DC CSOSA Probation Completion and Record Sealing: What You Need to Know

If you completed probation in DC, you have already cleared a significant hurdle toward sealing your record. But the relationship between probation completion and record sealing eligibility is not as straightforward as "probation ends, file immediately." CSOSA — the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency — plays a role at two different points in the process, and understanding both is important.

What Is CSOSA's Role in DC

CSOSA is the federal agency that supervises individuals on probation, parole, and supervised release in the District of Columbia. Unlike most US jurisdictions where probation is managed by a state or county agency, DC's supervision system is federally operated — a legacy of the National Capital Revitalization and Self-Government Improvement Act of 1997.

This matters for record sealing because CSOSA is one of the agencies that must comply with a court sealing order.

When Your Waiting Period Starts

Under D.C. Code § 16-806, the waiting period for conviction sealing begins when you have completed your entire sentence. "Entire sentence" is defined broadly and includes:

• Incarceration (if applicable)
• Probation
• Parole
• Supervised release
• Payment of all court-ordered fines

The clock does not start until all of these conditions are satisfied. If you finished your jail time in 2018 but had three years of probation that ended in 2021, your waiting period starts in 2021 — not 2018.

For eligible misdemeanor convictions, the by-motion waiting period is 5 years from sentence completion. For eligible felonies (limited to "Failure to Appear" offenses), it is 8 years.

If you have unpaid court-ordered fines, the waiting period has not started even if your probation supervision has ended. Check with the DC Superior Court clerk's office (Room 4001) to confirm that your financial obligations are fully satisfied.

Confirming Your Supervision End Date

Before filing your motion to seal, you need documentation that your CSOSA supervision has ended. Your CSOSA supervision officer can provide confirmation of your termination date, or you can request records from CSOSA directly.

Keep a copy of this documentation — your motion to seal should reference the exact date supervision ended, and the court may ask for verification if the prosecutor disputes your waiting period calculation.

CSOSA's Role After a Sealing Order Is Granted

If the judge grants your motion to seal, CSOSA is one of the agencies that receives the court order and must seal its records within 90 days. The record is sealed rather than destroyed, so the supervision history for the sealed case should no longer be available through standard public records requests.

Under Administrative Order 25-11 (issued May 30, 2025), the high volume of sealing cases under the Second Chance Amendment Act has led the court to allow unified, high-volume lists to serve as a legal substitute for individual judicial compliance orders. This means CSOSA may receive batch notification of sealing orders rather than individual orders for each case.

What if CSOSA Does Not Comply

If the 90-day compliance window has passed and CSOSA has not sealed its records, you can bring this to the court's attention. The sealing order is a judicial directive — agencies are legally obligated to comply. Contact the Criminal Division clerk in Room 4001 to flag the compliance failure.

In practice, compliance backlogs have been common across all agencies since the expanded provisions took effect in March 2025. The court is aware of the capacity constraints, and AO 25-11 was specifically designed to streamline the compliance process.

Early Termination of Probation

If your probation term is running and you want to accelerate your timeline, you can petition the court for early termination of supervision. DC Superior Court judges have discretion to terminate probation early if you have complied with all conditions and demonstrated rehabilitation. If the court grants early termination, your sentence completion date — and therefore the start of your waiting period for record sealing — moves up accordingly.

This is a separate motion from the motion to seal. You would file a motion to modify or terminate probation first, and then, once the waiting period has elapsed after early termination, file your motion to seal.

The District of Columbia Expungement & Record Sealing Guide covers the full timeline — from confirming sentence completion through filing and post-order compliance verification — with specific guidance on calculating waiting periods after CSOSA supervision ends.

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