is subject to a mandatory prison term;
(2) Convictions under section 2907.02, 2907.03, 2907.05, 2907.06, 2907.321, 2907.322, or 2907.323, former section 2907.12, or Chapter 4506., 4507., 4510., 4511., or 4549. of the Revised Code, or a conviction for a violation of a municipal ordinance that is substantially similar to any section contained in any of those chapters, except as otherwise provided in section 2953.61 of the Revised Code;
(3) Convictions under section 2907.04 of the Revised Code, unless a court has issued an order pursuant to section 2950.151 of the Revised Code to terminate the offender's duty to comply with sections 2950.04, 2950.05, and 2950.06 of the Revised Code;
(4) Convictions of an offense of violence when the offense is a misdemeanor of the first degree or a felony and when the offense is not a violation of section 2917.03 of the Revised Code and is not a violation of section 2903.13, 2917.01, or 2917.31 of the Revised Code that is a misdemeanor of the first degree;
(5) Convictions on or after October 10, 2007, under section 2907.07 of the Revised Code or a conviction on or after October 10, 2007, for a violation of a municipal ordinance that is substantially similar to that section;
(6) Convictions on or after October 10, 2007, under section 2907.08, 2907.09, 2907.21, 2907.22, 2907.23, 2907.31, 2907.311, 2907.32, or 2907.33 of the Revised Code when the victim of the offense was under eighteen years of age;
(7) Convictions of an offense in circumstances in which the victim of the offense was less than sixteen years of age when the offense is a misdemeanor of the first degree or a felony, except for convictions under section 2919.21 of the Revised Code;
(8) Convictions of a felony of the first or second degree;
(9) Bail forfeitures in a traffic case as defined in Traffic Rule 2;
(9) Convictions of theft in office in violation of section 2921.41 of the Revised Code.
(B) Sections 2953.31 to 2953.35 of the Revised Code apply to a conviction listed in this section if, on the date of the conviction, those sections did not apply to the conviction, but after the date of the conviction, the penalty for or classification of the offense was changed so that those sections apply to the conviction.
