Connecticut Motor Vehicle Offense Erasure Under Clean Slate

Motor Vehicle Convictions and Clean Slate Eligibility

Connecticut's Clean Slate Act doesn't have a blanket rule for motor vehicle offenses. Instead, eligibility depends on the maximum prison term the offense carried under the statute in effect when it was committed. This means some traffic-related convictions qualify for automatic erasure while others don't — and the dividing line isn't always obvious from the charge description alone.

The general Clean Slate rule applies: misdemeanors are eligible after seven years measured from the applicable judgment or release date, whichever is later, and felonies classified as Class D or E (or unclassified felonies with statutory maximums under five years) are eligible after ten years. All sentence components must also be complete.

Which Motor Vehicle Offenses Qualify

Most motor vehicle misdemeanors in Connecticut carry statutory maximums well within Clean Slate's reach. Offenses like operating without a license, driving with a suspended registration, reckless driving (where no serious injury occurred), and evading responsibility in a non-injury accident are standard misdemeanors with maximums of one year or less. These qualify for automatic erasure after the seven-year waiting period.

Unclassified motor vehicle felonies — a category Connecticut uses for certain serious driving offenses — qualify if their maximum prison term is under five years. The eligibility analysis looks at the statute's maximum penalty, not what the judge actually imposed. If you received probation for an offense that theoretically carried up to three years in prison, the statutory maximum is what matters.

The DUI Complication

Operating under the influence (OUI) convictions follow special rules within Clean Slate. A single OUI conviction is eligible for erasure after the ten-year waiting period, once all sentence components are complete, including any prison, parole, special parole, or probation terms.

Multiple OUI convictions change the picture entirely. If you have two or more OUI convictions on your record, all of them are excluded from automatic Clean Slate erasure. The system treats the pattern of repeat offenses as a categorical exclusion. This applies regardless of how far apart the convictions are — a 2002 first offense and a 2012 second offense are both blocked.

For people with multiple OUI convictions, an absolute pardon through the Board of Pardons and Paroles is the only pathway to record erasure.

Offenses Requiring Careful Classification

Several motor vehicle-related convictions require careful classification under Clean Slate:

Manslaughter in the second degree with a motor vehicle (C.G.S. § 53a-56b) is a Class C felony, which is outside Clean Slate's reach regardless of the circumstances.

Assault in the second degree with a motor vehicle (C.G.S. § 53a-60d) is a Class D felony and can qualify for Clean Slate if the other requirements are met. Its serious-injury element does not make this offense a Class C felony.

Evading responsibility resulting in death or serious injury carries a statutory maximum above five years, so it falls outside the unclassified-felony threshold.

For any motor vehicle offense where the classification is unclear, the controlling factor is the statute's maximum imprisonment term as written at the time of the offense. If it was five years or more, it's excluded from Clean Slate.

How to Determine Your Eligibility

Start by identifying the exact statute and class of your motor vehicle conviction from your official criminal history (Form DPS-0846-C from the SPBI). Look up the statute's maximum prison term — not your actual sentence — using the Connecticut General Statutes. If the maximum is under five years for a felony or one year for a misdemeanor, you've completed the waiting period and all sentence components, and no disqualifying subsequent conviction or pending charge applies, the record should qualify.

If the automated system hasn't processed your eligible motor vehicle offense, file Form DESPP-0847-C for a Clean Slate hearing with the DESPP Legal Affairs Unit. For pre-2000 motor vehicle offenses, you'll need to file Form JD-CR-202 with the court where the case was adjudicated.

The Connecticut Expungement & Record Sealing Guide includes a statutory classification reference and an eligibility assessment worksheet that maps each charge on your record to the correct Clean Slate pathway, including the motor vehicle offenses that fall in gray areas.

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