Clear your North Carolina record.

A dismissed or not guilty charge can be expunged at any time. Since December 1, 2021, the court clears most of them on its own. That takes 180 to 210 days after the case ends. A felony dismissed as part of a plea deal is not cleared that way. For a conviction, you wait. The clock starts at the conviction or when any active sentence, probation or post-release supervision ends, whichever is later. One nonviolent misdemeanor waits three years. More than one waits seven years from the last one. One nonviolent felony waits ten years. A felony of breaking or entering a building waits fifteen. Two or three nonviolent felonies wait twenty years. They must have been committed within the same 24 months. Convictions from the same session of court count as one.

Nonviolent has a legal meaning here. A Class A through G felony or a Class A1 misdemeanor does not count. Nor does an offense with assault as an element, an offense that requires sex offender registration, or a listed drug or other offense. An impaired driving conviction is not eligible. The law allows one expunction of misdemeanors and one of felonies under this section. If you have had one, you cannot get another for later offenses. There are two exceptions. One is petitions filed in more than one county within 120 days. The other is some orders granted on petitions filed before December 1, 2021. The filing fee is waived if you cannot pay. After the order, you may deny the charge or conviction. That is not perjury. Most employers may not ask about it. The guide below lists the other doors: for an offense before age 18 or 21, drug cases, a trafficking victim, and more.