West Virginia Expungement Criminal Record

West Virginia Does Not Auto-Expunge Records

A common misconception is that old criminal convictions in West Virginia eventually "fall off" your public record after enough time passes. They don't. A conviction remains permanently visible unless a circuit court judge signs a formal expungement order. West Virginia does not have an automated "Clean Slate" system like Pennsylvania or Michigan — record clearing here is strictly petition-based.

That said, the state has gradually expanded who qualifies. Understanding the current eligibility rules is the starting point.

Misdemeanor Expungement

Under WV Code §61-11-26, you can petition to expunge a nonviolent misdemeanor conviction if you meet all of the following:

• You've completed all terms of your sentence — fines paid, probation served, restitution satisfied.
• You have no active criminal charges pending.
• A mandatory waiting period has passed. For a single misdemeanor, the period is one year after conviction or completion of incarceration or supervision, whichever is later; for multiple misdemeanors, it is two years after the last conviction or completion of incarceration or supervision, whichever is later.

The petition is filed as a civil action in the circuit court of the county where the conviction occurred. The court considers whether expungement serves the interests of justice, weighing factors like the nature of the offense, your rehabilitation since the conviction, and whether you have subsequent criminal history.

Certain categories of misdemeanors are excluded entirely. Convictions involving serious physical violence, sexual offenses, or offenses against minors are ineligible.

Felony Expungement

West Virginia allows expungement of a single nonviolent felony conviction — or a series of connected nonviolent felonies arising from a single transaction or occurrence. The waiting period is five years from the completion of all terms of incarceration, probation, or parole. The same petition-based process applies, and the same exclusions for violent, sexual, and minor-victim offenses hold.

This is a narrow window. Multiple unrelated felony convictions cannot be expunged together; the statute limits eligibility to a single nonviolent felony or a connected series arising from one transaction.

House Bill 4399 — Dismissed Charges After Diversion

House Bill 4399, enacted in 2024, expanded expungement eligibility for a specific situation: charges that were completely dismissed following the successful completion of a pretrial diversion program or deferred adjudication. Before this legislation, some dismissed cases still appeared on public records, creating barriers to employment and housing even though the charges never resulted in a conviction.

Under HB 4399, if you completed a diversion program and the charges were dismissed, you can file a civil action to have those records expunged. This is an important distinction from conviction-based expungement — you're clearing records of a charge that was resolved in your favor, not an active conviction.

What Cannot Be Expunged

West Virginia law draws hard lines around several categories:

• DUI convictions are explicitly ineligible for expungement under WV Code §61-11-26B. A DUI conviction will remain on your criminal record permanently, regardless of how long ago it occurred.

• Commercial driver's license (CDL) holders and commercial operators are subject to the federal record-masking rules reflected in WV Code §61-11-26B. A court cannot expunge a motor-vehicle traffic-control conviction when the person held a CDL or permit or was operating a commercial motor vehicle at the time of the offense; the statute also bars masking a charge or conviction from a commercial driving record.

• Violent felonies, sexual offenses, and crimes against minors — no path to expungement exists for these categories.

• Multiple unrelated felonies — only a single felony (or connected series from one incident) qualifies.

How Expungement Relates to License Reinstatement

If your driver's license suspension stems from an underlying criminal conviction, expunging that conviction does not automatically clear the DMV hold. The DMV maintains its own administrative records. You still need to complete any DMV-mandated requirements (reinstatement fees, safety programs, SR-22 insurance) separately from the criminal record process.

Where expungement does help is with downstream consequences — background checks for employment, housing applications, professional licensing boards. Clearing the criminal record removes the conviction from public view, even though the DMV administrative action remains a separate process.

For drivers working through both criminal record clearing and license reinstatement simultaneously, the West Virginia Driver's License Reinstatement Guide covers the administrative side — clearing DMV holds, resolving court debt, and navigating the reinstatement sequence — while expungement handles the criminal record side through a separate legal petition.

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