Sealing A Juvenile Record
G.L. c. 276, § 100B — a request to the commissioner of probation three years on
Three years. A person with a delinquency record on file with the commissioner of probation may request, on the commissioner's form signed under the penalties of perjury, that it be sealed. The commissioner complies if the disposition, including supervision, probation, commitment or parole, ended not less than three years before, and the person has not been adjudicated delinquent, found guilty of a criminal offense, imprisoned or committed in the preceding three years, apart from minor motor vehicle offenses.
Who else seals. The commissioner notifies the clerks and probation officers of the courts involved and the department of youth services, who seal their records too.
What sealing does. Sealed records do not disqualify a person in any examination, appointment or application for public service in the Commonwealth, and are not admissible or used in court proceedings or board hearings, except in sentencing for later offenses.
Adult records, federal agencies' own files, immigration consequences, and sex offender registration are outside this page. Whether a particular record qualifies, and what a sealed record still allows an agency to see, are questions for a licensed Massachusetts attorney.
Sources for this section (1)
- G.L. c. 276, § 100B — Requests to seal delinquency files or records; conditions
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Massachusetts attorney.