DC Expungement Eligibility: Who Qualifies for Record Sealing in Washington DC

The Starting Point: No Pending Charges Anywhere

Before anything else, you cannot have any open charges in any jurisdiction — DC, federal, or any state. A single pending case makes you ineligible for record sealing until that case resolves. This is the first thing the court checks.

Eligibility by Case Outcome

DC law creates distinct eligibility pathways based on what happened with your case.

Decriminalized or legalized offenses: If you were arrested or convicted for conduct that DC later decriminalized — most commonly simple marijuana possession before February 15, 2015 — you may qualify for automatic expungement under D.C. Code § 16-802, scheduled for October 1, 2027; the automatic route has no waiting period. If you need relief sooner, file under D.C. Code § 16-803.02.

Non-conviction cases: If your case was dismissed, "no-papered," resulted in an acquittal, or you successfully completed a diversion program, you can file a motion to seal. For actual innocence cases, you can file immediately with no waiting period. For offenses not listed in D.C. Code § 16-805(b), a motion filed before October 1, 2027 has no waiting period; other interest-of-justice situations use a 2-to-4-year period from case termination.

Misdemeanor convictions: You can file a motion to seal an eligible misdemeanor conviction 5 years after you complete your entire sentence — and that includes probation, parole, community supervision through CSOSA, and payment of all fines.

Felony convictions: Only Failure to Appear felony convictions are eligible. You can file a motion to seal 8 years after sentence completion. The offense must not fall under the DC Sentencing Commission's Master Grid Groups 1, 2, or 3. Felonies are completely excluded from the automatic sealing pathway scheduled for 2027 — a by-motion petition is the only option.

Offenses That Are Never Eligible

The DC Council carved out permanent exclusions. No amount of time or rehabilitation makes these sealable through the standard interest-of-justice pathway:

• Crimes of violence: murder, voluntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, armed robbery, kidnapping, carjacking, first-degree burglary
• Sexual offenses: first and second degree sexual abuse, misdemeanor sexual abuse, offenses requiring sex offender registration
• Domestic and family offenses: intrafamily offenses under D.C. Code § 16-1001(8), parental kidnapping
• DUI/OWI: driving under the influence, commercial vehicle DUI, operating while impaired
• Vulnerable adult offenses: criminal abuse or financial exploitation of a vulnerable or elderly person
• High-severity felonies: any offense classified under Master Grid Groups 1, 2, or 3 of the DC Sentencing Guidelines

If your conviction falls into one of these categories, your options narrow to a Presidential Pardon, a set-aside under the Youth Rehabilitation Act (for offenses committed at age 24 or younger), or specialized relief under the Trafficking Survivors Relief Amendment Act.

The Waiting Period Calculation

This is where people get tripped up. The waiting period starts from the date you complete your entire sentence — not the date of conviction, not the date of arrest, and not the date you left custody. If you served 2 years, then had 3 years of supervised release through CSOSA, the clock starts when supervised release ends and all fines are paid.

For by-motion misdemeanor sealing, the wait is 5 years from that completion date. For eligible Failure to Appear felonies, it's 8 years. For actual innocence expungement, there's a strategic wrinkle: filing within 4 years of case termination holds you to the lower "preponderance of the evidence" standard, but waiting longer raises the burden to "clear and convincing evidence."

How to Verify Your Eligibility

Start by getting your complete record. The MPD Arrest History Report ($7 at 300 Indiana Avenue NW, Room 1075) lists all arrests, including ones that may not appear in the court's public database. Cross-reference it with your court docket from Room 4001 at DC Superior Court.

The District of Columbia Expungement & Record Sealing Guide includes an eligibility screening checklist that walks through each case on your record and maps it to the correct sealing pathway — so you know exactly where you stand before filing.

See more District of Columbia guides →