How it works in Washington

The steps

1. Get fingerprinted

   You need fingerprints only if you ask for an arrest record deletion. Under WAC 446-16-025, you ask the Washington State Patrol on its form; the request must include your fingerprints as proof of identity. A local police department or sheriff's office can take them; the fee varies by location. Under RCW 10.97.060, the agency deletes nonconviction data when you ask. The record must be two years past a disposition in your favor, or three years past the arrest, citation or warrant with no conviction. That three-year rule does not apply if you are a fugitive or the prosecutor certifies the case is still active. The agency may refuse if the case ended in a deferred prosecution or similar diversion. It may also refuse if you have a prior felony or gross misdemeanor conviction, or faced a new arrest or charge in between. The arresting agency keeps its own copy, so ask it separately. Neither vacation statute asks for fingerprints.

2. Request your record

   Request your conviction record from the Washington State Patrol through WATCH (Washington Access to Criminal History), its online portal. The Patrol calls it the official source of Washington conviction records; you search by name and date of birth. Some courts ask you to attach your record to your filing, so keep what you get.

   Record request fee: $11.00 — For each name searched online, whatever the result; a notary request is $15 each. Some results come back pending Washington State Patrol review for 24 to 48 hours.

3. Review your record

   Confirm there is nothing in your record that bars you. If something is wrong, ask the State Patrol in writing to correct it. Under RCW 43.43.730, you may inspect your record and ask the Patrol to purge, modify or supplement it. If everything is accurate, make a copy for your file and keep the original somewhere safe.

4. Request certified documents

   Collect certified copies of the documents your court may ask for. The felony instructions name your judgment and sentence and your certificate of discharge; the misdemeanor instructions point to the court file or docket. If you had probation, treatment, classes or money to pay, also get proof you completed them. Under RCW 9.96.060, a court cannot vacate a misdemeanor or gross misdemeanor until every term of the sentence is complete, including financial obligations. Under RCW 9.94A.640, a felony needs a certificate of discharge first (see Step 6). Read the local court rules or ask the clerk what to attach.

   Certified copy fee: $5.00 — For the first page of a certified copy, plus $1.00 for each additional page, at the Pacific County Clerk (one county's rate).

5. 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.

6. Prepare your application

   Fill out the form for your case. For a misdemeanor or gross misdemeanor, the court's form is the petition (CrRLJ 09.0100); for a felony, the motion (CR 08.0900). Each path has its own wait. Under RCW 9.96.060, a misdemeanor or gross misdemeanor needs three years. The clock starts at the later of your release from supervision, probation or confinement, or your sentencing date. A domestic violence offense needs five years since you completed the sentence terms, treatment included but money owed excluded. Driving under the influence, physical control, and operating a railroad while intoxicated cannot be vacated; the court's form lists them as excluded. An offense the statute counts as a prior offense has a ten-year rule. The form's list includes reckless driving convicted on a charge first filed as driving under the influence. Ten years must have passed since that arrest, with no new alcohol or drug violation in those years. A new conviction in the three years before you apply bars any misdemeanor or gross misdemeanor vacation. Under RCW 9.94A.640, a felony first needs a certificate of discharge under RCW 9.94A.637. Then a class C felony needs five years and a class B felony ten. The clock starts at the later of your release from community custody, your release from confinement, or your sentencing date. A new conviction in those five or ten years bars it, and felony driving under the influence and physical control convictions cannot be vacated. The court's felony information sheet (CR 08.0930) lists what else cannot be vacated, starting with any class A felony. Both statutes also bar violent offenses and other crimes they list, so review each requirement on your form as the court's instructions say. Some cases have their own rules in RCW 9.96.060. They include victims of trafficking, sexual assault or domestic violence, and treaty fishing convictions before 1975. They also include a cannabis misdemeanor at age 21 or older, some drug possession convictions after treatment, and a homicide victim's prostitution conviction. The felony statute has a victims' path too, in its subsection (3).

7. Finalize your application

   Take the completed form from Step 6, the documents collected in Step 4, and the record from Step 2, and put them together. Make at least two copies — the court's instructions say one for the prosecutor's office and one for yourself. Double-check that every document in the package is the original, and keep a copy of the complete package for your personal file.

8. File your application to vacate

   File it with the court that sentenced you — RCW 9.94A.640 and RCW 9.96.060 both send you to the sentencing court. Ask the clerk for a hearing date, then file your form with a notice of hearing (CrRLJ 09.0150, or your court's own notice form). The same day, give a copy of each document to the prosecuting attorney's office that prosecuted you. Ask the clerk whether a filing fee applies; the court's forms page and its instructions name none.

   Filing fee: Varies by court — the state court forms and their instructions name no filing fee; ask the clerk of the court where you were sentenced. RCW 36.18.022 lets a court waive certain filing fees on an affidavit of financial hardship.

9. Work with the court

   The judge hears your request on the day set for the hearing, and the court's instructions say you need to attend. For a felony, bring a proposed order for the judge to sign (CR 08.0920). The judge may ask for more documents; respond promptly to anything the court asks for.

10. Receive the court's order

    If the judge grants your request, the court signs an order vacating the conviction (CrRLJ 09.0200 for a misdemeanor, CR 08.0920 for a felony). If the judge denies it, the order says so. Read it carefully — it names the conviction it covers. Keep a certified copy for your own files. An arrest record deletion is different: the agency that holds the record makes it under RCW 10.97.060, with no court order needed.

11. Verify the conviction is vacated

    Under RCW 9.96.060, the clerk sends the order to the Washington State Patrol identification section and to the local police agency that holds your record. They update their records and send the order to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The felony statute, RCW 9.94A.640, has no such clause, but the court's felony instructions say the clerk sends the order the same way. Once vacated, the State Patrol and local police may not disclose the conviction to anyone except other criminal justice enforcement agencies. If a background check later shows the conviction, your certified copy of the order is your proof. Confirm with the clerk and the State Patrol that their records show it.

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.