How it works in Wyoming

The steps

1. Get fingerprinted

   Have your fingerprints taken at a local law enforcement agency or at the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation in Cheyenne. Call a local agency first to ask which days and times it takes fingerprints; it should have the applicant fingerprint card you need. For the Division, call (307) 777-7181 for an appointment. Bring a current government-issued photo ID, such as a driver license, state ID card or passport.

   Fingerprint fee: $5.00 — The fee when the Division of Criminal Investigation takes your fingerprints in Cheyenne. A local law enforcement agency can take them too, and its fee is not on the Division's page.

2. Request your record

   Ask the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation to check your Wyoming criminal history record. Send your fingerprint card with the fee. Pay by money order or cashier's check made out to the Office of the Attorney General or the Division. Do not send cash or a personal check. The Division says it generally completes a check within 2 weeks, but a check can take 5 to 6 weeks. The check covers Wyoming and the Western Identification Network states, not a national check by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

   Record request fee: $15.00 — For most applicants. It covers Wyoming and the Western Identification Network states: Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington. It does not include a national check by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

3. Review your record

   Check your record against your route's limits (Article 14, Article 15). For an arrest or a charge, one of three things must be true. No conviction came from the arrest, no charges were filed, or the prosecutor or court dismissed every charge. A conviction on a different or lesser charge closes this route. So does a disposition of any charge, or of a different or lesser charge, under section 7-13-301 or 35-7-1037, or former section 7-13-203. No charges can be pending when you file. Neither conviction route covers an offense involving the use or attempted use of a firearm. The one exception is a felony under Title 23 of the Wyoming Statutes. The felony route also excludes violent felonies and the other offenses listed in section 7-13-1502(a)(iv). The misdemeanor route excludes a health care provider's offense under section 6-2-313 against a patient. If something on your Wyoming record is wrong, section 7-19-109 of the Wyoming Statutes covers how to correct it, the Division says. If everything is accurate, make a copy for your file and keep the original somewhere safe.

4. Request certified documents

   Get certified copies of the papers that show what happened in your case. Ask the clerk of the court that had your case for the disposition. Ask the arresting agency for the arrest record. For a conviction, also gather proof that your sentence, probation and any court-ordered program are over. For a felony, add proof that you have paid any restitution in full. These papers help show the court you are eligible.

   Certified copy fee: Varies by court — a circuit court, which hears every misdemeanor case, charges $1.00 a page for copies, and its fee rules list no separate charge to certify a copy. A district court, which hears felony cases, charges $1.00 for the first page and $.50 for each additional page; the Platte County Clerk of District Court lists $0.50 for a certification. An exemplified copy is $5.00 in either court.

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 petition

   Complete the petition for your route. The Wyoming Judicial Branch posts a sample petition and order for each route. For an arrest or a charge, at least 180 days must pass after the arrest or after the charges were dismissed (Article 14). For a misdemeanor, the wait is 5 years after your sentence ends, including probation and any court-ordered program (Article 15). For a status offense, it is 1 year. The Wyoming Judicial Branch describes a status offense as one that is illegal only for certain groups of people, such as minors. For a felony, the wait is 10 years (Article 15). It runs from when your sentence and probation end, you finish any court-ordered program and you pay any restitution in full.

7. Finalize your petition

   Put together the completed petition from Step 6, the documents from Step 4 and the record check from Step 2. Wyoming law requires you to verify the petition (Article 14, Article 15). Double-check that every document in the package is the original, and keep a copy of the complete package for your own file.

8. File your expungement petition

   File the petition in the court that had your case. For an arrest with no charges filed, file in the court where the case would have been. The petition must be served on the prosecuting attorney (Article 14, Article 15). For a conviction, it must also be served on the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation (Article 15). Confirm the filing fee for your route with the clerk of court before you file.

   Filing fee: $300.00 — For a felony conviction. A petition over a misdemeanor conviction costs $100.00, and a petition over an arrest or a charge costs nothing.

9. Work with the court

   After service, the prosecuting attorney has a set time to file any objection (Article 14, Article 15). It is 20 days for an arrest or a charge, 30 days for a misdemeanor and 90 days for a felony. For a conviction, the prosecuting attorney also mails notice of your petition to any victims the office can identify. The court sets a hearing if the prosecuting attorney objects. For a conviction, it also sets one if a victim objects in writing. For a conviction, the court may also ask the Division of Criminal Investigation for a report on your criminal history. If you object to that report, the court sets a hearing. If no one objects in time, the court may enter an order without a hearing if it finds you eligible. No order granting expungement can issue before that time runs out. Answer anything the court asks for, and go to the hearing if one is set.

10. Receive the court's order

    Prepare a draft order for the judge to sign. The Wyoming Judicial Branch says the court will likely expect you to have one ready at the hearing. If the court finds you eligible, it issues an order granting the expungement (Article 14, Article 15). For a conviction, the court must also find that you are not a substantial danger to yourself, any identifiable victim or society. The court then seals its file and sends a certified copy of the order to the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation. The state, through the prosecuting attorney, may appeal the order. Ask the clerk for a certified copy for your own files.

11. Verify the record is expunged

    In Wyoming, expungement means the Division of Criminal Investigation classifies its record of the arrest, charge or disposition (Article 14, Article 15). The classification aims to keep the record from anyone but a state or federal criminal justice agency, for criminal justice purposes. Expungement does not cover the investigation files that local, state or federal criminal justice agencies use only for that work. After an arrest or charge expungement, you may answer any question as though it never happened, unless the law says otherwise (Article 14). A felony expungement restores any rights you lost because of that conviction (Article 15). Ask the Division and the clerk of court to confirm their records reflect the order. If a background-check provider later produces an outdated report, your certified copy of the court's order is your authoritative reference.

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.