Clear your North Dakota record.

For a misdemeanor, you must have no new conviction for at least three years before you file. For a felony, five years. A pardon from the governor with no conditions opens the door too. The court needs clear and convincing evidence. Among other things, you finished your prison and probation terms. You paid all restitution. You showed good cause, and you have reformed. The prosecutor is served and takes part. A hearing comes no sooner than forty-five days after you file. The law bars a felony of violence or intimidation while you may not have a firearm. It bars any offense for which you were ordered to register as an offender. A conviction for driving under the influence has its own section.

A seal is not an erasure. The Bureau of Criminal Investigation keeps your criminal history record. The seal never reaches it. The court must also release it when the law requires a background check. If every charge in your case was dismissed, or you were acquitted of all of them, the court closes its own record. You need no petition. That happens sixty-one days after an order dated August 1, 2025 or later. For an older case, you file a short petition, with no fee. The court then closes the record within ten days. Four kinds of case fall outside it; the guide names them.