Sealing A Juvenile Record
Minn. Stat. 260B.198 — delinquency records expunged at any time, when the benefit outweighs the detriment to public safety
At any time. The court may expunge all records relating to delinquency at any time if it determines that expungement would yield a benefit to the subject of the record that outweighs the detriment to the public and public safety in sealing it, and the burden on the court and public agencies in issuing, enforcing and monitoring the order.
- The person's age, education, experience and background, including mental and emotional development, at the time of the offense.
- The circumstances, nature and severity of the offense, including aggravating or mitigating factors.
- Victim and community impact, including the age and vulnerability of the victim.
- The person's level of participation in planning and carrying out the offense, including familial or peer influence.
- The person's juvenile delinquency and criminal history.
- The person's programming history, and willingness to participate meaningfully in programming, probation, or both.
- The benefit expungement would yield in pursuing education, employment, housing, or other necessities.
Those are among the matters the court considers, as the subdivision lists them.
Sealed, not erased. A record expunged on or after January 1, 2015 is sealed. It may still be opened, used or exchanged between criminal justice agencies in the same manner as a criminal record under the state's general expungement law.
How a petition is brought and how the general expungement chapter applies are set out in other parts of the law that are not on this page. Whether a particular record is likely to be expunged is a question for a licensed Minnesota attorney.
Sources for this section (1)
- Minn. Stat. 260B.198 — Dispositions; delinquent child
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Minnesota attorney.