Expungement vs Sealing: Key Differences

Under federal and state law, two distinct legal mechanisms exist for clearing a criminal record: expungement and sealing. Though people often use these terms interchangeably, they refer to fundamentally different outcomes. Expungement results in the destruction or erasure of the record, while sealing restricts who can access a record that continues to exist. The distinction affects employment background checks, professional licensing applications, housing eligibility, and how you are legally permitted to answer questions about your criminal history. Understanding which remedy your state offers and which one applies to your situation is essential before filing any petition.

What Is Expungement?

Expungement is a court order that directs law enforcement agencies, courts, and other record-holding entities to destroy or permanently delete a criminal record. After a successful expungement, the record is treated as though the arrest or conviction never occurred. In states that offer true expungement, the physical and electronic records are destroyed, and the person is legally permitted to deny that the arrest or conviction ever happened on most employment and housing applications.

The scope of expungement varies significantly by state. Pennsylvania, for example, provides true expungement under 18 Pa.C.S. 9122 for cases resulting in acquittal, charges that were dismissed, summary offenses after five years without a subsequent arrest, and cases where the individual received an unconditional pardon from the Governor. When Pennsylvania expunges a record, the court orders all criminal justice agencies to destroy their records of the case, including fingerprint cards, photographs, and database entries.

Not every state uses the word "expungement" to mean the same thing, however. California Penal Code 1203.4 is widely referred to as California's "expungement" statute, but it does not actually destroy the record. Instead, it allows a person who has completed probation to withdraw their guilty or no-contest plea, after which the court enters a dismissal. The conviction remains visible on the California Department of Justice record but is reclassified as "dismissed." This provides meaningful relief for employment purposes under California Labor Code 432.7, but it is technically a dismissal rather than a true erasure. For actual record destruction in California, the arrest sealing provisions under Penal Code 851.87 come closer to true expungement, though they apply specifically to arrest records where no conviction resulted, not to convictions themselves.

The practical effect of true expungement is powerful. Once a record is expunged, standard consumer background checks conducted under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) should return clean results. Employers, landlords, and screening agencies are legally prohibited from reporting expunged information. For a detailed breakdown of how this works in practice and its exceptions, see our guide on whether expungement shows on background checks.

What Is Record Sealing?

Record sealing is a court order that restricts public access to a criminal record without destroying it. The record continues to exist in court and law enforcement databases, but it is hidden from public view. Members of the general public, most employers, and most landlords cannot see a sealed record through standard background check services. However, law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, courts, and certain government entities retain full access to the sealed record.

New York provides a clear example of a sealing-only state. New York does not offer expungement for criminal convictions. Instead, CPL 160.59 allows eligible individuals to petition for sealing of up to two convictions, with no more than one being a felony, after a ten-year period with no new criminal convictions. Sealed records in New York are hidden from most background checks but remain accessible to law enforcement, prosecutors, and certain licensing agencies. New York also enacted the Clean Slate Act (CPL 160.57), which will create an automatic sealing process for eligible misdemeanor convictions after three years and eligible felony convictions after eight years once the court system completes implementation.

Ohio uses the term "expungement" in its statute title (Ohio Revised Code 2953.32), but the actual mechanism for adult convictions functions as sealing. When an Ohio court grants relief under R.C. 2953.32, the records are sealed from public access rather than destroyed. Law enforcement, prosecutors, and certain government agencies retain the ability to access sealed records. The court considers multiple factors when evaluating a petition, including the applicant's rehabilitation, whether criminal proceedings are pending, and whether the government's need for the records outweighs the applicant's interest in having them sealed.

The key distinction from expungement is that a sealed record can potentially be reopened. If you commit a new offense, some states allow prosecutors to unseal your prior record and use it in sentencing or charging decisions. With true expungement, there is no record left to reopen.

There is also a disclosure difference. In states with true expungement, statutes typically grant the person the legal right to deny the record ever existed. On a job application that asks "Have you ever been convicted of a crime?", a person whose record was expunged can legally answer "no" in most contexts. With sealing, the right to deny varies. Some states grant the same denial right for sealed records, while others require disclosure in specific situations, such as applications for law enforcement positions, professional licenses in regulated industries, or positions involving care of children. Knowing exactly what your state's statute says about post-sealing disclosure obligations is critical before answering any application question about your criminal history.

What Is the Difference Between Expungement and Sealing?

The core difference comes down to whether the record is destroyed or merely hidden. This distinction creates a cascade of practical differences that affect nearly every aspect of post-conviction life.

Both remedies share one important limitation: neither automatically clears federal databases. The FBI's Interstate Identification Index (III) operates independently of state court orders, and a state expungement or sealing order does not automatically update or remove entries from the federal system. For positions requiring FBI fingerprint-based background checks, records may still surface through federal channels regardless of whether the state record was expunged or sealed.

Which States Allow Expungement vs Sealing?

States fall into three broad categories: those that offer true expungement (record destruction), those that offer sealing (record restriction), and those that use hybrid approaches or different terminology for different offense categories.

True expungement states include Pennsylvania (18 Pa.C.S. 9122 for qualifying cases), Florida (under 943.0585, which requires physical destruction of records by FDLE and other agencies), and New Jersey (which uses the term "expungement" and treats it as record isolation rather than destruction, though the practical protections are strong).

Sealing-only states include New York (CPL 160.59 and the forthcoming Clean Slate automatic sealing under CPL 160.57), Connecticut, and Massachusetts. In these states, there is no mechanism to have a conviction record destroyed, only restricted from public view.

Hybrid states represent the majority. California uses a dismissal mechanism under PC 1203.4 that functions differently from both pure expungement and pure sealing. It does not destroy the record, but it does reclassify the conviction as a dismissal and provides substantial employment protections. California also offers arrest record sealing under PC 851.87 for cases that did not result in conviction. Ohio similarly uses the term "expungement" in its statutes but operates a sealing mechanism in practice for adult convictions under R.C. 2953.32. Pennsylvania offers both true expungement under 9122 for limited case types (acquittals, pardons, summary offenses) and a broader sealing mechanism under its Clean Slate Act provisions at 18 Pa.C.S. 9122.1 (petition-based) and 9122.2 (automatic sealing for eligible misdemeanors after ten years arrest-free, shortened to seven years under Clean Slate 3.0 effective February 2024).

The terminology a state uses in its statute title does not always match the actual mechanism. Always look at what the statute says happens to the records, not just what the process is called.

Will a Sealed Record Show on a Background Check?

For most standard employment and housing background checks conducted through consumer reporting agencies under the FCRA, a properly sealed record should not appear. Background check companies are legally required to exclude information that state law prohibits them from reporting, and a sealing order creates exactly that prohibition.

However, there are important exceptions. Law enforcement agencies conducting their own checks through NCIC or state criminal justice information systems will see sealed records, because sealing orders specifically exempt law enforcement access. Certain professional licensing boards, particularly those governing healthcare, education, financial services, and positions involving work with children or vulnerable adults, may retain access to sealed records depending on state law. Federal background investigations for security clearances, military enlistment, and federal employment are not bound by state sealing orders and may access sealed information through federal databases.

The practical reliability of sealing also depends on how quickly and thoroughly background check companies update their databases. The database lag problem is well-documented: some consumer reporting agencies maintain proprietary databases compiled from courthouse records, and these databases may not be updated promptly when a court enters a sealing order. If you discover that a background check is reporting a sealed record, you have the right under the FCRA to dispute the report and require the agency to investigate and correct the information. For a deeper discussion of this issue, see our post on how long expungement takes, which also covers the post-order verification process.

How Much Does Each Cost?

The cost of expungement and sealing varies by state, offense type, and whether you use a filing service or handle the petition yourself.

Court filing fees typically range from $0 to $500 depending on the jurisdiction. Some states waive fees for indigent petitioners. Pennsylvania charges no filing fee for expungement petitions. Ohio charges $50 for sealing applications under R.C. 2953.32. California charges a filing fee for PC 1203.4 petitions that varies by county, though fee waivers are available for qualifying applicants. New York does not charge a filing fee for sealing petitions under CPL 160.59.

Attorney fees for expungement or sealing petitions generally range from $1,000 to $5,000 for straightforward cases, though complex cases involving multiple convictions, contested hearings, or appeals can cost significantly more. Some legal aid organizations provide free or reduced-cost assistance for qualifying individuals.

Filing services like Fresh Start Expungement offer flat-fee pricing that covers the full process from eligibility review through petition filing and follow-up. Our $10,000 per record fee includes case evaluation, document preparation, court filing, agency notification, and post-order verification to confirm that databases have been updated. Payment plans are available.

The total timeline also affects effective cost. States with longer mandatory waiting periods, complex procedural requirements, or slow court processing times create indirect costs through delayed access to employment, housing, and licensing opportunities. Starting the process as early as possible after becoming eligible minimizes these opportunity costs.

It is also worth noting that some states are moving toward reducing or eliminating these costs entirely. Clean Slate laws in Pennsylvania, California, Utah, and several other states have created automatic sealing processes for qualifying offenses that require no petition, no filing fee, and no attorney. If you are eligible for automatic relief under your state's Clean Slate legislation, the process may cost you nothing. However, automatic processes are limited to specific offense categories and do not cover all convictions, so many people still need to file a petition and may benefit from professional assistance navigating the requirements.

Which Option Is Right for You?

The choice between expungement and sealing is usually not yours to make. Your state's laws determine which remedy is available for your specific offense type, conviction history, and circumstances. In most states, you petition for whatever relief the statute provides, and the court grants or denies it based on eligibility criteria.

That said, understanding which remedy your state offers helps you set accurate expectations. If your state provides true expungement, the outcome is stronger: the record is destroyed, and you can legally deny its existence in most contexts. If your state provides sealing, the outcome is still meaningful, as it removes the record from most background checks and restores access to employment and housing opportunities, but the record continues to exist in restricted databases.

In states that offer both mechanisms for different offense categories, such as Pennsylvania, which offers true expungement for acquittals and summary offenses under 9122 but petition-based sealing for many misdemeanor and felony convictions under 9122.1, an eligibility review will determine which path applies to your case.

Several factors affect which remedy you may qualify for: the type of offense (misdemeanor vs. felony), how much time has passed since completion of the sentence, whether you have subsequent convictions, whether the offense involved violence or a sexual component, and whether your state has enacted Clean Slate legislation that provides automatic relief for qualifying offenses.

If you are unsure which option applies to your situation, a free eligibility consultation can clarify what your state offers and whether you qualify.

How Fresh Start Can Help

Fresh Start Expungement handles the complete record-clearing process across all 50 states, whether your state offers expungement, sealing, or a hybrid approach. Our team evaluates your eligibility based on your specific state's statutes, prepares and files the appropriate petition, notifies all required agencies, and verifies that databases have been updated after the court grants relief.

We work with clients in every state, including complex situations involving multiple convictions across different jurisdictions, federal record considerations, and professional licensing implications. The process begins with a free consultation where we review your record, explain what relief is available under your state's law, and outline the expected timeline and costs.

The legal mechanisms differ from state to state, but the goal is the same: removing the barriers that a criminal record places between you and the opportunities you deserve. Whether your state calls it expungement, sealing, dismissal, or something else entirely, the path forward starts with understanding your options.

Schedule Your Free Consultation to find out which option is available in your state and whether you qualify.