Connecticut Clean Slate Exclusions: DUI, Family Violence, and Other Ineligible Offenses

What Clean Slate Doesn't Cover

Connecticut's Clean Slate Act automatically erases eligible misdemeanors after seven years and eligible felonies (Class D and E) after ten. But the law draws hard lines around several offense categories that are excluded from automatic erasure, regardless of how much time has passed or how clean your record has been since.

Understanding these exclusions matters because the automated system does not erase an excluded offense. It may still erase other eligible offenses on your record, and the state does not send a denial notice when an entry is not erased.

DUI and OUI Convictions

Connecticut treats DUI convictions differently depending on how many you have. A single operating-under-the-influence conviction is eligible for Clean Slate erasure after a ten-year waiting period, provided all sentence components are complete.

The exclusion kicks in with multiple DUI convictions. If you have two or more OUI convictions on your record, none of them qualify for automatic erasure. The system treats the pattern as a statutory exclusion, blocking all DUI-related entries. This applies even if the convictions are decades apart.

For people with multiple DUI convictions, an absolute pardon through the Board of Pardons and Paroles is the only path to record erasure. A granted pardon triggers full erasure under C.G.S. § 54-142a(d), covering offenses that Clean Slate can't reach.

Family Violence Offenses

Any conviction designated as a "family violence crime" under C.G.S. § 46b-38a is excluded from automatic Clean Slate erasure. This can include assault, threatening, harassment, stalking, sexual assault, and violation of a protective order when the victim is a family or household member — defined broadly to include current and former spouses, cohabitants, parents of a common child, and people in dating relationships.

The exclusion applies to the specific charge classification, not just the underlying conduct. If the conviction is designated as a family violence crime, it falls outside Clean Slate even if the charge itself (like third-degree assault) would otherwise qualify as an eligible misdemeanor.

The alternative pathway is the same: an absolute pardon application through the Board of Pardons and Paroles, with a five-year waiting period from the disposition date for felonies or three years for misdemeanors.

Sex Offenses

Convictions for nonviolent or sexually violent sexual offenses are categorically excluded from Clean Slate. This includes many sexual assault, risk-of-injury, and related offenses. There is no waiting period that makes these eligible for automatic erasure.

Pardons for sex offenses are theoretically possible through the Board of Pardons and Paroles, but the Board exercises extreme discretion in these cases.

Firearm Offenses

Certain firearm and weapons convictions are excluded from automatic erasure. This includes convictions under C.G.S. § 53a-217 (criminal possession of a firearm) and related listed offenses.

This exclusion intersects with a separate carve-out in the erasure statute: under C.G.S. § 54-142a(f), even erased records remain accessible to firearms permit examiners when evaluating suitability for a pistol or revolver permit. So even if a different conviction on your record does get erased, the firearms permitting process can still access the full history.

Class A, B, and C Felonies

Clean Slate is limited to Class D and E felonies and unclassified felonies carrying a maximum prison term under five years. All Class A felonies (murder, felony murder, arson murder), Class B felonies (manslaughter, first-degree assault, first-degree robbery, first-degree sexual assault), and Class C felonies (second-degree robbery and second-degree burglary) are excluded entirely.

An absolute pardon is the only mechanism that reaches these offense classes.

What to Do If Your Offense Is Excluded

If automatic Clean Slate erasure isn't available for your conviction, you have two main options:

Absolute pardon: Apply through the Board of Pardons and Paroles' ePardons portal. The pardon process is discretionary — the Board evaluates rehabilitation, community ties, employment history, and references. A granted absolute pardon triggers full record erasure. The waiting period is three years from disposition for misdemeanors and five years for felonies.

Certificate of Employability (COE): If erasure isn't immediately achievable, a COE creates a legal presumption against using the conviction to deny employment or professional licensing. It requires only 90 days in the community after incarceration or sentence completion with no new arrests, and the application is free.

The Connecticut Expungement & Record Sealing Guide maps every exclusion category against the alternative pathways, so you can identify exactly which relief option applies to each charge on your record without guessing.

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