Expungement of a criminal record and sealing a criminal record in Washington State are often misunderstood.  Both procedures affect a criminal record; but the benefit offered by expungement or sealing, and the effect each has on a criminal background check, is quite different.

 Expungement in Washington State, in its technical sense, refers to removing “non-conviction data” from a court file or law enforcement agency database.  Examples of “non-conviction data” are an arrest record or a criminal charge dismissed by a court.  After the information is deleted, the criminal record is “expunged”.  When clearing a criminal conviction from a Washington State record, the “expungement” process is called Vacating a Criminal Conviction.

 When a criminal record is expunged, the “non-conviction data” is destroyed.  This can include documents, fingerprints, booking photographs, and other information in the court or law enforcement agency database.  When a criminal conviction is “expunged”, the court file is not destroyed.  Instead, the conviction is “vacated” and the law treats it as if it had not occurred.  In fact, when your criminal conviction is vacated, Washington State law allows you to state you have not been convicted of the crime.  The conviction no longer appears on a background check.

 Sealing a Washington State criminal record does not destroy the file or any part of the file.  Sealing a criminal record also does not remove or affect the conviction.  When a court orders a criminal record “sealed”, the file in the court is no longer accessible by the public without a court order.  Your name and the criminal conviction, however, remain open to public view.

 What this means is if anyone, including you, were to go to the court and ask to view the file the court clerk would tell you the criminal file is sealed and not available.  The only way the contents of the file could be viewed, would be to bring a motion asking the judge to remove the prior Order sealing the file.

 In Washington State, sealing a criminal record is not easy.  There are specific criteria that must be met.  A criminal record will be sealed only for a compelling reason showing the need for privacy overcomes the need for open access to public documents.  Another criteria a judge is required to consider is whether the criminal conviction has been “vacated” by the court.  As a result, if a criminal record is not eligible to be expunged or vacated, it is unlikely the criminal record will be sealed.

 So is expungement or sealing the criminal record better for you in your circumstances?  If you want a criminal record cleared so you can pass background checks for employment or other reasons, then having your criminal record expunged or vacated by a court will accomplish this.  Sealing a criminal record should be sought when the criminal file contains sensitive facts or information that could be unduly embarrassing or compromising.

 A criminal record can be cleared or sealed in a few short weeks in Washington State.  Either Sealing a criminal record or Expungement offers a variety of benefits, including clearing your criminal record and removing an unfavorable past or removing the criminal record from public view.  If you have a criminal record, then you should take advantage of the options available to you.