How it works in Kentucky

The steps

1. Request your record

   Complete and submit your application to request an official copy of your criminal history record from the Kentucky State Police. This step is optional. For a conviction, the certification in step 5 includes a background check by both agencies. Requesting your own record first lets you check it for errors before you apply.

   Record request fee: $20.00

2. Review your record

   Confirm there is no disqualifying information in your history. If there is something incorrect, follow the process to challenge the issue. If everything is accurate, make a copy for your file and keep the original somewhere safe.

3. Request certified documents

   To expunge a conviction, the conviction forms ask you to attach a copy of your current certification of eligibility, and a copy of the pardon if you have one; a dismissed charge, an acquittal or a felony charge that did not result in an indictment needs none. Certified copies still help if the court asks — the case's disposition from the clerk of court, the arrest record from the arresting agency, and proof you completed probation, parole, classes, fees or any other obligation. Keep a copy of each.

   Certified copy fee: $5.00

4. Verify the final documents

   Review each document for accuracy. Confirm each one is certified and clearly shows you completed your obligations. Make copies of every original.

5. For a conviction, obtain a certification of eligibility

   To expunge a conviction, request a certification of eligibility from the Administrative Office of the Courts: online at its registration site, in person at its drive-thru window in Frankfort, or by mail with form AOC-RU-009. A dismissed charge, an acquittal or a felony charge that did not result in an indictment needs none, so you can skip this step for those. You give your name, address, Social Security number and date of birth, and you may add the county, date, type and case number of each case you want expunged. The Administrative Office of the Courts runs a background check and the Kentucky State Police reviews your convictions; the certification states whether or not you are eligible, and you may file either way, since only a judge grants an expungement. Processing averages four to five months. For a conviction, file the certification with your petition or application before it expires, 30 days after it issues.

   Eligibility certificate fee: $40.00

6. Prepare your petition

   Complete the petition or application for the kind of charge and outcome you have. Under KRS § 431.078, a misdemeanor, violation or traffic infraction petition waits five years after your sentence ends or your probation ends, whichever is later, with an exception for some voided possession convictions. Under KRS § 431.073, a felony application waits five years after your sentence ends or your probation or parole ends, whichever is later. Under KRS § 431.076, a petition waits 60 days after an acquittal or a dismissal with prejudice; six months after a District Court holds a felony charge for the grand jury with no indictment or information; one year after a misdemeanor charge is dismissed without prejudice; and three years after a felony charge is. A dismissal counts only if it was not in exchange for a guilty plea to another charge.

7. Finalize your petition

   Take the completed petition or application from Step 6. To expunge a conviction, attach a copy of your current certification of eligibility from Step 5 (and a copy of the pardon, if you have one); no certification is needed for a dismissed charge, an acquittal or a felony charge that did not result in an indictment. The conviction forms ask you to attach only the certification (and the pardon copy, if you have one); keep the record from Step 1 and the documents from Step 3 in case the court asks for them. Keep a copy of the complete package for your own file.

8. File your expungement petition

   File the petition or application, with the certification attached for a conviction, with the Office of Circuit Court Clerk in the county where the original charge was filed: a misdemeanor, violation or traffic infraction petition in the court that convicted you; a felony application as a motion in the original case; a petition for an acquittal or a dismissal in the court that disposed of the charges, or for a felony charge with no indictment in the District Court where it was filed. One petition per case, every charge listed. Sign it before a notary or the circuit court clerk. For a conviction, file before the certification expires, 30 days after it issues.

   Cost: $100.00 misdemeanor, violation or traffic infraction / $50.00 felony at filing, plus $250.00 when the order is granted / $0.00 acquittal, dismissal or no indictment — Form AOC-496.2 ($100.00 per case, $50.00 of it not refundable if no order is granted — KRS 431.078(7)); Form AOC-496.3 ($50.00 non-refundable filing fee per application, then a $250.00 expungement fee when the order is granted, payable by installments — KRS 431.073(10) and (11)); Form AOC-497.2 (no filing fee — the AOC's expungement page)

9. Work with the court

   What comes next depends on the path. For a misdemeanor, violation or traffic infraction petition, the court sets a hearing no sooner than 30 days after filing and notifies the county attorney and any victim. For a felony application, the prosecutor has 60 days to respond; with no objection, or no response within 120 days, the court may vacate the judgment without a hearing; if the prosecutor objects, the court holds a hearing within 120 days, where you or your attorney must appear and, for a felony outside the listed offenses, you must show by clear and convincing evidence that the expungement is consistent with public welfare and safety, supported by your conduct since the conviction and warranted by the interests of justice. For an acquittal or a dismissal, the court grants a properly brought petition; for a felony charge with no indictment, the prosecutor has 90 days to respond, after which the court dismisses the charges without prejudice and orders the expungement. Respond promptly to anything the court asks for.

10. Receive the court's order

    Once the Kentucky court rules, it issues a written order either granting or denying your petition. Review the order's terms carefully — they spell out exactly which records are covered. Keep a certified copy for your own files. For a felony, the court charges an expungement fee when it grants the order; you may pay it by an installment plan the court sets, with a deadline no sooner than 18 months after the order, and the record is expunged only once it is paid in full.

11. Verify the record update

    Under KRS § 431.073, KRS § 431.076, KRS § 431.078 and KRS § 431.079, the order covers the records in the court's custody and in the custody of every other agency or official it names, including law enforcement records — the agencies you listed on the petition. The court and those agencies delete or remove the records so the matter does not appear on an official state background check, and they reply to any inquiry that no record exists. For an acquittal, a dismissal or a charge with no indictment, each agency certifies to the court within 60 days that it has expunged its records, and the order does not reach records held by the Department for Community Based Services. For a felony, the record is expunged once the expungement fee is paid in full, and a prosecutor's office may keep a nonpublic record for law enforcement purposes only. If a background-check provider later produces an outdated report, your certified copy of the order is your authoritative reference. After the order, you do not have to disclose the record, or anything about it, on an application for employment, credit or any other type of application.

If you have to mail anything, remember to keep a copy of whatever you send and to use a method with a tracking number like the USPS Flat Rate Envelope.