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This page was designed to help our clients better understand our Utah Expungement service. You will find answers to the questions we are most frequently asked. If your question is related to eligibility requirements please take the free online eligibility test.
Simply click on a question to see its answer:
If you are seeking to expunge an arrest record (with no conviction), the statute allows you to petition for the expungement of arrest records after at least 30 days have passed since the arrest that you are petitioning to expunge. However, either (1) the law enforcement agency and prosecutor must have decided that no charges will be filed, (2) the case was dismissed with prejudice, (3) you were acquitted at trial, or (4) the statute of limitation, which is the time period the District Attorney has to file a case, has expired must have also occurred.
Yes. Both arrests and convictions are eligible for expungement in Utah.
If you have had two or more felony convictions (even if any of them has been expunged) that arose from different criminal events, you are not eligible for expungement.
If you have had three or more convictions (from different criminal events), and at least two of them are Class A misdemeanors, you are not eligible for expungement.
If you have had four or more convictions (from different criminal events), and at least three of them are Class B misdemeanors, you are not eligible for expungement.
If you have had five or more convictions (from different criminal events), whether they are felonies or misdemeanors (but not including infractions), then you are not eligible for expungement.
If, however, you have received a pardon from the Utah Board of Pardons for an offense, then that particular offense is eligible for expungement, no matter what else is on your record.
If there are multiple charges within a single case, then that case is classified according to the highest level of offense. For instance, if you have a case with a misdemeanor A conviction and a misdemeanor B conviction, the case would be classified as a misdemeanor A conviction.
Yes. Utah has a law that allows you to petition a court to reduce your felony down to a misdemeanor. You are eligible to do so if you were given probation for the conviction (rather than sent to prison), you have successfully completed the probation, and have paid all court-ordered fines and restitution. Please view the reduction service for details.
The benefit of reducing your felony to a misdemeanor is that the reduction will cut down the time you have to wait to expunge that offense.
A Utah expungement petition can be denied for the following reasons: (1) an inaccuracy in the court file, (2) an error or inaccuracy in the application, (3) not following the correct procedures for an expungement, (4) the court does not believe granting your expungement will be in the interest of society, or (5) you or the particular offense is otherwise not eligible for expungement.
You can legally deny that your case ever existed. Furthermore, the court and criminal justice agencies may not release the records to the general public.
If the court denies your expungement request, we will evaluate the reasons it was denied. After we have evaluated the reasons for the denial, we will advise you on what we believe is the best way to proceed. If we do not believe that re-filing would be successful or we recommend you wait longer to re-file, then there is the money-back guarantee for certain services.
If you are charged with a felony in the future, the prosecutor can ask the judge to reopen your expunged records for investigative or impeachment purposes. If you are convicted for any offense in the future (whether it is a felony or misdemeanor) the court can use an expunged conviction in considering your sentence for that future conviction.
Once an arrest or conviction has been expunged you can deny any existence of the record. However, because certain state agencies (see below) will still have access to the records, it may be a good idea to just be upfront about the records if you ever deal with that particular agency.
The following Utah and federal agencies will still have access to expunged records: Board of Pardons and Parole, Peace Officer Standards and Training, Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing, State Office of Education, Any federal agency (unless specifically prohibited by federal law).
No, an expungement in Utah will not affect your DMV record. However, after a specific number of years, the DMV records will automatically be removed from your record - unlike your criminal history which will never be removed unless you have the conviction expunged.
In Utah, your voting rights are lost on if you have been convicted of a felony. Even after your felony conviction, your voting rights are restored at the time you are given probation, are granted parole, or successfully complete your prison term.
Since every person's case and situation is unique, getting a case-by-case analysis tailored to your specific facts from a qualified immigration attorney is vital. Our in-house immigration attorney is available to answer questions at 714-617-8395.
Yes. An expungement is one way to restore your gun rights in Utah. The other is through a pardon, which is much harder to get. However, there is a lifetime ban from the United States government (Lautenberg Amendment to the Violence Against Women Act), which prohibits firearm ownership of those convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence as defined by the federal law. The federal definition is different than many state's definitions, so your domestic violence conviction in Utah might not trigger the federal law. Expungement in Utah does not lift the federal prohibition.
In Utah, you may serve on a jury if you: 1) are a citizen of the United States and are at least eighteen years of age and have resided in the county by which you are summoned for a period of one year, 2) are able to read, write, and understand the English language at a level that is proficient to satisfactorily complete the juror qualification form, 3) speak English, 4) are physically and mentally capable to satisfactorily render jury service, 5) do not have a charge pending or a conviction in a state or federal court for a crime punishable by imprisonment for more than one year, unless you have had your rights restored to you. Having a conviction expunged will restore eligibility to serve on a jury. Utah Code Ann. § 78B-1-105(2).
http://www.utd.uscourts.gov/documents/jury_plan.html#determination
http://www.nacdl.org/uploadedFiles/files/resourcecenter/2012restorationproject/statenarr_ut.pdf
State agencies that license teachers, nurses, and other occupations in Utah will have access to expunged records because most licenses in Utah are overseen by the Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing, which may access expunged records. However, under Utah anti-discrimination regulations it is improper for any employer or agency to consider a conviction (even a felony conviction) unless the conviction is related to the job.
No. Once an offense has been expunged, the records of the offense cannot be released to the general public, and can only be released to the Board of Pardons and Parole, the Peace Officer Standards and Training, federal authorities, the Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing and the State Office of Education.
The court will provide you with a written granted order, which directs all agencies that have records of the offense to act according to the order and expunge the records.
This just depends on the particular agency. The court will in most cases be the first to update its records. Agencies will not know to update their records until they receive a copy of the court order.
If you know or even think the BCI may have improperly interpreted your record or the law when they denied your expungement, it is worth spending the $200 for us to evaluate the denial.
You will have to reapply and wait for the BCI to deny the eligibility certificate again. Once they deny your expungement, you have a new 30 days to appeal the decision.
In most cases, if the BCI denies it because they relied on bad data, misread the data, or did not properly interpret clearly defined law, you will be charged the typical fee listed above. However, if the area of law is not defined clearly, the price may be higher. We can give you an exact quote once we evaluate your case.
No, the appeal / evaluation fee does not come with a money-back guarantee.
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