Clearing A Record
CPL § 160.57 — convictions sealed automatically, three years after a misdemeanor and eight after a felony
A case that ends in the person's favor. When a criminal case ends in the person's favor, by dismissal of the whole charge, a complete acquittal, or another of the endings the section lists, the record is sealed, unless the district attorney or the court, on not less than five days' notice, shows the interests of justice require otherwise. Photographs, palmprints and fingerprints from the case are, with some exceptions, destroyed or returned.
Sealed automatically. A misdemeanor conviction is sealed once at least three years have passed since the person's release from incarceration, or since sentence if there was none; a felony conviction once at least eight years have passed. A conviction under subdivision one of section 1192 of the vehicle and traffic law is sealed after three years.
Not while a later criminal charge is pending in the state or the person is under probation or parole supervision for the conviction, and never for a sex offense or sexually violent offense, or for a class A felony outside the controlled substance article. A new conviction before an earlier one is sealed restarts the earlier one's count from the new one's date.
Sealing on application, after ten years. A person convicted of up to two eligible offenses, no more than one of them a felony, may apply to the court to seal them once at least ten years have passed since sentence on the latest conviction, or since the latest release from incarceration. The application is served on the district attorney, who has forty-five days to object; if the district attorney objects, the court holds a hearing.
Sex offenses, class A felonies, violent felonies and certain other offenses are not eligible offenses for an application. A pending charge, or a conviction after the last one sought to be sealed, means the application is denied.
Sources for this section (3)
- CPL § 160.57 — Automatic sealing of convictions
- CPL § 160.59 — Sealing of certain convictions
- CPL § 160.50 — Order upon termination of criminal action in favor of the accused
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed New York attorney.