North Dakota Pardon vs Expungement
Two Completely Different Tools
A pardon and record sealing (what most people mean when they say "expungement" in North Dakota) serve different purposes and produce different outcomes. Understanding which one actually helps your situation saves months of wasted effort.
Record sealing under Chapter 12-60.1 hides your court file from public view. The conviction stays on your record in law enforcement systems, but it no longer appears on standard name-based background checks used by employers and landlords. You file a petition yourself in the court that handled your case.
A pardon is an act of executive clemency from the Governor. It can remove the punishment or custody imposed for an offense, but it does not remove the fact of the conviction or seal or delete the court record unless the Governor's certificate specifically says so. A pardon may therefore leave the conviction publicly visible and on background checks. North Dakota voting and public-office rights are generally lost only during actual incarceration for a felony sentence, so a pardon is not ordinarily needed to restore those rights.
What a Pardon Does Not Do
This is where most people get tripped up. A pardon in North Dakota:
- Does not, by itself, seal your court record from public searches
- Does not, by itself, remove the conviction from BCI criminal history files
- Does not, by itself, prevent the conviction from appearing on commercial background checks
- Does not automatically resolve firearm restrictions, which are governed separately by state and federal law
If the pardon certificate does not remove the conviction, it may not solve a background-check problem by itself. An unconditional pardon is also one of the grounds to file a sealing petition under Chapter 12-60.1.
What Record Sealing Does That a Pardon Doesn't
Record sealing directly addresses the background check problem. Once a court enters an order to seal under Chapter 12-60.1, the public court record is hidden from online searches. A commercial screening company may still retain an outdated copy. The record still exists internally — law enforcement, prosecutors, and licensing boards with fingerprint-based check authority retain access — but the current public record drops off the standard screens that employers and landlords use.
Sealing also has a defined statutory process. You file a petition, serve the state's attorney, and observe the 45-day minimum before a hearing; the court may rule on the papers or hold a hearing. A prosecutor may stipulate to sealing without a hearing or more expeditiously. A pardon application, by contrast, goes through the North Dakota Pardon Advisory Board and ultimately to the Governor, so its timing and outcome depend on that process.
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When a Pardon Makes Sense
A pardon matters most when record sealing isn't available — or when you need to restore civil rights that sealing can't address. Specific scenarios:
- Your conviction is a registerable sex offense or a violent felony during the firearm-ban period, which are statutorily excluded from Chapter 12-60.1 sealing
- You need relief from punishment or custody that a sealing order does not provide
- You're applying for a position that specifically asks about pardons (some federal security clearance applications)
For most people dealing with employment or housing barriers caused by an old misdemeanor or felony, record sealing is the more practical path because it directly addresses what shows up on a background check.
Can You Do Both?
Yes. A pardon and record sealing are not mutually exclusive. You could pursue a pardon for relief within the Governor's clemency authority and record sealing under Chapter 12-60.1 for the background check protection. An unconditional pardon is also a ground to file a sealing petition. They're independent processes handled by different parts of the government — the pardon through the Governor's office, sealing through the district court where your case was filed.
The North Dakota Expungement & Record Sealing Guide focuses on the record sealing process — the path that directly affects what employers, landlords, and screening companies see when they run a background check.
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