Clear your Massachusetts record.

Sealing hides a record from most people. Police, prosecutors and the courts can still see it. To seal a conviction, you ask the Commissioner of Probation on the state form. A misdemeanor waits three years. A felony waits seven. The clock runs from the end of the case, including any time in custody. You must have no new guilty finding in those years. A motor vehicle fine of $50 or less does not count. Some offenses cannot be sealed this way. A case with no guilty finding can be sealed sooner. If you were found not guilty, the grand jury returned no bill, or the court found no probable cause, the commissioner seals it on his own. You can ask him in writing not to. A court can seal a case that was dismissed or dropped.

Expungement destroys the record. Under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 276 §§ 100F to 100K, you petition the same commissioner to expunge up to two records. Every offense must date from before your 21st birthday. A misdemeanor waits three years. A felony waits seven. The clock includes any custody or probation. A list of offenses is excluded. The commissioner checks that you qualify. Then the petition goes to the court, which decides. If the district attorney objects, the court holds a hearing. A court can also expunge a record that came from a mix-up over who you are, someone using your name, an error by police, a witness or court staff, fraud on the court, or an offense that is no longer a crime. Records for amounts of marijuana that are no longer a crime are expunged under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 276 § 100K 1/4. The court must order that within 30 days of the petition.