Expungement in New Jersey: Who Qualifies and How to Apply

Expungement in New Jersey

A criminal record can follow you for life — affecting employment, housing, professional licensing, and more. New Jersey's expungement laws offer a path to a clean slate for many people.

What Is Expungement?

Expungement is the legal process of sealing or erasing a criminal record. Once expunged, the arrest and conviction are removed from public records and the person can legally answer "no" to most questions about prior criminal history.

New Jersey's Clean Slate Law (2020)

New Jersey's Clean Slate Law significantly expanded expungement eligibility. Key provisions include petition-based expungement for most indictable (felony-level) offenses after 6 years from conviction or completion of sentence, whichever is later, and disorderly persons offenses can be expunged after 3 years.

What Can Be Expunged?

Indictable crimes (first conviction) can be expunged after 6 years. Disorderly persons offenses can be expunged after 3 years. Municipal ordinance violations can be expunged after 2 years. Juvenile adjudications can be expunged after 3 years. Arrests without conviction can be expunged immediately.

What Cannot Be Expunged?

Certain serious offenses are not eligible for expungement, including murder, manslaughter, and aggravated sexual assault, robbery and kidnapping, most drug distribution offenses with some exceptions, and crimes by public officials related to their office.

The Expungement Process

The process involves obtaining your criminal history from the State Police, preparing and filing a Petition for Expungement in the Superior Court, serving all required agencies (prosecutor, police, courts, etc.), attending a hearing if objections are filed, and receiving the Order of Expungement. The process typically takes 3–6 months.

This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.